Category Archives: Uncategorized

EY Update Feb

February 22, 2014Henningsen Blog, UncategorizedJenny Henningsen

******Science and Math Opportunities*******

Opportunity # 1

EVENT: EY Science Olympiad at CCC

Date: 4/25/14

Fee: To attend students must complete the assignment

“Fields of Science” found @

https://ey.westside66.org/tag/innovationq3/

Due date: March 3rd, 2014

I plan on going over the “Field of Science” assignment with the kids this upcoming week. Attending the Science Olympiad is not mandatory, but if your child wants to attend on the 25th of March, the assignment above is the “ticket in the door”.

Opportunity # 2

Young Scientist Challenge

Who knows…we may have a young scientist out there ready to change the world! Check this out if your child has an interest in this area.

It looks like the contest is due April 22 and there are several resources on the site including previous winners, insider tips, science lesson plans, and experiments.

http://www.youngscientistchallenge.com/?utm_source=DE1MM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CallforEntries2014 ]http://www.youngscientistchallenge.com/?utm_source=DE1MM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CallforEntries2014

Opportunity # 3

PhET

PhET is a site filled with free online physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and math simulations. Find a simulation or two or three or four by clicking on the link below. When you leave a comment, list the name of the simulation(s) you explored and then share something new you learned. Playing the simulation might also prompt you to do a little more research on the topic. List that information as well!

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new

Click on a simulation and then click Run Now! Have fun exploring!

EY Math Opportunity

We took the 4th Math Olympiad this week. We will work through strategies to solve the contest problems next week, and I will offer follow up problems that will allow the children to practice!

Sample problem from the contest:

Fields of Science

February 18, 2014UncategorizedInnovationQ3lspady

For this week’s learning opportunity, check out the fields of science website below and explore the various fields of science. Pick one that you’ve never heard of before and do a little research. When you’re finished, go to the form and fill in the required information.

Fields of Science: http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/science-definition.html

Click here to fill out the form!

PhET

February 12, 2014UncategorizedInnovationQ3lspady

NOTE: When leaving comments, only put your first name and do not leave your email.

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new

Click on a simulation and then click Run Now! Have fun exploring!

Inventions Invented!

February 11, 2014Nordquist Blog, UncategorizedJenny Henningsen

We have been turning out some amazing inventions over the past couple weeks. From Natural Powered Robo Hands to zip line drink carriers, we have broken into new frontiers in the world of invention! One of our focused invention builds was based on “junk” items found around the house. The students were asked to use at least 10 items and create a unique invention from those items. It is amazing to see what can be produced from the simplest of objects!

View “junk” invention in action: IMG_2933

The students jumped into the role of structural engineers in order to design and build the strongest bridge possible from 25 straws, tape, and paper clips. We focused on the engineering design process (an 8 step process) to find a solution to the challenge. Their design creations were all so unique and all withstood the test of weights ranging from washers to dictionaries! Here are a few examples…

SNOW DAY Bonus Learning Opportunity

February 5, 2014UncategorizedInnovationQ3lspady

Rube Goldberg adjective: doing something simple in a very complicated way that is not necessary

Have you ever heard of Rube Goldberg? This video will give you some basics and will also provide you with some examples. http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/rube-goldberg-the-father-of-inventions/

This Sesame Street video shows a Rube Goldberg machine shooting a basketball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mTjSYzK01c

Here’s a very elaborate Rube Goldberg machine: http://www.wimp.com/gomachine/

What information can you find out about Rube Goldberg? Learn something new, share your ideas, and don’t forget to cite your sources!

Innovative Thinking and Inventions

February 4, 2014UncategorizedInnovationQ3lspady

How old do you think you need to be in order to become a CEO? What about a writer or illustrator? How much schooling do you need to be a fashion designer? What about an entrepreneur? One might think it would take 2-4 years of college and several years of experience, but at the ripe old age of 8, Maya Penn started doing all of these things!

In her TED Talk, Maya talks about her passions and interests and why she does what she does. Check out her website (which she coded herself in html) Maya’s Ideas and watch her TED Talk here: http://www.ted.com/talks/maya_penn_meet_a_young_entrepreneur_cartoonist_designer_activist.html

I watched a webinar today and learned the meaning of “flow”. Psychology professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi coined the term and simply put, flow is a feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity. You could say Maya Penn experiences ‘flow’ as she designs clothes and creates animations.

What about you? What do you like to do that creates ‘flow’ in your life? What are your passions and interests? Are you working on an invention or new idea? Do you like to write? Are you composing your own music?

