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KIBO Brings Robotics Alive for JK-2nd Grades

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This fall, K-Lo launched robotics in the primary grades in partnership with Tufts University’s Eliot Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development. The school piloted the KIBO, a robot designed with support from the National Science Foundation, with one kindergarten, first, and second grade class. During the seven week project, students learned about programming, sensors, and the engineering design process with ties to readers theatre in the kindergarten, and earth science in the first and second grades.  

The Lesley team will continue to support the other primary classrooms in learning about the KIBO and how it can be used to deepen understanding and engagement in other curricular activities. To see more about the KIBO, you can see the company discussion of this innovation, and stay tuned to hear more from K-Lo students about their own experiences with robotics!

Check out a couple videos of students presenting their final projects:

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Makerspace Mashup – Inspire 2014

Amanda Kilton, Kate Murphy, Kathy Malone & Karla Anderson
Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School
Anne Larkin, Jacy Edelman, Kreg Hanning & Sue Cusack
Lesley University
The National Institute of Student-Centered Education (NISCE)

INSPIRE 2014 Conference website
Oct 23, 2014

Click an activity for more info
Kinetic Sculpture
Squishy Circuits
Scratch and Maps
Hickory Dickory Dock
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Makerspace Mashup – MassCUE 2014

MassCUE15_photo

Amanda Kilton, Kate Murphy, Kathy Malone & Karla Anderson
Kennedy-Longfellow Elementary School
Anne Larkin, Jacy Edelman, Kreg Hanning & Sue Cusack
Lesley University
Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents October 22, 2014

 

Click an activity for more info
SquishyCircuits_MASSCUE
Kinetic Sculpture
Squishy Circuits
Scratch and Maps
Hickory Dickory Dock
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Extending Scratch 2.0 with Strange Devices

Kreg Hanning, Lesley University
Stephen Howell, Academic Engagement Manager for Microsoft Ireland, South Dublin
Connor Hudson, High School student, Boulder Colorado
Steve Homes, Creative Computer Lab, Galway, Ireland

Scratch@MIT Conference 2014
August 8th, 2014

At this years Scratch@MIT conference I was fortunate enough to share my Leap Motion extension during a panel discussion titled, “Extending Scratch 2.0 with Strange Devices”.  The discussion centered around the use of the extension in Scratch 2.0, and some of the thought behind developing the extension.

Stephen Howell shared his Kinect2Scratch extension, which let’s you connect the Microsoft Kinect to Scratch. I first saw the Kinect2Scratch extension during the Scratch@MIT 2012 conference, and it was the inspiration behind my own extensions. We saw the power of his extension with a Space Invaders game that was controlled by Stephen jumping left and right, and throwing his hands in the air to fire.

Connor Hudson showed off his extension which connects a Sphero to Scratch. Connor demonstrated the extension by driving the Sphero around the audience, weaving it through the audience members legs. In case you didn’t notice above, Connor is still in high school. Great job Connor!

Steve Homes brought along a device that many of us recognize from our living rooms, a Wii Balance Board. Steve showed off his surfing skills by riding the balance board through a Scratch powered space simulation, avoiding asteroids and picking up power gems along the way.

The session was open to dialog with the audience, and there were some great questions. We covered topics from the programming languages behind the extensions to how they can be implemented in a classroom setting.

Thanks Scratch Team!

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Teaching Teachers to Code

Twenty junior kindergarten – 5th grade students from the Kennedy-Longfellow School (KLO) took on the challenge to teach teachers, and other community members, how to code at this year’s Lesley University Community of Scholar’s Day. The KLO/Lesley Technology Partnership team are in their third year teaching Scratch and other programming tools to students at the KLO Community Schools Afterschool Program.

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