Scratch idea

After looking through the projects on scratch, I finally found one I think I will try to modify. I was looking for a fun idea, that may involve a little easy game of some sort, that will also teach a lesson. I wanted something science-based, that is well known to younger students. I finally stumbled upon Fishing for Recyclables. This scratch involves a game in which you move your cursor around the screen to catch recyclables in the ocean. A few things i would change about the game are how slow the4 cursor moves, and the text of the instructions. The words are barely visible and the cursor moves entirely too slow to catch anything.

Blogging with Fifth Graders!

I really liked blogging with the fifth grade class from Fairview Middle School. I liked hearing their hopes for fifth grade, what they thought about school, homework, etc. It's always fun to get involved with younger students when they're learning new things. The students seem to really enjoy getting our responses to their blogs, and we enjoyed writing them back. This is definitely a new step in classroom teaching. When i was younger, computers were rarely used in the clssroom, much less blogging and communicating with other clasrooms. I'm not sure if i would use this tool in my future classroom. I guess it will depend on the number of computers in my class, or how often we would get to use the lab. I think blogging is a really fun teaching tool, but it will also depend on how quickly my students pick up on using a computer and newer technology. Overall, I think that blogging with Fairview Middle was fun and exciting, and I will definitely consider using it in my classroom.

Scratch Modification

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develop respect and responsibility for the environment by engaging in conservation practices (e.g., recycling, or trash clean-up).



The scratch I chose to modify was called "Fishing for Recylables". It is a game in which you drag your cursor across the screen in order to catch the recycled material from the ocean. When i first saw this scratch, the recyling bin moved very slowly, and the instructions were hard to read. I changed the font and color of the instructions and sped up the movement of the recycling bin. While these were both simple changes, I think it made the game a lot easier to understand. To see the modified verson of "Fishing for Recylables", please click here.

New Media Literacy

1. What is convergence culture?
Convergence culture is the mix between old and new technology to make a form of technolofy used today.
2. What are the implications of convergence culture for education?
It can help teach students the new ways of learning through technology, the old ways, and a mixture of both and how to apply them in everyday life.
3. How are schools limiting kids' access to digital tools? Do you agree with these policies? Why or why not?
I believe that kids should be taught to use different tools that technology and the internet have to offer. While may are very helpful, others should not be used in the elementary classroom. Tools like Blogger and other online sites are very beneficial to learning, while other social networking sites like facebook and myspace are mainly for fun. I think that there are some limitations that should be placed in the classroom, but other things could be very useful in learning.