First Times a Charm! By: Abbi

This week we are doing a new technology robotics project. My group is working with Dot and Dash  robotics. We are building and programming with Dot and Dash to make four scenes for an interactive play. Last time my group had Sphero, and Mrs. Brown added another technology tool called Lego robotics. The Lego robotics group is building and programming a bicycle. Other groups are creating with the Hummingbird robotics kit, Dot and Dash and Sphero. My group has had some problems with building but we figured it out after awhile. 

Presentation Day!

We completed our first round of programming and robotics projects! We are excited to share them. We definitely learned that without failure, we don't reach success. We had lots of failure and much success. We learned about perseverance, practice, and patience. We are proud to share our projects with you. We will continue to add to the video library below as we complete our presentations. While many of us would have loved more time to finish all the bells and whistles, we are looking forward to our next opportunity to program:

Dot and Dash: A Love Story by Alex & Jamie

Snowman Battle Bot on a Budget by Moncie and Max

Dot and Dash: Follow Your Path by Harris and Ava

Workout Panda with Hummingbird Robotics by Annie and Peyton

Theatre with Hummingbird Robotics by Nina and Blake

The Color Fiasco by Henry, Daryn, and Abbi

Sphero Obstacle Course by Scott and Miles 

Sphero Obstacle Course by Oliva and Layla

Dot and Dash Football Player by Josh and Andrew

Trouble in Paradise with Sphero By Daryn

My group is learning how to program Sphero. My group is Abbi and Henry. For our project we are programming Sphero to do an obstacle course. We are having trouble programming it to go around some obstacles though. On the good side though we got it to go down the ramp, and through the tunnel. Also we only have one week until we present too. I'm SO excited!!!

It's Hard to Reach Success by Ava

I am Ava and my partner is Harris. We are making a maze from cardboard. First, it fell apart but now we fixed it. Harris and I just started to program Dot and Dash. We are trying to make Dash go through the curves in the maze. It's hard but fun to do. We have messed up a lot of times before we got it to move even one step! So far, we have gotten Dash to go forward two steps. We are still working and it's really hard! 

The Sphero Trial by Henry

My group and I are making an obstacle course for Sphero. First we had to make the obstacles and the platform for it to start. It will also have cones, a mini maze, and an expo marker and he has to bring it back to us. Next, we have to program him so it can go through the obstacle course. Last, we have to present it. We had so much fun.

Presentation Day, Round Two! by Mrs. Brown

Today is bittersweet. It is our LAST day of technology exploratory focusing on programming and robotics. That is the bitter part. The sweet part is that we get to showcase some of our hard work this past quarter. You may very well notice a common theme throughout these video presentations, which is that it takes a lot failure to reach success. I am so proud of these students for their resilience, perseverance, and creativity! They worked so hard and even wanted more time to perfect their projects. It was hard to find our stopping points. Such dedication! Although today was our last day and we wanted more time, we have much to show for our efforts:

A Dog's Life with Scratch and Makey Makey by Hannah and Alex

Lego Robotics by Amelia and Drew

Little Bits Theatre Star Wars Production by Charlie and Abigail

Build and Computer and Drag and Drop Programming with Nate and Ben

3D Printing An Invention to Help You Dine with Eva and Rachel

Shoot Some Hoops with Little Bits Basketball by Lexi and Sarah

Robotic SPRK Course by Wendell and Ryan

Robotic Pig by Molly and Leeya

Trial and Error with Dot and Dash by Sadie and Ashley

I look forward to next year's exploratory, at which time we will learn Javascript, HTML, and game design. Have a great summer!

Dot and Dash's Journey to Victory written by Sadie and edited by Hannah

photo credit: Leeya

This week, my partner and I have the tool Dot and Dash. We are programming it to drive from the starting line, to the finish line. We have created a course that is supposed to resemble Dash as the referee to a soccer game but he is late, so he has to take the short, but dangerous path. The first step to our project is making a design. Then, we made a course for Dash to journey through the maze. We started with building two spikes for Dash to weave through before coming to a bridge for him to go under. Then he turns around and continues with going over the bridge. Last, he makes a turn or two before reaching the finish line. My partner and I predicted that the hardest part will be programming Dot and Dash but we haven't started that part yet. So far, the hardest part was creating support for Dash to successfully make it over the bridge without crashing into it! My partner and I are having a lot of fun with the Dot and Dash.   

Presentation Day!

We did so well with our first round of technology rotations in our design teams and now we are moving on to round two! We wanted to share what we made with the world so please enjoy:

Robotic Cat by Alex and Hannah

Hanukkiah with LittleBits by Eva and Rachel

Dash Rescues Dot by Ben and Nate

SPRK Obstacle Course by Charlie and Abigail

It's All Fun and Games with Lego Robotics by Ryan and Wendell

Scratch and Makey Makey by Amelia and Drew

Musical LittleBits by Leeya and Molly

Lego Robotics Candy Dispenser by Ashley and Sadie

Build a Computer with Kano by Lexi and Sarah

Robotic Cat by Hannah

This week my partner and I were working on ourHummingbird robotics project. We are creating a cat that moves its arm and has blinking eyes and mouth.It is quite hard to get all the wires and connections right, but we are figuring it out. In addition, we are going to present the cat on May 4, 2017. I learned a lot of new things like, that black is always negative, what a servo is, and how to create a sequence. This was a great work week and I can't wait to see what we are working with next week!

