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My Riverside Rapid Digital Portfolio

Browsing category archives: Tech Team

Semester Reflection

What are some things you have learned and/or tasks you have accomplished this semester? (Use videos, pictures, upload materials etc. as evidence of learning in your blog)

I learned a lot about teaching others how to use certain programs, which actually ended up enhancing my own capabilities. Specifically at boot camp, I helped with a lot of trouble shooting, and I was surprised to see how much I knew surrounding the programs that we have been working with since grade 9: edublog, office 365 and Myed BC.

I learned a lot about MicroBit during the first semester, and the different tasks. Block coding was a very simple skill which made it fun and definitely inspired a few ideas that could maybe be set into place about engaging other students with coding.

I also learned who to use the DiviBuilder plugin, and was able to finally put together a presentable about me page.

I brainstormed with the wall of excellence, and we spoke a lot about how we want our survey to look and the questions that we include for the nominations of wards recipients.

What aspects of your work are successful? Explain why.

I feel like my post successful project was my about me page, I was very proud of the outcome, and felt very confident using the plugin afterwards. Although, it definitely took some time to get used to using the new plugin, once I was comfortable with it, I felt like it enhanced the way my page look and allowed me to make it super unique – which is how our creative work should be. I feel like it confirms the idea that moving to a tech based environment should not inhibit our creativity but make it almost easier to get the results that we want.

What aspects of your work is challenging? Explain why. What steps did you take to overcome these challenges / what adjustments did you need to make?

Loading the code onto the MicroBit was a new challenge for me, I had never experienced coding before and although block coding is VERY simple I had a trouble getting the code to transfer from my computer. I read through the website, and learned how to get it working on my computer. Working with a partner really helped! Now I am in Robotics and have learned how to code on Arduino, so being in Tech Team has definitely helped with my success in robotics.

Is there anything you can do improve? (with your approach to the project, or altering the project)

I would like to get even more involved, especially with the wall of excellency, I feel like although I have given my input on certain decisions I have not had as many opportunities to contribute as I would have liked, I hope that in the second semester I will have the chance to execute more projects.

As Riverside continues to immerse itself into innovation and technology, what do you think Riverside can do to provide support and help for teachers and students? (Provide specific examples)

  • Having more classes work in the maker space will enhance the usage of the technology that our school has to offer and as a consequence the quality of innovation will increased. I feel like if more people have access to the various tools then more efficient and effective ideas will be generated.
  • Even though are school has been engaged in digital immersion for a number of years now, I still feel that their is a lack of innovation used. In certain classes it feels like an extra chore to add in the digital aspect beyond writing on word or presenting on powerpoint. I mentioned some ideas of incorporating the MicroBit assignment:Math: In math 10 we did a number of engaging activities to understand the concepts in a more visual way. For example, with the surface area of a circle we took apart oranges and measured how many flat circles the surface area filled up to derive the formula. I think this same idea could be applied using the micro:bit. The rock paper scissors game is programmed so that when you shake the micro:bit it produces a random shape: rock, paper or scissors. What if instead of drawing the rock, paper or scissors we, for example, were to draw the different types of polynomial functions. Then we would shake the micro:bit and it would produce a random  graph and we have to name the amount of zeroes its function would have. This is a very specific example but it could be used to introduce concepts in classes, that are more visual. This way students would learn to code and they would easily pick up the math concepts as well. I’m sure this same idea could even be applied to physics or biology.French: On trivia day in French there is always some sort of challenge that is unrelated to the trivia questions, here is an example of a way that our vocabulary could be expanded by creating a speed challenge with the micro:bit. The groups would have to figure out the coding while speaking entirely in french. The micro:bit website is available in french so this could work in all French classes, but there is not one for Spanish or Italian yet!Leadership: Like I mentioned above, introducing our buddies in leadership to coding would be a great way to bond with them as a lot of them enjoy playing games on their phones they would pick up the coding very quickly and this could be a great activity.

    I think it would really contribute to the ‘digital immersion’ aspect of our school, if more classes found new and innovative ways to incorporate technology.

Do you have any feedback or suggestions, as we move forward, that could help the Tech Team meet the needs of our school and staff / be more effective? (Provide specific examples)

  • Having Tech Students run lunch time maker space tutorials for students and staff who are interested.
  • Introducing programs like Divi and MicroBit to a larger group of students so that more students become well versed in technology.
  • Another idea could be adding a few more how-to’s to the youtube, with more optional project ideas.
  • Encouraging classes to add the more creative aspect of technology to their lessons and projects.

 

Tech Team Micro:Bits

Tech Team Micro:Bits

1. What is the name of the device you have chosen?

We used a regular micro:bit, but worked on coding different games on the micro:bit.

2. What is it used for? Can it be used for other things in a classroom setting?

I believe that a lot of the coding games could be a fun engaging way to teach buddies in leadership some beginner coding skills while having fun. This would be a neat way to incorporate tech into courses that rarely get to use the innovative additions at Riverside.

3. What code did you use and what does it do? 

 

I worked on coding the game snap the dot, which is a skill game testing to see how accurate you can press the button before the dot reaches the centre of the screen. I also worked on the rock paper scissors game with Cristina.

4. Can you think of any other meaningful ways micro:bits can be used in previous and/or current classes you have taken? Please think about this and explain how and where you think micro:bits can be used.

Math: In math 10 we did a number of engaging activities to understand the concepts in a more visual way. For example, with the surface area of a circle we took apart oranges and measured how many flat circles the surface area filled up to derive the formula. I think this same idea could be applied using the micro:bit. The rock paper scissors game is programmed so that when you shake the micro:bit it produces a random shape: rock, paper or scissors. What if instead of drawing the rock, paper or scissors we, for example, were to draw the different types of polynomial functions. Then we would shake the micro:bit and it would produce a random  graph and we have to name the amount of zeroes its function would have. This is a very specific example but it could be used to introduce concepts in classes, that are more visual. This way students would learn to code and they would easily pick up the math concepts as well. I’m sure this same idea could even be applied to physics or biology.

