Exploring Scratch by Maya

This week we have started a new unit - Scratch. We start out by watching a level one video. We also took a survey about computer science. After that, we go on to Scratch to get started. On the end of the video, they gave us instructions on Scratch. Once we are finished with with our instructions, we have Mrs.Brown check it. Every level goes like that. When we finish doing all the levels, we have created a game!

My Finchbot by Ian

My design team is testing out the finch bot. We are on level #4. It is pretty complicated but it is really fun. We are supposed to include color, time, sound, voice, and the stop command in the program. Our goal is to make a special  program. We are going to make it turn blue. We are going to make it say 21 lemons. I love the finch!!!

Magic Mirrors and Little Bits by Julia

Our design team is learning how to use LittleBits and we are making projects based off of Harry Potter scenes. We are all still working on programming and figuring out how to use little bits but we are quickly getting it. My design team is making the scene where Harry Potter sees his dead parents through the enchanted mirror. We are also going to make little bats flying around. We are going to try to make the mirror and the bats light up!

Making Harry Potter's Dobby Come to Life by Zachary

Everyone is working on the Harry Potter theme for the Little Bits contest. We are working on a Dobby project. Dobby is a house elf and we are using Little Bits so that he will open and close a book, his eyes will glow, and we are going to make his head nod up and down. To do this, we are using a servo for the book and for the neck to move up and down. We are also using the LED lights so that his eyes will light up. Everybody is enjoying themselves and having so much fun. Everybody wants to make a very good project.

Making a Hippogriff with Little Bits by Scarlett

Designing Our Harry Potter Scenes for the LittleBits Challenge

Our design team is making a Harry Potter scene out of Little Bits. Little Bits are circuits that stick together with magnets that can be put together to create something that works. We are creating a Harry Potter scene because we are doing a Little Bits design challenge. It is not all about winning but it is about the experience. If we do win though, we will receive a LittleBits ProLibrary. Little Bits are helpful to us because they help us make creative designs.

A Good Experience with LittleBits by Jolie

It was fun making an Oreo with LittleBits but it was hard to make the Oreo sing. It was also fun to program it to spin. I enjoyed learning how to work with a partner! It will be a great memory I will never forget.

Presentation Day, Round Two by Mrs. Brown

Today I was blown away by the innovative genius of the fourth graders! I am excited to show off what they made. They learned about the value of teamwork, the importance of a well planned design, a variety of programming skills, and how to nurture their own creativity.

Vending Machine by Zoe and Aidan

Spinning Trophy Stand by Rachel and Hayden

Finch as a Cat by Romy and Ari

Unicorn by Harrison and Ely

Lego Robotics by Ariella and Sarah

Kano with Summer and Gabby

Dancing Singing Oreo by Mac and Jolie

Soccer Game with Scratch by Avery and Cooper

Scratch Game by Noa and Zach

Fun with Finch by Romy

My project is Finch. There are several things we programmed the Finch to do. He can say many things, move backwards and forwards, and he can stop. We also made a toy for the Finch. We made a pet bird, and a bird cage. It is a colorful toy that we attached to Finch. I do not like that it only has a very long wire  and sometimes it will get stuck on the wire. I do like that there are so many useful things that the Finch can say.

Working On Our AWESOME Vending Machine by Zoe

We are making a vending machine in technology. It was a little confusing at first but then it got a little easier. We are working with Hummingbird robotics. It is so fun. We put these wires together like LED lights, motors, and vibrations.We named our vending machine Vendi. It will be like a real vending machine because it will have real snacks in it. It will be so cool. I am so excited to finish and show it to everyone else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Irresistible Ideas by Noa

Last week in technology we switched our activities. I am doing Scratch. Scratch is an app where you create two parts of the story and use sprites or characters and you can make them say things and move. There are some other things like Little Bits, Kano, Lego Robotics, and Hummingbird. Before I did Scratch, I did Lego Robotics. I made a poodle that could bark and open and close it's mouth. For Scratch I am doing penguin football players playing against flying animals. Technology has been really fun so far.

We Did It!

We completed our first round of presentations! We showed off our tech skills and our creative inventions. From a workout gym made of magnetic circuits, a robotic poodle made of Legos, and a Coke that talks, we had a lot of fun. To see our genius at work, click here to view our playlist. For a closer look at more of our adventures, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @4thTech.

Programming Poodles by Zach

Me and my design partner are making a poodle that can open its mouth, bark and can wag its tail. It was fun to make and I am excited to present it! I hope everyone likes it. I wish it was a real poodle!

