Scratch Tuesday: Brainstorms

January's Scratch Tuesdays were spent refamiliarizing ourselves with the basics of socializing, researching, and debugging on Scratch.  Today, we discussed the "Theatre Metaphor," the central idea around which Scratch is designed:

In Scratch, actors called "sprites" wear costumes

and perform their scripts on the stage.  Source

We then brainstormed ideas together for what we could put on a stage, with a mind to our upcoming Family Night in April.  Here are some of the results!  (More below the cut!)

One student designed an animated Valentine's Day card, and saw it through to completion

right there in the workshop.  Here is his project (make sure your sound is on):

Click the green flag to begin!

K/1 Monday: Scratch, Jr.

After working on code.org for the month of January, our K/1 students tackled Scratch, Jr. today (click those links to find out more).  Special thanks to the International Preparatory Academy for letting us use their iPads for the workshop!  Here are some photos from today's Tech Time:

One student shows her mom what she's been learning.

More below the cut!

Girls Lead Photography Show and Tell - 1/15

After learning a quick overview of photography basics - focal points, scanning the background, and the rule of thirds - we went out into the world to be photographers for an afternoon. Here were each groups' favorite photos from the day.

Our Photo Album

Week of January 12th

Next Week

• Monday, January 19th: NO SCHOOL in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Tuesday, January 20th: Scratch Passion Projects
• Thursday, January 22nd: Scratch Day @ Girls Lead
• Friday, January 23rd: Take Apart Laptops

New at Tech Time

• Open Lab Time, 4:15-4:30 - We will be ending with open lab where you can do absolutely anything you choose to explore. This is a great time to explore games you are considering remixing, look around a studio that interests you, or draw a sketch of an idea.
• Monday K/1 Day - Let us know if you want to be a helper on K/1 Mondays. We are looking for mature 3rd, 4th and 5th graders to assist Kindergarten and first grade students.
• Raspberry Pi Club, Every Thursday - Explore the world of computer programming using mini computers called Raspberry Pis. RPi Club will work with computer scientist, Adriana O’Brien to learn about morse code, stop motion videos, and other things you can do with these tools. Learn more by watching this video:

Setting up your Raspberry Pi from Raspberry Pi Foundation on Vimeo.

December 11th Photo Blogging by Tech Time Kids

Girls Lead Thursday included photo blogging, crocheting, and drawing. Take a look at these pictures and see what kids had to say!

Rylan

my favorite color is blue I love dogs i hate clowns

Charlotte

I made it by heart.


Cassie

 

I really like old school. my fav. color is this.

Kate and Mr. Bheki are crocheting.

They are using a blackish and grayish color.

Mr.Travis doing a good job at crocheting.

Alex and Kayla are making friendship bracelets.

Week of December 6th

Week of December 6th

Last Week of Tech Time Before Break!

Don't Forget: Field Trip

We will have a huge group of students heading over to Siebel Center of Computer Science this Friday. Make sure you are signed up, we'll have a blast!

Survey Continues

https://docs.google.com/a/u4sd.org/forms/d/1gT1QwhxCGkMtd179xuEK5_XxfdVO8C18AG05CiGUOx8/viewform?usp=send_form

Pictures from the Craft Tech Fair

Thanks to all of our student volunteers, community volunteers, and guests! The Craft Tech Fair was an enormous success. Click on this picture to see more . . .

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129241041@N08/sets/72157647354273604/

Week of Dec. 2nd: Broadcasting, Embroidery and Paper Crafts

Help Make Tech Time Better: Share Your Thoughts!

https://docs.google.com/a/u4sd.org/forms/d/1gT1QwhxCGkMtd179xuEK5_XxfdVO8C18AG05CiGUOx8/viewform?usp=send_form

This Saturday! Craft Tech Fair Will Have Tons of Things to Do!

Community Stations:

• FabLab - Sticker Printing
• Wolfram - Raspberry Pi Mini-Computer Demo
• InfoCity - Champaign Urbana Wiki

Kenwood Tech Stations:

• Makey-Makey Music - Mr. Lash
• Computer Hardware - Martin Wolske, UIUC Library Science Tech Time Grant Coordinator
• Scratch/Code.org Demo Station - Student Volunteers with Travis Faust (Tech Time Coordinator)
• Minecraft Lounge - Bring Your Own Device (iPad, laptop, whatever you have!)

PTA Craft Stations:

• Foam bracelets
• Holiday bookmarks
• Kaleidoscopes 
• Scratch board ornaments
• Holiday photo frames
• Snowman puppets
• Bags for decorating to take your items home​

Don’t forget to share your projects on the Kenwood Tech Time Studio so you can show them off at the Craft Tech Fair. If you would like to volunteer to show Scratch and Code.org to other families and kids, sign up with Travis. 

Next Week

Tuesday, December 9^th: Original Scratch – Make a project that is all your own!

Thursday, December 11^th: Friendship Bracelets – Join us for a day of making and photographing our own friendship bracelets. Bring your own designs and learn some new ones! (Why friendship bracelets? Tech Time is committed to the simple concept that any tool we use can be a kind of technology,  so thread counts! How will you innovate with thread?)

Friday, December 12^th: Field Trip – Join us for a trip to Siebel Center for Computer Science. All students, including Kids Plus students, must sign a permission slip in order to attend.