http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh Middle School Computer Science at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:40:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Dear Sixth Grade Students, Welcome to your computer science rotation! Your homework for TONIGHT is to find this page (congratulations!) and bookmark it. Also make a bookmark to Custom Typing so that you can find it easily for your 30 minutes of typing homework each week. The secret ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/03/31/welcome-new-sixth-grade-rotation/ Dear 6th grade students, Today was your first taste of Scratch, a programming language for kids from MIT that we will be learning and using for the next four weeks in class.  Your homework assignment for tonight is to download Scratch at home (free!) and show a sibling or parent one ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/02/11/6th-grade-welcome-to-scratch/ As seen in the "making of.." featurette (below), my sixth grade students have spent the last two weeks writing, filming and editing original 30-second public service announcements about online safety and ethical issues.  Here are a few of the best examples: Identity Theft identitytheftpsaweb.mov Online Bullying online-bullying-psa.mov The Internet is Public publicinternetpsa.mov Facebook Safety facebooksafetypsa.mov Illegal Downloading illegaldownloadingpsa.mov I hope you ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/02/07/internet-ethics-public-service-announcements/ My sixth grade classes are making short public service announcements about various ethical issues surrounding computer and Internet use. The whole film-making process, from research to storyboarding, rehearsals, filming and editing takes about two weeks to complete.  The kids love using the class Flip cameras and iMovie to bring their ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/01/29/movie-making-fun/ Dear 5th Grade Students-- Does it feel like we've been working on your "All About Me" movies for months? Well, guess what? We have! Since each class only meets once a week for 45 minutes, progress on the movies has been slow but steady. You do know the ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/01/22/5th-graders-state-of-the-imovies-address/ Dear Students, Mr. Franke, Lab's high school computer science teacher, wrote a very interesting article for the school's Web site called "Computer Science: Right-Brained or Left-Brained." A lot of people think computer science is strictly logical and mathematical, but anyone who has ever designed a computer game, made a ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/01/04/computer-science-right-brained-or-left-brained/ Dear 6th Grade Students-- Many of you had questions in class yesterday about exactly what to do for your typing practice homework for my class. Since improving typing speed seems to be a universal class goal, consistent weekly practice is going to be really important for the next eleven ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/01/03/typing-homework-for-new-6th-grade-rotation/ Dear Sixth Grade Students-- Welcome to your Winter Quarter Computer Science rotation with me, Ms. Hansen. What is one thing you hope to learn about computers or computer science this quarter? Respond in the comments. Sincerely, Ms. Hansen PS Remember to sign your comment with JUST your first name (no ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2008/01/02/welcome-new-rotation/ Here are two more examples of the public service announcements my sixth graders made using iMovie and our class Flip video cameras. This movie is about the importance of throwing trash away and not littering (keep your eyes peeled for a brief guest appearance by Ms. Hansen herself, playing "karma"): trashkarma.mov This movie ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2007/12/10/more-public-service-announcements/ My 6th grade students spent the past three weeks in class writing, shooting and editing thirty second public service announcements about issues around our school. I will be uploading a few of the movies over the course of the next week. Here's one about recycling:Here's one about the importance of ... http://blogs.ucls.uchicago.edu/cswmh/2007/12/07/6th-graders-create-public-service-announcements/