Working Out with LittleBits by Gabby

My design partner and I are making a gym out of Little Bits.  Our most challenging part about our project was the objects in the gym.  It was really hard to make it with all the tape and cardboard. Something that surprised me throughout this project was that it is not easy at all to connect the wires and make the objects. I thought this would just take a day! So far I am proud of  getting this project done with my partner. I am so excited about what this project is going to look like when we are finished.

Gym with Little Bits by Summer

My design partner and I are making a gym! The tool we got paired with is called Little Bits. Little Bits are circuits that you connect to make stuff move and light up! The weights are going to move and the treadmill will brightly light up. So far are gym is coming along pretty good. We are having an amazing time!

Spooky with Scratch by Adin

My design partner and I are making a Scratch digital story. We made a movie about a haunted castle. We made a prince, a princess, and a ghost sprite. We have created two different backgrounds for two scenes. Our story is coming along nicely. 

Welcome to Programming & Robotics!

We are going to have so much FUN! Pick a seat in front of a computer. I try not to assign seats so make sure you are sitting somewhere where you can see the Smartboard and next to someone who won't distract you so that you can focus on the fun. We have a lot of exciting events planned. Here is an overview of what's ahead:

• iHelp Jobs Overview

• Technology IceBreaker with https://padlet.com/sbrown/self

• A Buffet of the Wonderful Tech Tools We Will Be Learning to Program 
• Lego Robotics
• Scratch
• Sphero
• Kano
• Hummingbird Robotics
• LittleBits
• And more!

• Building Our Design Teams

I am looking forward to an amazing learning experience with each of you!

And That's A Wrap...

We had an AWESOME time making, building, creating, programming, and playing in our Idea Lab this quarter. We are here to share some of our latest creations. We hope you enjoy watching them as much as we enjoyed making them!

Magic Microwave with LittleBits by Zach and Brenna

Minecraft TNT with Hummingbird Robotics Kit by Frankie and Nolan

LittleBits Football Field by Jordan and Ava

Scenes from Scratch by Justin and Shayna

Lego Robotics Animals by Izzy and Sydney

A Day in the Life of Sphero by Allison and Ryan

Sprites with Scratch by Benjamin and Avi

Kano and Minecraft by Ava and Rachel

It's Showtime by Rachel

Did you know that today we presented our first technology projects that we created with our design teams? Everyone made really neat and great ideas for their projects. There were eight projects to present. Did you know that you can make an awesome racing course for your Sphero out of cardboard boxes and a cool garage with a working bike inside just out of Lego Robotics? After presenting, we learned of our new tech tools that we will be working with next. We can't wait to get started. In the meantime, please watch our amazing presentations, round one:

LittleBits Park Created by Justin and Shayna

Computer Prototype with Hummingbird Robotics by Jordan and Ava

Smiles with LittleBits by Sydney and Isabelle

Motorbike with Lego Robotics by Allison and Ryan

Creative Storytelling with Scratch by Brenna and Zach

Minecraft with Kano by Frank and Nolan

Macrolab with Sphero by Ava and Rachel

Sphero Course by Avi and Benjamin

Creations with Technology by Justin

This week we are starting our projects.  We are using Hummingbird, Little Bits, Sphero, and Scratch. It is very fun, and tricky. My group is making a park with a see-saw, slide, and spinning ride.
 We are using Little Bits to make the park. I can't wait until were done, and see the final project.

Our First Week by Sydney

Our first day of Technology, we participated in a digital ice breaker. We went on to Sketch Pad and created our own digital self portraits. When everyone was done making their portrait we all put our creations on a Padlet. Be sure to go check that out! Then, we tried to guess who was who. One lucky student guessed all of them correct! The next day we got to look at all of our technology tools we will use throughout this exploratory. We are now animating a robot in Scratch to get the basic understanding of drag and drop programming. Next week, we head to the Idea Lab to begin creating greatness!

Little Bits Is Amazing With A Partner by Josh

My partner and I were chosen to use the tool Little Bits. Little Bits is much harder than you think. Little Bits is a technology tool that can include a remote that you can make.  Little Bits is made of batteries for power, a bargraph light, an LED light, a fork to connect the modules, and a dimmer to control the power. We first put together the modules in the way that we want them, which causes our Little Bits to light up.  That takes about two days to do! When you get to the designing of your project that takes about a week. When you're done with presenting your project, you'll be relieved because all of you hard work is behind you! 

