Bits and Bytes

Archive for January, 2009

Scratch is a programming language from MIT’s Media Lab that makes it easy for students to develop programs.

Scratch is not so much a procedural language as a drag and drop environment for creating interactive animations, annotated stories, slideshows, prototypes and games. It’s designed to be as simple to use as possible, so students as young as 7 can create their own animations.

The design philosophy behind Scratch was “don’t design something for kids that you don’t also find engaging and interesting,”

To create programs in Scratch, one simply adds “sprites” onto a work area and then attaches actions to each sprite to make them move, change color, bounce off other objects, and make sounds.

Scratch is available for Mac OS X and Windows, and can be downloaded for free at scratch.mit.edu.

Why use Scratch?

• LwICT Continuum
• Bloom’s Revised Digital Taxonomy
• Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age
• New Pathways into Robotics: Strategies for Broadening Participation
• Scratch and 21st Century Learning Skills
• Edutainment, No Thanks…

Download Scratch from WSD

• Download Scratch 1.4 – Windows Installer (from the WSD)
• Download Scratch 1.4 – Macintosh Installer (from the WSD)
• Scratch Learning Cards – (from MIT site)

Award Winning High School Course

• http://www.funlearning.de/
  • PDF of the above site (English)
• Research Paper – Three Drivers for Creativity…

Documentation, Tutorials Learning Resources for Scratch 1.4:

• PicoBoard – Real world sensors for Scratch projects
• Programming Concepts – for Scratch 1.4
• Reference Guide – for Scratch 1.4
• Scratch Site at MIT – An on-line collection of Scratch applications
  (over 500 000 projects)
• ScratchEd – Teacher and Presenter Resources
• Learn Scratch – Video Tutorials
• http://www.howardism.org/Technical/Scratch/Book/ (Howard Abrams blog site)
  This site contains a well written book on using Scratch (Download and online)

Calorie Activity

• Activity that demonstrates one method of validating responses.

Scratch Extensions – New Versions by Other Authors (blog site)

• BYOB – A version of Scratch that allows one to create their own blocks (updated – based on Scratch 1.4)
• Some of the features of BYOB (these features are unique to the modified version of Scratch 1.4)
  • custom blocks (functional recursion)
    • includes majority of Scratch 1.4 features (esp. string functions)
    • can open/import any Scratch project
    • arguments now take  both numerical and text input (and reporters)
    • double click on a custom reporter block to show its result
    • the block editor’s answer field includes drag & drop functionality
    • improved debugging functions (error blocks are displayed red)
    • escaping out of infinite atomic loops
    • block editor is resizable
  • nestable sprites (structural recursion)
    • create composite sprites (made out of subsprites)
  • • sprites can be nested infinitely, making them “parts” of more complex simulations
    • subsprites follow their owner’s motion, heading, resizing and graphical effects, and serve as their owner’s extended sensors
    • subsprites can be set to follow their owner’s rotation, or to rotate independently
  • other
    • share sprites in a mesh network (this includes nested sprites)
    • built-in compiler lets you convert any Scratch/BYOB project into an .exe (Windows only)
    • autoscrolling
    • scrolling by dragging
    • undo

Simple Geometry – Create a Square (No Repeat)

Simple Geometry – Create a Square (With Repeat)

Extensions:

http://blogs.wsd1.org/etr/files/square-circle-1024x768.flv

Download the video 1024 x 768 – 10 mb

Click to view image.

http://blogs.wsd1.org/etr/files/square-circle-extension.flv

Download the video 1024 x 768 – 2 mb

Click to view image.

Slide Show

Download:

• Slide Show

Stage 1 - Add Images

Stage 2 - Script

Stage 3 - Add Sound

Set Variables

Next Slide Button

Previous Slide Button

Go To First Slide

• Scratch Programming – Stop Motion Animation
  • Day Dream – (Download from WSD)
  • stop motion; cars racin – (Download from WSD)

The resources below were gathered for a workshop on assisting students with using SMART Ideas to Produce to Show Understanding for a Literacy with ICT Session for Kindergarten to Grade Eight educators. They are how to guides which you made find helpful.

SMART Ideas Quick Start by Karen Brooks Nelson  Wellington Catholic District School Board

SMART Board Basics by SMART Technologies

SMART Ideas Tool Bars by SMART Technologies

SMART Quick Guide by Ottawa Carleton District School Board

SMART Ideas: A Step by Step Procedure by Lambton Kent District School Board

Square

Square – NO Loop

Square – Using Loop

NXT Quick Start Guide by Rob Widget

This is an excellent guide written by Rob Widget to support the implementation of Lego NXT into UK schools, the Lego Kit referenced is # 9797.

Highly recommended!

Download

Where does videography fit in the curriculum…

• MECY – K-8 Interactive Continuum
  
• Student friendly K-8 Continuum
  
• Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy – Digital
• Senior Years LwICT 9-12 Framework

Windows Movie Maker – WMM Resources

Effects for Windows Movie Maker – XP

• Most of the above effects were downloaded from:
  • http://nickswmmsource.windowsmoviemaker.info/index.php

Transitions for Windows Movie Maker – XP

• Set 1 – A set of 8 transitions with various designs.
  • Download Set 1 – 2.06 MB
• Set 2 – Another set of 8 transitions with various designs.
  • Download Set 2 – 1.23 MB
• Set 3 – A set of 16 transitions using fractal designs. These transitions have color and the fractals are provided by Neophyte of the forums. The transitions and fractal images in this set can be used for personal, non-commercial purposes only!!
  • Download Set 3 – 4.66 MB
• Most of the above transitions were downloaded from:
  • http://nickswmmsource.windowsmoviemaker.info/index.php

Chroma Key (Blue or Green Screen) Transitions for Movie Maker – XP only

• This set of 14 transitions allows one to use blue or green screen techniques within Microsoft Movie Maker.
  • Download Set – 47 kb

Converting Movie Maker to Other Formats

• WinFF (WinFF provides an easy to use interface for FFmpeg) (Ver 1.04)
• http://winff.org/html/index_html

Making a DVD Using Movie Maker Files:

DVD Flick is a simple to use, but powerful DVD Authoring tool. It can take a number of video files and turn them into a DVD for playback on a DVD player, or computer. It allows one to add additional custom audio tracks, subtitles, and an easy to navigate menu.

• DVD Flick – Download version 1.3.0.6 – 12 MB
  • http://www.dvdflick.net/

ImgBurn is a very powerful, and fairly easy to use tool which allows one to burn in multiple disk types: DVD, HD DVD, Blue-Ray, CD (many formats)

• ImgBurn
  • http://www.imgburn.com/

Photography Tools

• Paint.net
  • http://paint.net/

Videography – BLMs

• Storyboarding Templates
  • WSD Template – 2 frames, no lines
  • WSD Template – 2 frames, lined
  • WSD Template – 1 frame, no lines

• Word List(pdf)
  • Videography word list

• Posters (pdf)
  • Crew positions
  • 10 Steps
• Shots List from the British Film Institute
  • Shot list (pdf)

Videos

Final Cut – 10 Steps to Making a Video – Download

http://blogs.wsd1.org/etr/files/media-smarts.flv

Media Smarts: Kids Learn How to Navigate the Multimedia World – Download

Link to the video on Edutopia