Collaboration Across Grade-levels

It all starts with the students.

I showed my classes a 30 sec clip from a video on how to use BookCreator.  I found this clip and a wonderful guide to making iBooks in Lisa Johnson's (@techchef4u) incredible iTunesU course.

I asked my students what we could do with this app.   This was the result.  Thanks to TechChef4U for making the video.


 

There are so many things to share about this project.  My students wrote children's books about the topic we were studying in class (Washington), they created instructions for the Elementary students to guide them on drawing illustrations and we met in person to record the Elementary students' voices.

Ann Root (5th gr teacher) ,  Katey Crowley (3rd grade teacher)  and Marianna Husain (EdTech) welcomed the idea even before we knew what we were doing.

Its taken me forever to get this post up.  You how the end of school is.  I plan to make an iTunesU course with all of the materials you will need to replicate in your classroom, so stay tuned.

Here are all the finished books.  Thanks to Marianna for making this!

http://www.bobcatblog.com/epubs.html

@Rocksauce was a GREAT trip!

On Friday 2/22,  13 of my students and @techchef4u joined me on a wonderful fieldtrip to @rocksauce studios.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Our group was amazed by the hospitality of Rocksauce and their team.   They welcome us in and shared all parts of their app dev team.   Our group was thrilled to see the process of making apps and many commented that, "They had no idea how involved app making was!"

Here are some of the students' reflections on our trip.

"The app world is very complicated. The code and development is very complex and, it seems like, endless. The companies who develop apps run on a type of development process that has many "checks and balances." The app development process can take between 4-24 months and is very tedious." 

__CE

 "Rocksauce Studios has different types of people working there. They develop a client's app idea. There are different stages to the app making process. They are in charge of fixing bugs within the app. Most of the artists majored in graphics design in college. They work well with one another. They have to finish and release version one of an app before even thinking about version two."  BC


-thought leaders- where on a social media program, others ask the company questions or advice

-#appdevchat

-you can have any kind of background and still be a part of app development

-there are app maps for each screen and what they lead to 

-after, each layer such as a button (the shape, letters etc) is separated

-one section of the company makes the requirements (what it has to have) another reformats and designs that same information in a different way

-when making apps for ios and android you have to use two separate kinds of development

-you can draw a character and then have someone else program/process it into the app

-rating is like status and is very important

-it can take 3 months to 2 years to make an app meeting to store

-you have to have a basic format for the first version of an app before you add transitions 

--MB

So overall, the trip was HUGE success.   We are now hoping to host RockSauce on our campus.   What a wonderful example of community involvement outside our classroom!

iFlock visits Rocksauce Studios 2/22

This Friday our tech club at HC, iFlock (@iflockHC on twitter), has the incredible chance to visit an indy app development company here in ATX.

We are taking 10 students and two teachers on this field trip.   Rocksauce has been so kind to invite us to their studio.   We are really excited!

Unique Opportunity

Today during C lunch, my students have the wonderful chance to talk to a Stanford Professor of App Development.   We are using this day as a chance to test our communication systems and prepare for a longer chat in the near future.  One of our HC student's uncle is the Stanford Prof, so its a cool in house connection.   We look forward to sharing the results!

Visit to Elementary was a HUGE Success!

After an overwhelming response to our first attempt to teach younger students, we are planning another trip!   This time we plan to work with 3rd and 5th graders at Bridge Point Elementary.

My students have voted on the school and grade level they want to visit.

Now we are preparing for our iLessons.

For 3rd grade we plan to collaborate with 3rd graders.   The 8th graders will provide the text of the eBook and the 3rd graders will illustrate and narrative the story of George Washington's Presidency.

For the 5th grade we will split into small groups and teach mini lessons that the 8th graders have prepared.

Classroom Update

With the introduction and use of iPads 1:1 in 8th grade, it became clear early in the year that my classroom was going to change!   It has in so many ways.

One unexpected change, at least to me, was the need for different furniture.   My students brought this up in November.  They said that they are uncomfortable all day long and would learn much better in a more warm and inviting environment.

After a little bit of research, its clear that my students are not alone.    It appears that individual and collaborative learning that the iPad allows, is driving a whole new 21C way of furnishing classrooms.

My students researched what models and brands they liked.   They contacted sales representatives and invited one to come meet with them in our classroom.   They moved all the furniture out of our room, took pictures, made plans and presented them to our PTO.

Here are some of the designs they made.

Here is also a thinglink picture with their ideas and the products they requested.

Collaboration across grade levels

Here is the final video of my classes' trip to Cedar Creek Elementary's 5th grade classes. Special thanks to @joliejennings, Amy Tillman, Amy Puga and Scott Johnson for making this possible.