Round Two

It's amazing how much our tech skills have improved in just a few short weeks! Click the links below to see how far we have come:

Lego Robotics by Aidan and Ryan

The Story of Blue Robot by Hope and Mallory

Scratch by Ross and Joshua

Robert Robo by Talan and Morgan

Kano Games by Cory and Lizze

Sphero Obstacle Course with Harrison and Reid

Sphero Color Designs by Zoe and Alyssa

Disco with Hummingbird Robotics by Rachel and Renee

Round One

We hope you enjoy viewing our programming and robotic skills from our first round of working in a team with various technology tools:

Parachute Man with LittleBits by Harrison and Reid

The Ginger House by Zoe and Alyssa

Sphero Obstacles by Aidan and Ryan

Sphero as a Cat by Mallory and Hope

Superbowl Spirit with Hummingbird by Ross and Joshua

Parts of a Computer by Renee and Rachel

Stadium Lights with LittleBits by Lizzie and Cory

The Lego Magic Wand by Morgan and Talan

Presentation Day by Rachel

Today we are going to present some of our projects that we've been working on in groups. We used lots of different things. Some are made with Hummingbird, some are Little Bits, some are on Scratch, some are using Kano, and the last group is making something with Lego robotics. The projects were very fun to make. Some were challenging and some were easy. Everybody is ready and excited to present. 

Computing with Kano by Lizzie

We are building a computer with Kano. What you do with Kano is you build a computer with some very helpful instructions. Kano is very fun once you get the hang of setting it up. Some of the parts in Kano are called the HDMI cable, the WiFi connector, the memory, the custom case, a speaker, and the raspberry pi.We have been making a game with the help of Pong.  Kano is such a fun project to work on in technology.

Robert Robo by Talan and Morgan

Our design group is using Little Bits to make a robot head out of cardboard. Its name will be Robert Robo. The mouth is made of Little Bits lights, which will light up, and the eyes are going to be cut out so my design partner can see through the head. His head is going to be inside the box. There is going to be a motor on the head so it can move the hair (aka yarn.) After that, it will look like a robot with its hair moving and mouth lit up.

Technology Rotations by Reid

Hi, It's Reid! Harrison and I are using LittleBits to make an amazing project. We might make a cool, awesome parachute! We are still planning all of the servos and pieces and stuff like that we need to make it. It will end up to be A-OK. Other people are doing good on their projects. Cory and Lizzie are making a football and stadium using LittleBits too. Aidan and Ryan are creating an obstacle course for Sphero and programming it with the Macrolab app. Mallory and Hope are creating a parachute for Sphero that is programmed to move along with the Sphero. Ross and Josh are using the Hummingbird robotics kit to make a football that lights up in the colors of the Superbowl teams. Talan and Morgan are creating a Lego Top that spins and then stops when the motion sensor detects movement. Rachel and Renee built and computer with Kano and are creating a website. Zoe and Alyssa are creating animations with Scratch.com. Bye, stay tuned for the next blog.

Working on Projects by Zoe

Today we are working on our projects on this second day. Some people are working on Sphero, Scratch, Humingbird, Lego robotics, Kano, and Little Bits. My design team is creating an animated snowy day in Scratch. Keep creating design teams!

Final Presentations

This was our final presentation day after three glorious rotations using a variety of tech tools. Personally, I was enamored by the creativity, thought, design plans, and inventiveness that these design teams produced. Enjoy a sample of their hard work:

LittleBits Dog Park by Ari and Pressley

Boxicopter and Helipad by Daniel, Jake, and Bradley

Clown Robot by Jake and Logan

Sphero Macros by Vivian and Jack

Google Cardboard by Nessa and Grace

Scratch Animation by Emily and Avery

Soccer with Lego Robotics by Jack and Emily

Ideas by Grace

This is our last day before my class presents their projects! Everyone is working on the finishing touches. Some are even working on presenting. My group is using Google Cardboard, which is a virtual reality project. I am working on figuring out the technology behind it.

A Dog Park with Little Bits by Ari

In tech class we are all doing different projects and having so much fun. We all are working very hard on are tech projects. We all love tech class and having a great time. Specifically, my design team is working with LittleBits and we are working so hard to figure out the technology. We are building a little dog park with carboard and LittleBits. We are going to make lights with LittleBits so that they shine all over the dog park. There will also be a spinning fan made out of LittleBits propellers to keep the dogs cool!