#YYCLC Day 147: Lost in Non-Fiction

Today, we captured this grade 4 student searching the non-fiction stacks for books after using the eLibrary to find out what we had at Keeler.

#YYCLC Day 132: Documenting Learning with iPad

The grade 4s from yesterday post are continuing their work on Simple Machines and are now document their learning using our mini light studio and iPad. They will work with the images at a later point. After the students learn a little more about Simple Machines they will use Skitch App to label the different parts of their machine.

#YYCLC Day 131: Exploring with Lego

Grade 4 are using our Lego Simple Machines sets to explore how simple machines work.

#YYCLC Day 109: Lego Mindstorms and Collaboration

Students in grades 4 and 5 work collaboratively to choose a design and begin to build a Lego Mindstorm in the Keeler School Maker Club.

#YYCLC Day 106: Light and Shadow Plays

Our Grade 4 classes have just completed an inquiry into light and shadow. They had to create a shadow play and learn how they cold effective tell a story using light and shadow. Our learning commons gave them a great place to practice and experiment. 

#YYCLC Day 99: STOP Animation

These grade 3/4 students taught themselves to use our stop animation app on the iPad over two recess periods. They have since taught most of their peers how to use it too.

#YYCLC Day 76: Yoga in the Learning Commons

Taking a breather in the Keeler Commons during the business of Winter Concert preparations, the grade 4s came down to practice their yoga.

#YYCLC Day 54: Pulley Maker Station

Grade 4 students trying the Pulley Maker Station out for the first time. Great hands on learning challenge!

Simple Machines & Digital Rube Goldberg Machines

How do we sync edtech and teaching to enhance learning without just "playing" with toys? How do we match the tool to the learning, not the learning to the tool?

Accessing prior knowledge often just needs a nudge to get the ball rolling, and we used "Do Ink" animations to begin the conversation about Simple Machines.

We told the fourth graders that they were learning a new app to add to their backpack of tools for "sharing what they know". After a 2 minute intro to Do Ink on the SMART Board kids grabbed a topic from a hat and set off to work (topics are listed below).

It was hilarious to see what the tech-wizards produced and how quickly they mastered the frame-by-frame animation. When their videos were done students threw their work on the master iPad using "Instashare", pulled another topic and went to work creating more simple machine animations... Students, though, just thought they were learning to animate.

On the master iPad we used iMovie to mix the animations together and publish a single, cohesive (?) movie. Students saw their animations on the big screen by the end of the 40 minute class.

The next steps will be to discuss how their animations are simple machines and to brainstorm background knowledge on the simple machines that are all around us. What are they? How do we use them? Why do we use them? How do they help our daily lives?

Students will be challenged to create a physical and digital (Do Ink Animation) Rube Goldberg Machine, inclusive of as many simple machines as possible... I can't wait to share those when we get there!

  Animation Sheet