Category: Science

5-8, 6-12, Apps, Computer Science, Science, Student Products, Teaching Tools, Videos

Kids Can Code – and Change the World

Terri Eichholz
Viney Kumar shares his Google Science Fair Project here.
Viney Kumar shares his Google Science Fair Project here.

It’s here!  This week is Computer Science Education Week.  (Check out the Google Doodle to honor Grace Hopper’s birthday, which starts CSEd Week this year!)  To celebrate, you are invited to participate in an Hour of Code – a global event during which schools are committing to teach students how to program for at least one hour during the week.  There are TONS of resources on the CSED website, and I have blogged about those and more in the past few weeks.  You can also look at my Programming for Kids Pinterest Board for even more ideas. For up-to-the-minute ideas, join the #kidscancode Twitter chat every Tuesday at 8PM EST.

Kids usually associate programming with video games.  As you know, though, it can involve so much more.  In one of my posts last week, I mentioned a video that showed how a homeless man was taught to code, and how that man is now using his skills to create an app to help the environment.  But our students do not have to wait until they are adults to design apps – or to change the world.  To inspire your students, you can show them this video of a young man named Viney Kumar.  At 14 years old, Viney developed an app to increase the reaction time to emergency vehicles in traffic with the goal of making it less likely for emergency responders to be stuck in a gridlock.  He shares how he got the idea and a brief summary of its development. He ends with, “Think about how the world works – or doesn’t work.  You can make a difference.”

You can find Viney’s video, as well as 9 other examples of “Kids Changing the Tech World” in this article from Buzzfeed.

5-8, 6-12, Education, Research, Science, Videos

“Magic Arms” and Robots for Humanity

Terri Eichholz

The other day, I was talking to one of my GT classes about the possibility of our Maker Studio classroom getting a 3D Printer through Donors Choose.

“Can’t those be used to make guns?” one student, who apparently pays some attention to current events, asked.

“Those should be banned, then,” said another student.

This brought up a great discussion about technology, and the inventions, through time, that have had both positive and negative impacts on our society.  How many creations have been designed to help people or address a particular need, but ended up being harmful to us (or the other living things on this planet) as well?  And, how many, if any, were created for violent purposes, but ended up being helpful in the right hands?

We have also been reading The Giver, and discussing the fine line between freedom and safety, a connection which one student quickly brought up.

Ultimately, the class decided that getting a 3D printer would be a great idea – and that we would commit to using it for good if the project gets funded 😉

Since then, I’ve run across a couple of videos that show how some current controversial technologies have changed lives for the better.  My hope is that we can educate our students to become innovators who are wary of possible negative consequences from new technologies, but find multiple ways to bury those detrimental uses with the positive benefits of their creations.

Art, Creative Thinking, Education, K-5, Language Arts, Science, Student Products, Teaching Tools, Videos

The Bear and the Hare

Terri Eichholz
from The Bear and the Hare
from The Bear and the Hare

The Bear and the Hare is a Christmas commercial.  But the sentiment and the artistry of this video make it so much more.  It is a simple tale of a hare who does not want his bear friend to hibernate through Christmas day.  The empathy that is portrayed without words is touching, and the film itself is a masterpiece of stop-motion animation.  Here are some of the ways the video could be used in the classroom:

  • Have students summarize the story.
  • Fill in a graphic organizer of the story.
  • Create a Reader’s Theater for the story.
  • Ask the students to re-write the story from the bear’s perspective.
  • Write a story about how the two first became friends.
  • Assign the students to draw a gift the bear could give the hare in return. (Here is a great post from Ms. Trayers with some wonderful student examples!)
  • Research the animals portrayed in the film, animals that hibernate, and/or identify what part of the world could be the setting of this story.
  • What other stories of friendship are similar to this?

To extend the learning even more, there happens to be a “Making of” video that shows various stages of the production of The Bear and the Hare.  If you have students interested in video production, they will find this fascinating.  I have several students who just started making stop-motion videos with the Lego Movie Maker app.  I can’t wait to show them the meticulous care that goes into creating a fine work of art like The Bear and the Hare.  It is sure to inspire them to add more depth and creativity to their own productions.

You can also visit the John Lewis website, where you can make your own Bear and Hare greeting card.  There appears to be an iTunes app, but it seems that it is not available in the United States at this time.

If you are unable to view the embedded video below, you can also see it here on “The Laughing Squid” website.

Apps, Creative Thinking, Education, K-5, Research, Science, Student Products, Writing

Here We Come to Save the Day!

Terri Eichholz
I love how this student posed for his picture!
I love how this student posed for his picture!

My gifted 2nd graders study the theme, “Structures,” and begin the year with animal structures.  I recently saw this fabulous article on Edutopia, “Superhero Science” by Autumn Ware, that inspired me to leverage student interest in superheroes as a route for researching interesting animals.  Experience has taught me that scaffolding is particularly important with these younger students, who have limited exposure to research skills.  So, we started by doing some research together on Jeffrey, the tarantula we have on loan for two weeks.

The students made Thinglinks with their research.  Then we discussed some of Jeffrey’s amazing abilities – throwing barbed hairs at predators, re-growing limbs, using multiple eyes, etc…  I asked them to pretend they had one or more of Jeffrey’s abilities, and to think about how they could use it to help people.  They wrote short stories about their imagined adventures.

