Hour of Code and Math

Ms. Ralph,   Mrs. Allen and I worked with the math intervention students these last 2 days to on coding skills, pointing out math skills as we went.  Students started with https://www.madewithcode.com/ Accessorizer and focused on X,Y co-ordinates.  We then talked about the radius of a circle and how that worked into Anna and Elsa's coding on Code.org.     Those that finished early worked on coding a Holiday tree in Washington DC.  It was a great 2 days!

Kodu and Makey Makey - Coding and Design

  

November's Technology Camp focused on coding video camps through the program Kodu.  Students were given freedom to move through the tutorials and create a video game using the video game design template.  Those that completed a game were then able to use the campus Makey Makey kits to design controllers for their game.   Twenty one students attended this camp and almost all were able to complete the video game program in this short time.   The next technology camp will be held in December and will be focused on how to use MinecraftEdu to build.

Meme

This week in Mrs. Salazar's 6th grade World Cultures classes students crafted memes to demonstrate their knowledge of Europe.   Here is one of them:

Kahoot!

Students in Mrs. Pickle's classes are reviewing for an upcoming test over "The Outsiders" with the help of Kahoot.     Mrs.  Pickle put in a serious of questions that would help the students remember key points and themes from the novel.    As a question comes up on the screen,  students are challenged to earn the most points possible by being the first right answer.   The right answer is then displayed along with how many students answered each choice.   This is a prefect opportunity for the teacher to clear up any misunderstandings and answer any questions as they prepare for the test.

Mrs. Pickle is not the only teacher on campus using this web tool to help prepare students.  Mr. Lucas' classes used this recently to review science concepts.    Using this tool keeps students engaged and learning throughout the class period.

Sharing the Information!

The teachers at Ridgeview are getting creative in how they are sharing information and resources with students.  Recently in the United States History classes the teachers created a Thinglink that explained the famous engraving of the Boston Massacre and helped students explore the events leading up to and following this historic event.

In our Next Generation Digital Classroom  Ms. Raph and Mrs. Allen are grouping resources using Blendspace to allow students to work through the websites at their own pace and at the same time sharpen their math skills.

Mr. Clark's World Cultures classes are exploring Europe with the help of Symbaloo - an easy way to visually organize the links they will need to learn the material.

MakerSpace meets Science

Wednesday, during Enrichment Clusters, 180 6th grade students  choose to join Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Young in the library to explore the conductivity of elements as they built game controllers with the help of Makey Makey kits.  Makey Makey connects to the computer and uses alligator clips to turn everyday objects into computer keys that will control what is happening on screen.  Students worked in teams of four to explore how to create circuits that could be open or closed based on the need of the game.    Items used to create these controllers included bananas, apples, celery, carnations, potatoes, paper clips, french fries, pipe cleaners and carrots.   Excitement filled the room as students discovered how to create a closed circuit and control the game on screen.   This activity will also be repeated Thursday after school for over 60 kids from all 3 grade levels.

This is the first MakerSpace event Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Young are planning to host this year.   Makerspace is a educational movement that emphasizes the need for students to built and create to learn.   The next event will be in October and will focus on constructing roller coasters.

Here is the lesson and resources used in today's event:

Students Review the Bill of Rights

Students in Mrs. Collins, Mr. Jasman, Mr. Tong and Ms. Webster's class are getting familiar with the first ten amendments as they research how they have impacted various court cases over the years.  After completing some research they were to write 2 letters to the editor expressing both sides of the court case related to the amendment they have chosen.  


Students also expressed their opinions of various uses of the first amendment through the use of polling software, Socrative.   Students chose to agree or disagree with statements and then as a class discussed the results of the class versus results given to the American population.  The discussion allowed for students to critically think through the First Amendment and their thoughts about how it should be and is being applied to American life.

Frog Dissections

Students in 7th Grade Science classes prepared for frog dissection by going online.   The learned about frog anatomy and dissection techniques by running through a virtual dissection on the computer the day before the frogs and scalpels were brought out.   On Dissection day students worked in groups of 3 or 4 to make the cuts and find and identify the various organs.

RMS Staff Get to Play with Augmented Reality

The week leading up to the Spring Holiday, Ridgeview Staff were sent on a Easter Egg Hunt.  To participate the needed to load Aurasma on their smartphone and follow the Ridgeview Middle School Channel.   They could then hold their phones over the image on the Eggs and watch images come to life.    All the eggs had examples of how this tool could be used in the different subject areas to highlight student work or to help students dig deeper into a concept.   As the teachers found each egg they were able to access a google form through the app that allowed them to log their find.  The results were fun for all who aprticiapted and was a good way to introduce to teachers to another way that BYOD can be used in the classroom to enhance instruction.   Professional Development opportunities to develop their own auras will be coming soon.

