DSMS Student IT Help Desk Blog

Please visit our DSMS Student IT Help Desk Blog.  Our tech savvy students share their favorite apps, articles and things they like to tinker with when it comes to technology.

The Hour of Code: DSMS Wrote 55,109 Lines of Code

We broke our record for writing code this year at DSMS!  

  

Once again, Dover-Sherborn Middle School celebrated Computer Science Education Week in Technology Literacy class with teacher Sandra Sammarco from Monday, December 7 through Friday, December 11.

Students took part in their third annual school Hour of Code event joining over 120 Massachusetts classrooms.

“During the Hour of Code students in grades six and seven enrolled in my technology literacy course celebrate Computer Science Education Week by understanding basic computer science skills using a drag and drop style puzzle platform using Javascript,” Sammarco said.

“As students advance at their own pace through puzzles such as Star Wars, Minecraft, Flappy Bird and Course 4, they are challenged in each level to understand algorithms, variables, loops and functions such as repeat, if or else statements.”

Sammarco collaborates with Code.org, MassCAN (Massa-chusetts Computing Attainment Network), The Massachusetts Exploring Computer Science Partnership (MECSP), and the Massachusetts Technology Education Collaborative to integrate engaging and collaborative computer programming lessons into her classrooms for students in Grades six and seven.

Students were joined by faculty in Sammarco's classroom to practice computer programming and receive their special Computer Science button and Hour of Code certificate. Happy Birthday to computing pioneer, Grace Murray Hopper on December 9, 1906.

Collectively, DSMS students wrote 55,109 lines of code this year--tripling the amount of lines of code they wrote just one year ago.

“Each year we increase our goal for writing a certain amount of lines of code per year,” Sammarco said. “This year we almost tripled the lines of code we wrote just from last year.”

News Article #1

News Article #2

Congratulations future Computer Programmers

TechTalk Newsletter 3

TechTalk Newsletter 2

TechTalk Newsletter

Helpful Quick Links for Teachers & Students

Please check my Technology Literacy Quick Links page to create, connect, assess and more.

Most importantly--have fun integrating technology into your teaching and learning!

DSMS Faculty Technology Tools Update 5/6/14

May 6, 2014 Agenda Link 

• Google Drive Naming/Sharing Convention for DSMS

BlockNameAssignment

Example:  AJohnSmithNewsletter

• Google Calendar tool 
• Google Site
• Take notes with Evernote-mobile synced online

                           

• Discovery Education Upgrade & Resources for you and your students

*Contact Sandra anytime you need assistance, face-to-face or virtual. 

You Tube Safety Settings

Select this link to learn how to set your You Tube channel on Safety Mode at home and on mobile devices.

April 17, 1978 Today in WSJ History The PC

One of the first mentions of Apple in the Wall Street Journal....today in WSJ History

Mentions: floppy disk, computer programming, the size of a typewriter!

Kids React to Technology

What will our students react to in the year 2050?

Education is Going Mobile

Education is going mobile:

Classrooms, students, teachers and parents.

2013

The 2013 Crunchies Finalists AND guess who won the Best Education Startup for the year?  Yes, the Hour of Code.  

Tech Crunch article on the Hour of Code.

Click here to see the Best and Worst Gadgets of 2013 .

Top 100 Sites and Apps of the year.

Hour of Code

DSMS celebrates the global Hour of Code in Ms. Sammarco's Technology Literacy Class:

  

Hour of Code
Student commands the dog Karel to make a Smiley Face using her as the nose.

Hour of Code
Student commands Karel to place balls.

Teacher vs. Student on Social Media

How does each use social media?

Handwriting vs. Keyboarding

 Which skills do students need the most?

".... handwriting could take a backseat to typing as technology dominates the way we communicate.  That’s because the Common Core standards, which 45 states have adopted, mandate that students take online tests as part of the state’s ongoing evaluation of student performance. In fact, according to the standards."

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/10/handwriting-vs-typing-which-skill-do-students-need-most

Digital Field Trips

Take your students on a digital field trip:  at home, in your class, on a computer or iPad.

