TTL

Today i visited the TTL again. I played around with kidspiration, it was ok. It would be good for creating graphs. I spent most of my time trying to figure out how scratch works. I've been downloading a lot of other projects to try and understand how certain buttons work and how to do things. I've progressed a little further in my animation. I've learned how to have multiple scripts playing simultatiously. I think you'll like it once it's done. When i finish it, i will upload it to scratch so every can see. I did not do the entire thing by itself. i downloaded a template and added to it to help create the right mood for the animation.

TTL, what I learned

I visited the TTL today. I learned that not many people know how to use scratch. lol But I did learn how to take snapshots of websites. Doug showed me how to use the snipping tool found in vista. I was amazed at how simple it was. I can now take a snapshot of a website and put it into documents or presentations, or even blogs...





Pretty cool huh? I also learned how to creat buttons in PowerPoint. And how to find Jepordy templates. As wel as some other games like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Today I went to the TTL to learn about different animation programs that kids can use. I started with the program Scratch. I learned how to use it on my own with the help on an online tutorial. I learned how to animate my little critter, how to add voice bubbles, how to change "costumes" of the character and how to add sound. The program was a little more complicated than i had originally thought. To get the creature to cross the screen took me a while to figure out. The button i used to get the creature to move was labeled, "walk 10 steps" you were able to change the number, however, this did not move him 10 paces across the screen. He merely moved once. So i then figured out that i had to continuously repeat the command with a "wait 1 second" command in between each walk command. So you can imagine that there are a lot of walk and wait commands.
I also had a difficult time adding sound. I found the piece i wanted use, but it was not long enough, nor did i know how to extend it.
I plan to return to the TTL to play with the program some more. I can see that this might take a while to teach to kids, but i think it will be worth while in the end. it will give them the ability to express what they have learned in a fun way.
This program is also a good way to teach about programing and math. for some parts, I haven't figured out how to use, there are math equations used to tell how long to do a command.
As i said before, I am eager to go back and learn more.

Content Exploration-Elementary Science

I reviewed brainpop.com. (I am not copuing the example, I was going to use brainpop before i say the example.) Anyway, this website offers information on different subjects. Since i have a concentration in science, I decided to check out the science option.

This website provides information on many different science topics, like the Diversity of Life link. This website is really a reference and tutorial site because it provides informationa and then quizzes you on the information.

As an elemntary science student, I would have kids explore this link before teaching them about the desired topic. this way, they would begin the lesson with an idea of what we will bw learning, and hopefully questions they will have. So I am bascally using this tool as an attention getter/ starter for new topics in science.