French: On trivia day in French there is always some sort of challenge that is unrelated to the trivia questions, here is an example of a way that our vocabulary could be expanded by creating a speed challenge with the micro:bit. The groups would have to figure out the coding while speaking entirely in french. The micro:bit website is available in french so this could work in all French classes, but there is not one for Spanish or Italian yet!

Leadership: Like I mentioned above, introducing our buddies in leadership to coding would be a great way to bond with them as a lot of them enjoy playing games on their phones they would pick up the coding very quickly and this could be a great activity.

Overall, during the past four years at Riverside I have done quite a few inquiry products all that could have been improved with the addition of a micro:bit in some shape or form, so I believe allowing students to learn the tutorials and then try to incorporate it in projects that already exist would be the best way to integrate it into our learning. I think simple additions will allow for the students to grasp the coding and then be able to create new projects once they learn the basics.

Tech Team Project

Project: Wall of Excellence

Impact:

How might this idea positively impact the social and emotional well being of students/our school? What can be done to increase the impact of this idea?

The Wall of Excellence will have a positive impact on the well-being of the students and school community, as it will recognize individuals who are not always recognized for their positive achievements and contributions. It will not only bring attention to those who have been up to great things, but will also inspire others to begin to make a difference. To increase the impact, we will have to promote this idea to the entire school through social media and announcements so that it is successful in recognizing others, and has the capacity to recognize as many people as possible.

Desirability:

What could you change to make this idea more desirable to students, teachers, administrators, parents or the community?

Since this is such a positive idea, I believe that is already desirable to most of the school community. However, I believe that we will need to enforce how it works as well as the promotional aspect so that everyone is aware of the project. It should be very accessible to everyone wishing to submit nominations so that it is user-friendly, this will make people want to contribute.

Integratability:

What would you change to make this idea easier to integrate into a school setting? How can we keep it from being seen as an “add-on”?

The wall of excellence will be promoted on social media and through announcements. It will be integrated into the athletic banquet as well so that it makes a more seamless debut into our school community. I also think we should integrate it into academic awards, spirit assemblies and the annual move for mana assembly, so that it is consistently advertised and pertinent to all school activities and not only athletics.

Feasability/Viability:

What would you change to make this idea more feasible or viable? Think: e.g lower the cost, make it more sustainable, make it easier to implement etc.

We can host fundraisers, and seek sponsorships from the community. Once we have the TV’s I don’t believe that we will require any more funding. But until then we will need to raise the funds.

a) Briefly describe your new and improved idea, by incorporating ideas and/or feedback.

My idea is to not only integrate into the athletic banquet but to reach out to the academic banquet and even assemblies. We could recognize people at the spirit assemblies, move for mana assemblies, terry fox assemblies, ect so that not only are we recognizing a wider group of people but we are also promoting the wall to the entire school consistently. This way, people will become more familiar with the wall much quicker.

b) Answer the following questions:

– What problems might we run into?

We will most likely need to fundraise quite a bit to be able to afford. We will also need to meet often and complete tasks before the implemented deadlines so that we can finish by June as I know that many of the members are graduating, and would like to see the project through.

– What skills do we need to complete this project? How can we attain these skills?

Collaboration is important, as I know that there are quite a few new members (myself included) who will need to brought up to speed on deadlines and goals. I also think organization is important to ensure that we meet our deadlines and are able to see in through.

c) Create a brief timeline of key things that need to happen to ensure successful completion of your project. What happens next?

The goal is to have this finished by June. I will have more of an idea of the timeline once I have my first official meeting with the already existing team!

 

 

Divi Review Assignment

What are the strengths? Things you found useful.

Personally, I found the divi-plugin very useful and user-friendly. You can easily divide content into columns and then from there it is very accessible to add in all types of modules. I like how all of the modules are in one place so you don’t have to remember where you found each component and you can just click add-module any time you want to add media, or content to your post. I found it a lot easier to organize the set-up of my post, and despite usually struggling to make my content align – the divi builder set it up nicely for me. There is even a module that divides your sections so it has a more organized appearance. I had fun playing around with all the different, modules and was able to get super creative. I really like how you can add in a call-to action button and countdown, and I liked how easy it was to change the fonts.

What are the  weaknesses? Things you found could be improved.

I wish that when I was editing, I could see the content instead of just “text” or “blurb”, without having to click on it. Because, it can get confusing when you are organizing the order of your contents and you have multiple “text” boxes.  You could only do this when enabling visual builder, which didn’t provide any type of support. I also don’t think there was a way to save colours when you were changing the font colour or background colour and I think it would be useful to have some spaces to save your most used colours so you don’t have to keep re-entering the hexadecimal code.

How can this plugin be used in a classroom setting to enhance student learning? Would you use it and/or recommend it?

I would recommend it, if it was something that required the addition of media. I think it could enhance learning as students could easily lay out their posts in order to demonstrate comparisons or side-by-side findings. For example in science courses when they are publishing a lab, and want to compare different results they could easily chose the 1/2 and 1/2 setting if they ran more then 1 trial. Or, if they were comparing two candidates for Prime Minister they could place theirs biographies side by side in a very  effective way. Overall, the most beneficial aspect for learning is the way that the pulgin can be used to organize a post, whether it be a divider in between new ideas or the layout. I also think it lets students express their creativity in a more easy to use way. They won’t need to put in as much effort to make posts look presentable and visually appealing.

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