Unfortunately, this was one of the most confusing chapters to me so far. I think because it is all programs that I am not familiar with at all except for Scratch. Computer Programming seems to me like kind of a hard concept to incorporate into the elementary classroom.
Scratch seems like the easiest and most elementary-friendly program to use. I would use this in my classroom for activities such as the one we are creating in class right now. I would also use it for students to create their own programs. Computer programming requires logical thinking, trial and error experiments, and a lot of patience. It would be a great tool for students to use, to promote more logical thinking, although I could foresee them getting frustrated with it because although it seems simple, it can be very confusing and sometimes just doesn't make sense! I know I got frustrated when working with this!
I'm not really sure how drawing design programs could be used in an elementary classroom. I can see it being used in an upper middle/high school class on design or architecture or something like that, but I don't think I would use this in my classroom because I'm not sure how it can be applied. I tried searching on the internet for any ideas on how this could be used, but did not find anything of use. I looked at the program SketchUp and was very impressed by it. I thought it was a neat program for students interested in architecture or constuction, but still don't think I would use it.
I liked the project that was done in the book at a middle school sing Trebuchet Simulator to design a catapult, but again this was done in a middle school and I don't see how this could be used in an elementary classroom. I think some students would enjoy creating and building things using but others would find it boring and not applciable. I think if I were asked to construct something like that in school, I would find it annoying because I wouldn't really ever use that skill.
I think there is potential for using iStopMotion in an elementary classroom. I would like to incorporate it into my classroom some how. I think students would find it fun because it's probably something different than what they've done before. On the website for educators, one of the ideas was making an animation of a plant's growth. I really liked this idea because they are creating a model of what they know, which is upper level blooms thinking.
I think the music programs are pretty fun. I love music, so it is something that interests me more than the building programs do. But I am still not sure how I would/could incorporate it into an elementary classroom.
Overall, I think the main programs I would actually use in my classroom potentially are Scratch and iStopMotion. Has anybody thought of any ways to use any of the others in an elementary classroom? I am looking forward to learning more about how these are used.
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I agree with you Sarah, I also did not see how the drawing designs could be beneficial in an elementary classroom. If you look at my blog, I was able to find a game for kids that consist of building a home. But once again, it isn't educational and it is just for fun. I think that maybe you could use the drawing programs when teaching Science. You could have kids try and draw models for let's say the water cycle prior to making it in real life. But really applying these in the elementary classroom is too hard because of the time issue. I'd like to see an example of someone who actually was able to do it.
ReplyDeleteScratch is a lot more elementary friendly than some of the other programs listed in the book. I am still a little afraid to just tell my students to do individual Scratch projects...I'm predicting that I would spend tons of time answering computer questions. However, I might consider doing a class scratch where students could continually build on a single scratch project that is saved on the school computers. After a month or two of additions, the class could see the finally creation. This would help introduce Scratch and could be used just as fun computer time when students are finished with their work. Hopefully that makes sense. ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Heather. I think that Scratch is definitely the most elementary friendly program of all the ones outlined in the chapter. I think that this program could be utilized in the upper elementary grades to familiarize students with programming early on because I believe that they will be dealing with it a great deal more in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that I could try and use a music program with an upper elementary class. Perhaps the students could write lyrics for a song and then create background music to accompany it. With proper scaffolding and assisstance from me, I think that 5th graders would be capable of this.
ReplyDeleteI agree. This chapter had to be one of the most confusing chapters (program wise). I am not used to designing with technologies. I think it will be a hassle for elementary school teachers to try and have their students use these programs. It would definetly be more useful in higher grades.
ReplyDelete