Yesterday, while I conferenced with each child about his or her story, the other students worked on their iPads to make themselves into bona fide superheroes.  First, they used the free app, “Superhero Yourself” to take their pictures and add masks, capes, and other accessories.  They saved their pictures.  Then they opened the “Comic Book” app (which we had fortunately downloaded during a limited time period that it was free).  They imported their superhero pictures to a one-panel layout, added the comic effect (from the FX in the top right), a title, and word balloons if they wanted.

Each student seemed very proud of his or her results.  The only glitch in this process was that the free “Superhero Yourself” app saved their pictures with ads at the top and bottom.  But those were easy to crop out once they were saved to the camera roll.

Now the kids have some tools for presenting their information when they research the animals of their choice.  And, now that their imagination has been jumpstarted, they can bypass the iPad completely if they want – drawing themselves as amazing superheroes that only they can create.

Careers, Education, K-12, Science, Teaching Tools, Videos, Websites

The Technologista Series

Terri Eichholz

Grace Hopper Quote

One of my passions, lately, has been to find ways to encourage more girls to explore the S.T.E.M. fields.  Toward that end, I recently posted some Engineering Resources for Girls.  I almost included another link in that post, but decided it would fit better into a post on Technology rather than Engineering – though the two fields obviously overlap quite a bit.

The link I wanted to include is from Mental Floss.  It’s called, “Inspiring Quotes from 10 Influential Women in Tech“.  One of the surprises in this list was the quote from Hedy Lamarr, an actress who apparently was also a brilliant inventor.  “Any girl can be glamorous.  All she has to do is stand still and look stupid,” said Ms. Lamarr, co-developer of a technology that was eventually used to guide torpedoes in the U.S. Navy.

What I didn’t notice the first time I read this on-line article was that there was a video at the bottom from IBM’s “Technologista Series”.  When I finally ran across it, I thought it was an ad.  I looked up the YouTube description, and found this, “Women have been part of some of the most important innovations throughout IBM’s history. The Technologista Series celebrates these accomplishments by showcasing 10 technical women at IBM today. Follow the series to gain valuable insights about the unique culture of IBM as well as a chance to see the faces behind the innovations that have changed our world.”

What keeps this set of videos from being an overt IBM ad campaign are the topics and the young girls (3rd, 4th, and 5th graders) who interview the “Technologistas” in each segment.  In addition to the introductory video, there are 14 short (a little over a minute long) videos – ranging from discussions of innovation to cyber security. The women emphasize many important character traits, such as leadership and creativity, and are great role models in the technology industry for young women to hear and view.

Anna Topol is interviewed by Tyler (3rd grade).
Anna Topol, CTO Engery and Utilities,  is interviewed by Tyler (3rd grade) in the “Energetic Aspirations” video of the “Technologista Series“.
Books, Careers, Computer Science, Education, Problem Solving, Science, Teaching Tools

Engineering for Girls Resources

Terri Eichholz

I’ve spent my time on more than a few posts bemoaning the low numbers of females in the math, science, and engineering sectors – including programming.  But I’ve been heartened, recently, by a few things that I’ve seen during my internet browsing.  These are some great products and websites that are designed to encourage girls to shed the only-males-can-think-logically stereotype that has lingered for far too long in our culture.

Rosie Revere

Rosie Revere, Engineer is a delightful children’s book by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts.  Rosie is a young maker in the making.  She tinkers and creates, but gets discouraged by everyone’s attitude toward her inventions.  Great-great Aunt Rose helps little Rosie get back on the path that leads to her dreams.  This book is not just for girls.  It encourages everyone to learn from your mistakes.  Here is a link to a page of curriculum suggestions.

Engineer Girl

Engineer Girl is a website that is graphically appealing without overdoing pink and swirly.  The site features interviews with female engineers, highlights careers in this field, and has a plethora of activities and links that are sure to satisfy the curiosity of any girl with even the slightest interest in S.T.E.M.

goldie blox

Goldie Blox is offering a new product for pre-sale (available in December) called “Goldie Blox and the Parade Float.”  The sequel to “Goldie Blox and the Spinning Machine“, this $19.99 set also includes a storybook with construction pieces and design ideas.  Aimed toward 4-9 year olds, these toys are specifically designed by Stanford grad Debbie Sterling to “disrupt the pink aisle.”

Engineer Your Life

Engineer Your Life is a website designed for high school girls.  Like Engineer Girl, it offers biographies of female engineers and suggestions for how to get involved in a career in engineering.

Roominate

Roominate has been featured on this blog before.  Be sure to check out this great building toy that includes electrical circuits!

Design Squad Nation

The PBS Design Squad Nation website is not aimed at girls, specifically.  But it should engage any young student in the excitement of building and design.  It has great resources for parents and educators, and is currently sponsoring a design challenge that must be submitted by Nov. 6, 2013. 

The more exposure our young people, especially the girls, get to S.T.E.M., the more children will learn about the potential they have for pursuing careers in these fields.  Not all of them will develop a passion for it, but certainly it will be more than the low numbers we currently see.