The teachers were also asked to take "selfies" of videos with the eggs.  Some of these images are in the video below.

7th Grade ELA Brushes Up on Reading Skills

Students in Mrs. Porter's and Mrs. Pickle's classes spent the week before STAAR using the school netbooks and online resources to help prepare for the upcoming STAAR Reading Test.   Students worked through stations including grammar rules with the help of BrainPop videos and online quizzes.    Another station had students on Newsela reading current events and answering questions based on their own reading levels.   This allowed the teacher to work in small groups with other students to review key points and review strategies they had learned all year.

Reviewing for 8th Grade Science STAAR

8th Grade Students went online to review for the upcoming STAAR Science test.  Using materials chosen for them to address high stakes TEKS students interacted with the science concepts and got to clear up misconceptions the weeks before the Science Test.  

Science Review with Kahoot!

The excitement in Mr. Sralla's room was evident as students reviewed for an upcoming unit test on Plate Tectonics.   Using Kahoot students try to be the first person to answer correctly to get the most points.  They quickly lowered their laptop screens so no one else could see their answers to try to get the most points possible.   All students were highly engaged in this activity and Mr. Sralla took the opportunity after each question to clear up misconceptions and examine why they might have chosen the wrong answers.   Walking around the room the students were talking to each other about why they chose the wrong answer or why they got it right. This video is a small snipet of the activity today.

Human Body Systems in Science

Students in Ms. Billing's room were learning about different body systems through an online presentation and Brainpop videos.   In addition to checking on the students notes they took from the resources that were shared, Ms. Billings checked for understanding  as she had students composes a paper tweet about what they had learned or what questions they still had about what had been studied.  In Ms. Filary's room students learned about the respiratory system by examining a website and answering questions on a handout.

Onboarding Party

Students were invited to bring their devices to the library the mornings of February 18, 19 or 20th to take advantage of the district provided wifi on campus.  Students were divided into groups based on the operating system of their devices and were walked through the instructions with several teachers and staff on hand to help out as needed.   Over 300 students took advantage of that opportunity and can now use the district wifi while on campus.   Any student or staff member can onboard their device at any time following these directions.

Math Loves Technology!

Sixth grade students started off the new year by diving into Think Through Math.  "Think Through Math is a Web-based solution that provides adaptive math instruction for students in grades 3 through Algebra 1. Developed by teachers and technologists to help students prepare for rigorous Common Core and TEKSstandards and assessments, " (http://www.thinkthroughmath.com/)


Seventh grade math spent much time in the fall semester using technology to review and practice math concepts with  various websites for math practice for students including Think Through Math, SumDog, and math-play.com. The students also used online quizzing software like Socrative for formative and sumative assessments.   Mr. Ritchie says "My students love using technology! I think it is the future of education. My students use an online educational software called Think Through Math. It is a self paced software that only lets you move on as fast as your knowledge will let you. There are also incentives for the students to be successful. That is an added bonus. "

Eighth Grade student have also spent time on Think Through Math to reinforce skills, especially in the Algebra and Geometry classes.  These students are taking the STAAR 8th Grad Math exam as well as the Algebra and Geometry End of Course Exams, so this program allows students to review math concepts that were covered in previous years.

8th Grade Science Gets Moving

Students in 8th grade are getting hands on time with motion detectors and vernier probes this week to create motion graphs by mapping the motion of other students moving at various speeds and paths.  This is part of their study of Force and Motion as they learn to differentiate between speed velocity and acceleration.

Fine Arts and Technology

Choir students led by Ms. Williams and Mr. Goad are participating in FUNdamental Fridays which incorporates technology into their classroom with activities such as PowerPoint games where kids answer questions and compete against each other. 

They also use technology to analyze student's sight reading skills with the use of a microphone and a program called SmartMusic.  

Band also uses SmartMusic to help students learn their music faster.  Mr. Mullen states: With our advanced band kids, we use it to help them learn their region band music.  The software allows them to hear the music, and also to play along.  The software follows the player and can provide feedback as to whether or not the rhythms were correct.  It can also adjust the tempo to help students who need to practice things a little slower or challenge the successful students with quicker speeds.

Our beginners use this software as well.  Seeing the music on the screen and watching as the cursor follows along really helps them feel the pulse.  It frees us up as teachers to walk around and monitor students on a more individual basis.

Theater Arts recently completed a webquest on Greek Theater and used the netbooks to research pieces of Greek Theater as students created masks and presentations from their findings.