Valentines Day

John and Melanie's Engagement Party

Scratch Project

You can view my Scratch Project on translating and solving basic one step equations here: 

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/ct210aoddo/2686530

You can see how storytelling was used for students to understand what equations represent in our real world. The use of characters, sound, and movement provide a stimulating medium to hold students' attention throughout the interactive Scratch project. I welcome comments on how to improve this project.

Screencast

Here is the screencast I created for Scratch. Most of what I learned how to do on Scratch came very natural to me, as the program is extremely user friendly. For the screencast, I wanted to highlight a process that didn't come as natural: creating dialogue between two sprites. Even though I watched other tutorials on this process, I don't feel they really demonstrated the importance of timing everything just right. I hope my screencast demonstrates this in an easy to understand fashion.

link: http://youtu.be/x9tjVLg8xo4 

Glogging with Scratch

What fun I had creating my Scratch glog on Glogster! This graphical poster creating website allowed me to create an interactive multimedia image to convey information on Scratch in a way I never thought possible. By integrating videos, images, and sounds in a scrapbook like page format, I was able to make an informative online poster that is truly interactive.

After creating the Scratch glog and truly experiencing the Glogster options, I like to think of a glog as a digital version of creating an educational poster on oaktag, as I did when I was in primary and secondary school. This updated "digital oaktag" allowed me to be much more creative, as Glogster offered a variety of layouts, graphics, and add-ins without being limiting. I could arrange the objects exactly where I wanted them, choose colors and textures to suit my fancy, and I could include images and videos outside of Glogster, truly letting my expression flow. I also never imagined being able to put a video on an oaktag poster. Glogs allow you to open up your imagination and convey information in a creative, meaningful way aligned with 21st century learning goals.

Now that I have created a glog as a student, I am anxious to use it as a teacher. I could definitely see my students using Glogster to create interactive graphical posters illustrating what they have learned on a topic. It could be easily used as a culminating activity for a project, or as a work-in-progress diary log. I know that with a little creativity, Glogster will open up a whole new world of learning for my students and me.

You can view my Scratch glog here:
http://www.glogster.com/ct210aoddo/ct210aoddo/g-6ldbro32q0v9l0p4gt0ila0

Here is a screen shot of me choosing between the different video players offered on Glogster:

Learning how to Scratch!

It has been really entertaining to learn how to program on Scratch. The fun parts come when you can get the Sprites to do exactly what you want. When those brief moments of frustration arise, however, there is a plethora of support. I've been using YouTube tutorials (most of them made by children!) to learn the basics and more advanced elements of Scratch. The fact that children are explaining the program to me over the internet is a testimony to the fact that this program is in fact user-friendly and moreover, student friendly! I am anxious to get this program into the hands of my Middle Schoolers.

So far, I've learned how to make Sprites talk back and forth to each other, how to make backgrounds switch, how to get Sprites to move, and how to use costumes. Aside from getting comfortable with the technical programming capabilities of Scratch, I'm starting to really understand the overarching theme of the program: how to use storytelling to teach. As a math teacher, we typically get absorbed in the problem itself, often ignoring the context wherein the problem lies. Using a story helps students to reach more conceptual understanding over the rote memorization of the rules. Scratch allows you to use storytelling to reach students. 

Here is a sneak peek of the script I am creating on basic equations: 

Which to pick?

For CT 210A, I decided on Scratch. It seemed like it had a lot to offer, and most importantly, it worked on my dinosaur computer! I was also drawn to the support that it offered. The tutorials and videos spoke to me for some reason. Many teachers in the math community often talk about Scratch, another reason why I chose it. I am going to have a lot of fun discovering what Scratch can do!