Our SPRK Journey by Abigail

For the past couple of days we have been working with the SPRK. The SPRK is a clear robotic ball, and you can see all of the wires and the motherboard inside it. First, we took some boxes and duct taped them together and made a maze inside the boxes. Next, we went on the Lightning Lab app and coded the SPRK to go through the entire maze. 

A Smorgasbord by Will

Today is 4C's last day of technology. Today we are all working on diffrent projects. One group is working on drones that can fly really high and take pictures. Just like what professonals use, not the ones from air hogs and other stuff like that. Another group is working on programming the Dot and Dash robot. Dot is a tiny robot that looks like a dot that you can use to say stuff like " You are my best friend" or " Nerf is awesome" and Dash is a dot with giant wheels that you can also program too to say stuff like for example " I am Dash, what is your name?" or "Sianora is japanesee for Goodbye". Finally, a group is working on a sphero, a tiny robot you can program to run, change color, turn, say stuff, and even spin in circles!!! You could also just play around with it. It is like a Dot but clear. We are sad it's over but we can't wait to do this at home!!! 

Lego Robotics Presentations

We have completed our Lego Robotics presentations! For a peek at what we did in class, please watch our videos below:

Emmy and Will

Ben and Josh

Julia and Micah

Kaitlyn and Matthew

Kyra and Jayden

Sylvie Bella and Levi

Adam and Nora

Samantha and Dani helped make our new Mo Willems pillows that you now see in our media center!

The Lego Farmhouse by Jayden

We made a farm that has a windmill. There is a two story barn, a tractor to go with it, and farm animals that include bunnies, horses, cows and possibly chickens. The tractor has a pressure sensor that when you touch it, there will be cock-a-doodle-doos and ney sounds. I have learned a lot of different ways to make things with Lego robotics.

Learning with Legos by Micah

Today we are building with Lego robotics. We have built birds, animals, cranes, and more. It is amazing that we get to do the Lego robotics. We had challenges like a difficult time building with the Lego's. The programming was hard too. Also, sometimes agreeing with one another was hard. In all, I would rate this experience a 10 out of 10.     

Presentation Day!

For our latest creations in our Technology Exploratory, watch our short videos below:

Wearable Technology with 3D Doodler & LittleBits by Dani and Samantha

Underwater Adventure with LittleBits by Matthew and Kaitlyn

Tinkercad with Josh and Ben

LittleBits Ferris Wheel with Micah and Julia

Dash and Dot with Adam and Nora

Kano and Minecraft with Sylvie Bella and Levi

LittleBits Launching Game with Kyra and Jayden

3D Doodler Emoji Contest Game with Caylee and Leah

Sewing Pillows for the Media Center with Emmy and Will

Teamwork in Technology by Joshua

This week in technology we are trying to finish our projects and to present everything.We are all close to being done. Technology has been so fun. We have gotten frustrated and had problems but we solved them. Technology is teaching us to be more independent and to get more familiar with technology. Every day we come in and get out our projects and get started. Only some people have presented. It is really hard to make it work but when it's done it is worth it. All that hard work payed off. Everyone is having fun and even if it doesn't work, it is probably amazing. No matter what you do in technology it is always going to be fun.

Underwater Adventure with LittleBits by Matthew

My design partner and I are working on an advanced high tech Little Bits project, that is an underwater scene. We made sea animals, coral, seaweed, fish, and an underwater blooming flower. We have used LED lights to light up the project! It was fun to make. 

What We Are Up To by Kyra

This class period we are still working on our projects. My partner and I are making a launcher with the LittleBits Rule Your Room kit. Levi and Sylvie are making a game with the Kano computer that they built. Julia and Micah are making a ferris wheel with the Hummingbird building kit. Ben and Josh are making an object that would have helped the explorers back when they sailed the seas with the 3D printer that we recently got. Adam and Nora are programming a Dot And Dash robot to go through a maze. Emmy and Will are also programming a mini robot but theirs is a Sprks robot which is a clear version of Sphero. Mathew and Kaitlyn are making an underwater scene with LittleBits, and Dani, Caylee, Leah and Samantha are using a 3D doodler to create a game board and wearable technology. It has been a busy day.

Inventing to Learn by Emmy

Right now we're in the new Innovation and Design Studio working on different projects.  People are using the 3D Doodlers. Some students, are using Little Bits and programming robots like the SPRK and the Dash and Dot. Another project students are working with is the 3D printer! They have to design an object that an explorer would have needed that they didn't have back then. Lastly, one group is making the Kano computer. If they can tweet or email Rabbi Micah, they will get a gift but no one knows what it is!  

Scratch and Lego Robotics by Lindsey

We just finished doing Scratch. Scratch is a programing language. You watch videos and then you can complete the project to get a badge. I chose the prompt " Which character is most like you" and I chose two characters that are like me because I have two sides, adventurous and lazy. It took some time to figure out everything, including changing characters and backgrounds in the middle of the presentation. It is our last week of technology so we got to vote. Our choices were to keep doing Scratch or to start Lego robotics. We all decided to do Lego robotics. We got a book of three Lego shapes to make and I chose to do the alligator. My partner and I are in the process of building the alligator and after we finish building we will program our alligator. They are both so fun and we all love technology!