Young people are capable of doing amazing things! Leave a comment and answer one or more of the above bolded questions. You can also research a young inventor by using one of the links below. Feel free to research other inventors and use other sources-just make sure to cite your source! As an added bonus, I stumbled upon a rubber band contest. Check it out and start inventing!

iKids: http://www.inventivekids.com/category/young-inventors-2/

Children of Invention: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768091.html

Rubber Band Contest: http://rubberbandcontest.org/

Wonders of Water

January 28, 2014Spady Blog, Uncategorizedlspady

I attended a professional development workshop over 10 years ago and this apple demonstration has always stuck with me. The presenter used an apple to represent the earth and then cut one-quarter out. She explained three-quarters (75%) of our earth is water. This of course means one-quarter is land. She went on to cut that quarter slice of apple in half explaining that half of the land on earth is inhabitable. What types of places and location on earth are inhabitable? One final step was to take that 1/2 of 1/4 (What fraction is that?) and peel off the skin. The skin represented the land that was used for farming leaving the rest to represent where all the world’s people live.

This apple demonstration could be used with any grade level to discuss/research a variety of topics. The 1st graders and I used it as a way to talk about water. I made them a water droplet notebook where they took notes on lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans. We talked about the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi and Missouri River, and even learned how to spell Lake Kabetogama. Have you been to a lake/river/ocean lately? Leave us a comment. We’d love to hear about it!

Before our time was over, we talked about the freezing and boiling point of water. We looked at Omaha’s temperatures for the week and talked about whether water would freeze based on the temperatures listed. We filled 4 balloons with water and even added a little food coloring. The students made a hypothesis on what would happen to the water balloons if we placed them outside. What do you think will happen? The balloons are currently outside in a secret hiding place. Check back in a couple days to see what we discovered!

Snowflake Safari

January 28, 2014UncategorizedInnovationQ3lspady

Although we haven’t seen too many snowflakes this winter, I think you’ll find this week’s learning opportunity fascinating!

image from pdclipart.org

Science Friday (www.sciencefriday.com) is a great resource to bookmark and check out on a regular basis! You’ll find articles, videos, audio files and more related to anything and everything science!

For this week’s learning opportunity, watch Snowflake Safari on the Science Friday website. When you’re finished, post a comment about something new you learned. Extend your learning by doing a little more research on that topic.

Snowflake Safari Link: http://sciencefriday.com/video/12/31/2009/snowflake-safari.html

Wall-Scaling Gecko Robot

January 21, 2014UncategorizedInnovationQ3lspady

What has 6 legs, can scale walls and withstand space temperatures and vacuum conditions? Abigaille, the wall-scaling gecko robot that’s who!

For this week’s learning opportunity, check out the Wired article about Abigaille and then answer a few questions.

Link to Article: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-01/06/gecko-robots-sticky

Link to Questions: https://docs.google.com/a/westside66.net/forms/d/1OrDGwe62JHfBVtrJnec4O7RwyOn97tnjZQRL7Q7EnZ0/viewform

Programming in the Primary Grades

January 13, 2014Spady Blog, Uncategorizedlspady

This weekend I went to Kansas City with my 10 and 6-year-old to attend a Coder Dojo. It was really neat to see kids of all ages actively engaged in programming! Needless to say, I’ve been on a programming kick all day!

First graders started out using Daisy the Dinosaur on the iPad and learned how to use simple commands like move, jump, and spin to make Daisy the Dino complete various challenges. This app is free in the iTunes store and can be downloaded here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daisy-the-dinosaur/id490514278?mt=8

Hopscotch is another free app. You can download it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hopscotch-coding-for-kids/id617098629?mt=8 Here’s a quick video clip: 1stGradeProgramming

The 4th and 6th grade students learned some basic if/then programming using spreadsheets. See if you can understand what this means:

=IF(B2=72,”Awesome”,”Try Again”)Translation: If what you type in cell B2 is 78, then print “Awesome!” Otherwise, print “Try Again.” The students had fun making up problems and then testing their programming skills using a spreadsheet.

Next, a 5th grader led a group of students in programming polygons using Java Script. He used Khan Academy and did a nice job explaining each step and having the students write notes in their notebook. These students will take turns teaching each other throughout the coming weeks.

In the Did You Know 3.0 video, it talks about preparing students for a future filled with jobs that do not currently exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet. In his TEDx Talk, Mitch Resnick talks about young people today having lots of experience and lots of familiarity with interacting with new technologies, but a lot less so of creating new technologies and expressing themselves with new technologies. I believe teaching kids to code is just one way to provide students with authentic and engaging problems while teaching them to communicate, problem solve, and persevere.

What are your thoughts about teaching kids to code? Leave us a comment!

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