Nursery
Discovering the Overhead projector
Children in N1 enjoyed exploring and discovering the old style overhead projector. None of the students knew what it was, so we decided to ask the students two questions when they were introduced to this new, old technology: What is this? What does it do?
Juan Arturo: Es luz
Eduardo C.: Quema
Eduardo S: avienta aire
Juan Arturo: La luz se mueve de ahi.
Larissa: Se llama maquina voladora
Jinka: Es una maquina mágica.
The children used wooden lines and curves and their own hands to make shapes, forms, and letters.
Children in N1 enjoyed exploring and discovering the old style overhead projector. None of the students knew what it was, so we decided to ask the students two questions when they were introduced to this new, old technology: What is this? What does it do?
Juan Arturo: Es luz
Eduardo C.: Quema
Eduardo S: avienta aire
Juan Arturo: La luz se mueve de ahi.
Larissa: Se llama maquina voladora
Jinka: Es una maquina mágica.
The children used wooden lines and curves and their own hands to make shapes, forms, and letters.
Each student was first shown a plastic shape (circle, square, triangle) and asked to bring a toy from the classroom that had that shape on it. Then the student used the iPad camera to take a photograph of the toy and used the drawing tool in the “Doodle Buddy” app to outline the chosen shape on the iPad’s screen display of the photograph.
This use of the iPad allowed for mobility, provided immediate feedback to the children when the photograph was taken, and was tactile for the students as they drew over the shape in the photograph.
This use of the iPad allowed for mobility, provided immediate feedback to the children when the photograph was taken, and was tactile for the students as they drew over the shape in the photograph.
Nursery 4's teacher, Miss Caro, is currently on maternity leave. This was no excuse for the children not to see her, and we did not have to physically move to do so! Thanks to SKYPE, we could connect and use our LCD screen so the whole group could interact with Miss Caro. She spoke to us, showed us the baby´s room and then read a story to the group. It was a beautiful and “magical” experience for the children.
Pre-kinder
PK 7 students found a dead bee during recess. They were interested in learning how bees eat, live and especially how they make honey. This is a video we found online. Children were able to observe how bees work in a beehive.
Multiage
PK-K 3 children are turning to the digital camera as a resource for documentation. Often the children ask to revisit their construction after the images have been downloaded onto the computer. There is now a book of their creations readily available for the purpose of revisiting. What reflection is taking place in the child’s mind? Are they building on their past experiences because of this technological resource? These are but a few teacher questions that arise because of the digital camera.
In PK/K8 we studied about art. The children explored art media, techniques, and artists through a variety of books. They later visited different art museums online. They were able to watch different ballet performances on YouTube, as a different art expression as we studied about Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker. Alice had a camera of her own, with which she videotaped the ballet dancing. We Skyped with Charlotte to wish her happy holidays. She recently moved back to Italy to live and we all miss her.
The children in PK/K9 used the digital camera to document their sorting activities. They first sorted and organized different materials. Then they used the classroom digital camera to record their work for their portfolios. Some students who are more comfortable using the camera helped their friends focus and center the picture correctly before taking a picture of their work. They had fun doing this math activity and integrating our technology tools to keep a record of their accomplishments.
Kinder
Children in K6 made stories as presents for their families for the holidays. We took pictures of every page of their books to turn them into electronic books and that way share them with the rest of the class and their parents. This is a work in progress, we are still thinking of how to publish these books electronically. Children also want to turn their books into a play!
Kinder 10 students continue learning about coding. In the last coding class, Miss Cristi taught the steps to follow so a robot could follow an instruction. Students remembered how to make the Bee-Bots turn and how to send it forward. Cristi worked with groups of four at the carpet. Each child had his/her own Bee-Bot. The teacher placed cards of the letters randomly around the carpet. One by one, each student was told to send the Bee-Bot to a letter. Students had to calculate the turns and number of steps in order to program this robot and make it reach the assigned letter. Students demonstrated having mastered the skills to complete the task.
Students worked at the table with an iPad. We added three new coding apps: Kodable, The Foos and Bee-Bot. For this class, students practiced coding concepts by working on the app Kodable. This app helps students practice programming concepts and problem solving. Students advanced quickly reaching high levels of difficulty by choosing the correct command to lead their fuzzes through the lines.
Students worked at the table with an iPad. We added three new coding apps: Kodable, The Foos and Bee-Bot. For this class, students practiced coding concepts by working on the app Kodable. This app helps students practice programming concepts and problem solving. Students advanced quickly reaching high levels of difficulty by choosing the correct command to lead their fuzzes through the lines.
Spanish
Kinder students in Spanish class are:
- Using the computer to visit the website Cuentos Interactivos to reinforce the concepts “fiction” and “non-fiction books”.
- Visiting YouTube to enjoy short films based on books and reflect on “fiction” and “non-fiction” stories.
- Learning to convert their own hardcopy books that they have authored into electronic books.