Today was a big and fulfilling day. We started the day discussing digital literacy and I feel like I have come away with a plethora of resources to use with my class to teach digital literacy. This is an aspect of ADST that has not always been at the front of my brain so I am glad we spent some time talking about it this morning. Be Internet Awesome is a great site that I look forward to spending more time exploring. I really like the lesson plans you can download. I did not have a chance to check out the games but they looked fantastic.
Next, we explored Edison Robots. I am not sure if it is because I am becoming more comfortable with coding or if it was because the Edison Robot is intuitive, but this was my favourite robot to work with this week. We had a lot of time today to work through some code and experiment with our robot. I really thrived on the format of the lessons today. I enjoyed being given the specific problem and then having some time to experiment and come up with a solution. I will remember that when I am working with my students. I enjoyed the diversity of the robot as well. There are opportunities to code the LED’s, music and movement. I did not get to experiment with the expansion pack or with any Lego, but I am sure there are more great creative opportunities. I think it would be a lot of fun to plan obstacle courses with my class and have them measure out a course, both the lengths and angles the robot would move.
Below are a couple of videos that show some of the coding and fun we had with the Edison Robots today.
Lastly today, we created automatons. This was a fun activity and I love the creative possibilities with this project. I think this project could be a lot of fun with my Grade 4 class. I would definitely pre-cut all of the pieces for my students. The pieces were pre-cut for us today and it was so helpful and saved a lot of time. Glue Guns would also be a must for this project. I wasn’t totally pleased with my creation for this one but with some more time, I think I could have achieved what I wanted. Nonetheless, it was a fun activity. Below is a picture of what i created.
As I reflect on my portfolio experience this week, I am glad that I added to my E-portfolio from my EdTech class. As I continue to work in WordPress, I become more comfortable with how the program works. I am not sure I would use this platform for my students however. I had some experience working with FreshGrade this spring during our continuity of learning. I really enjoy how FreshGrade works and how easy it is to upload and download from the program. I need to spend some time front-loading it for assessment as I was not using it for assessment this spring. I think for showcasing student growth and learning, it will be a good platform for me.