Happy Educational Travels:

1.  Explore in your classroom virtually at the world's top 10 museums @

http://learni.st/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/10144-the-world-s-most-amazing-museums?utm_source=Edudemic&utm_medium=article&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=A+Night+at+the+Museum#/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/10144-the-world-s-most-amazing-museums

2.  Worlds Best Natural History Museums @ 
http://learni.st/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/28064-the-world-s-best-natural-history-museums?utm_source=Edudemic&utm_medium=article&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=A+Night+at+the+Museum#/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/28064-the-world-s-best-natural-history-museums

3.  Boston's Best Museums @
http://learni.st/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/35438-a-guide-to-boston-s-best-museums?utm_source=Edudemic&utm_medium=article&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=A+Night+at+the+Museum#/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/35438-a-guide-to-boston-s-best-museums

4.  Military Museums and Attractions @
http://learni.st/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/17467-military-museums-attractions?utm_source=Edudemic&utm_medium=article&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=A+Night+at+the+Museum#/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/17467-military-museums-attractions

5.  Top 10 Virtual Museums @

http://learni.st/users/77561/boards/14446-virtual-museums?utm_source=Edudemic&utm_medium=article&utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=A+Night+at+the+Museum#/users/77561/boards/14446-virtual-museums

6.  Seven Great Children's Museums @ 

http://learni.st/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/15378-great-children-s-museums?utm_source=Edudemic&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=A+Night+at+the+Museum#/users/tyler.wilcox.9/boards/15378-great-children-s-museums

Measurement Tools and Sting Meet

Sync Calendars Tip

Welcome to the world of Google, calendars and mobile devices.

If you are interested in syncing your child's iPad, your smart phone or other family mobile devices to school/teacher calendars (that are using Google) please explore the user-friendly resource at home to get started @ https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/151674?hl=en&ref_topic=13950

The step-by-step directions will help keep lines of communication and organization open.

PARCC The Next Generation Assessments-Resources

1. All about the PARCC Assessments beginning 2014-2015
2. PARCC Technology
3. Glossary of Terms and Definitions within PARCC Assesement:  Version 1
4. FAQ's

Social Media and College Entrance Reminders for ALL

Attention Students, Teachers and Parents:

Building Skills in the Interactive Net Zero Schoolhouse

Imagine, teaching and learning in a living science laboratory.  

See what is happening in Texas classrooms @ 

http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2013/03/14/index.html

The building has connected passion to the students.  It is designed for students not teachers.

Smores: Create & Publish Flyers NOW

The days of printing are almost over.  Create, design and publish flyers for projects, events, classroom highlights ... with Smore.com

Do Your Students Know How to Search?

'And', 'Or' & 'Not'?  Boolean Searching Explained

Web Search in Plain English Video

Brain Pop Internet Searching Tips 

• Quotation Marks:  "sand sharks" give you an exact phrase in your result
• Hyphen sign:  sand -sharks will remove what you DO NOT want to appear in a result

Boolify:  An educational boolean web search tool @ http://www.boolify.org/

Students can find Primary Sources w/ Google News

Visit Google News to locate primary sources @ https://news.google.com/

Video

DS Parent Internet Safety Night Nov 7th

For more information regarding:

Cyber Crime Team and Officer Grabert on Parent Children's Internet Safety Night, please select this event link.

Technology Literacy Tweets on Twitter

Middle School students are now on Twitter.

Follow us on Twitter to see what we are doing in Technology Literacy class. Link here

Flipped Classrooms with ShowMe Video Tool

Save time in your classroom with Flipped Learning. Provide a collaborative learning atmosphere for your students that is flexible. Encourage and model other tools for teaching and learning such as embedding or linking videos to your wiki. Videos from Khan Academy, You Tube, Teacher Tube, teacher created homework videos or student created videos. The students that need that extra time or review can review at home at their own pace. The students that want to move forward or review again at home to better understand topic. Encourage students to email you if they have a question before your next class.

More homework is getting done, lessons no longer take 2 or 3 days, teacher moves to the back of the classroom while the students learning stays in the front of the classroom. To learn more about what flipped classroom is or is not check out these videos and articles.


A Vehicle to the Future: Returning to the "Guide on the Side Teacher"



The Flipped Classroom is Not:


ShowMe.com or ShowMe App for video creation and sharing to get your classroom FLIPPED!

Evernote App synced with Evernote.com via ShowMe Teacher Example of a Video for Flipping your classrooms.

Easy Bib for Citation

EasyBib App and online tool will support your students consistant integration of works cited and bibliography formatting.

• Search Free App for iTouch, iPhone or iPad: EasyBib
• Online address to link to your wiki @ http://www.easybib.com/

FYI: Grade 6 teachers teach students how to actually create their citatations "byhand" in order to understand best what they are citing and why.

I will be using this tool in Technology Literacy and Olive will be in Library Media for all students, to remain consistant this tool is also recommended from teachers ranging from Grades 6-8 at DSMS.

Brain Pop at the Middle School

The iSchool Initiative 'Mass Cue Keynote' Speaker 2012

Learn about the iSchool Initiative founded by Travis Allen. In October 2012 at the MassCue Technology Conference, we will hear first hand from Keynote Speaker why this digital native college student ONLY uses his iPad and iPhone at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. "From that point on, I was a mobile learner".