[IAEP] NewTechHigh at Coppell and Etoys info needed

[Steve Thomas]

Carly,

Some other thoughts for games kids could develop.

*Classification*:
One would be a sorting game where kids create pictures and the object is to
place them in Holders or Playfields based upon some rule they come up with.
Simple classification of geometric objects or characteristics of animals.
 Then the kids could explain their reasoning when they wind up with
different sets from the same original group.  Their should also be
encouragement for the kids to create their own games by creating their own
pictures or taking them with the camera.

*This really would not require much programming (unless they wanted the
pictures or holders to do something special when placed in the correct
holder (ie: the holder that matches the rules they thought of).*
*
*
*Conectration*:
Here kids could learn that "a number is all the ways you can name it" for
example:

   - 4, x x x x
   - 4, 6 - 2
   - 4, 3 + 1
   - etc (you could also represent 6 - 2 as 6 objects with two crossed out)


*Tanagrams*:
Another thought is tanagrams and tessalations, these are simple to create in
Etoys using playfields with gridding on and polygons.  In playfield menu,
select "playfield options..." check "use gridding" and "grid visible when
gridding,"  then "set grid spacing ..." and use 0 at 0 for origin and try
40 at 40for grid spacing (and other numbers).  Then drag a polygon from
the "object
catalog" onto the playfield. If you "shift click" on the polygon it's
handles will show allowing you to move and add vertices.

*Tessellations*:
I haven't done this, but it should be relatively easy for kids to create
simple tessellation makers. Where they have a simple pattern (ex: four
squares) where they can color in the individual blocks and then create the
tessellation.

For *Bingo Examples* see:  Name that Number
Bingo<http://www.squeakland.org/showcase/project.jsp?id=10305> and
attached project from Avigail Snir to which I made some slight
modifications. The flap on page three still has some bugs but it basically
builds on an idea/project from P.A. Dreyfus to represent mathematical
operations in a different way (you may find it
here<http://swiki.ofset.org:8000/seaside/SBSuperSwiki/afbbb447-34cc-4ffa-94eb-eee32541a724?_s=vvuGPjwrfKEfRcFh&_k=lFskDKXM>
on
the France Superswiki, but superswiki seems to dynamically create URL's for
projects, so you can try looking for the project  using search and the
project name *arbreDesOperationsA*)

For *Guess My Rule* see: Guess My
Rule<http://www.squeakland.org/showcase/project.jsp?id=7814>

Stephen


On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 3:19 PM, Caryl Bigenho <cbigenho at hotmail.com> wrote:

>  Hi Folks,
>
> I had a great visit yesterday with the folks at New Tech High @ Coppell,
> TX. It is a great place, where "facilitators" guide "learners" in their
> project based learning.  We were very impressed. But, I was surprised to
> discover they do not teach any computer programming at the school.  If
> students want to take programming, they can do a concurrent enrollment at
> the local community college. Their classes are the traditional courses,
> taught in a very non-traditional way.
>
> Since last year they  have been doing a great Contributors Project with
>  XOs they are sending to the rescued slave children at the shelter run by
> the Touch A Life Foundation in Ghana.  As a followup to the work they did
> last year, they want to create math games for these children to use on the
> XOs.  They tried doing this last year with Scratch but were not satisfied
> with their "product" and felt they could do better.
>
> Their project director is a math teacher and she wants her students to try
> again this year to create math learning games for the children in their
> project in Ghana.  I suggested she try Etoys this time and promised to get
> her more information on how to do it.  Anything they create will be at a
> very elementary level as most of the children in the shelter have had no
> prior school experience. Their lessons in Etoys should be as language
> neutral as possible and the words they do use can be translated and used by
> deployments anywhere so this could be a very useful project.
>
> So I have some questions about things I need to know to help them.
>
> How do you transfer an Etoys lesson to the XO (they will have both XO-1s
> and XO-1.5s) if they lessons are created:
>
> On a Mac using Etoys downloaded from the web:
>
> On a PC using Etoys downloaded from the web:
>
> On Etoys to go downloaded from the web and, possibly used on both Macs and
> PCs (they have both at New Tech):
>
> Is there a good way to disseminate the projects so that the children won't
> accidentally erase them... perhaps by using SD cards or USB sticks? Cost is
> a factor.
>
> Or... could they make a custom build for their project that would include
> their Etoys lessons in a way that they wouldn't accidentally be erased?
>
> I will probably have more questions as we go along, but this will help get
> us all started.
>
> GrannieB (Caryl)
>
> For more info about NewTech at Coppell:
>
>
> http://www.coppellisd.com/newtech/lib/newtech/pdfs/demonstrationsiteprofile.pdf
>
> http://www.newtechnetwork.org/newtech_schools   (watch the video linked in
> the upper right corner to see how the school works)
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>
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