Ms. Gaida's Tech Corner

If the dinosaurs came back in Mrs. Baier's class....

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:56:44 -0600

After reading the story "If the dinosaurs came back" (written and illustrated by Bernard Most), the second graders thought about what might happen if the dinosaurs really did come back. They used the program Kid Pix to create their own illustrations of dinosaurs, coexisting with people on earth. Check out their creative ideas! If you want to print individual illustrations, simply click on the picture and a new window will open for you to print.

To see Ms. Roth's class, scroll down to the next blog entry.

If the dinosaurs came back in Ms. Roth's class....

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:48:12 -0600

Computer Kids' Corner

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:56:30 -0600

The Computer Kids were great this week! After asking the students what they liked best and what they learned, this is what they said.
Kira - I liked drawing in Kid Pix and Tux Paint.I learned about the firewire cord.
Ajay - I liked making songs in GarageBand. I learned about the monitor.
Tyler - I liked drawing pictures and taking pictures. I learned that you can draw good, good pictures.
Gustavo - I liked the games and the computer. I learned about the mouse.
Libby - I liked when we got to to take pictures with the camera. I learned about parts on the computer.
Roman - I liked drawing pictures, podcasting and printing. I learned how to go to Kid Pix.
Nicholas - I liked going to Starfal and podcasting. I learned about the screen.
Nash - I liked typing and playing on the computer. I learned about the Internet.
Haelee - I liked Whyville and coloring my map. I learned how to paint a horse in Kid Pix.
David - I liked when we did the marble thing in Key Skills. I learned about the keyboard.
Aiden - I liked PBS-CyberChase and Kid Pix. I leanred how to be safe on the Internet.
Joe - I liked all of computer class. I learned about lots of parts of the computer.

Surfing for a fun website? Check out my website! Many of the places we visited this week are linked from my site. Click here for Ms. Gaida's Lower School Technology webpage.

In class today, the students created a page in Kidspiration, a conceptual mapping program, titled, "All About Me". The kids also played chess and visted two new websites. We made comics at Make Beliefs Comics and created a puzzle at PuzzleMaker.

It was a great week and I really enjoyed having all the kids in class. Have a great summer!

Podcasting, mapping and webquests

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:21:28 -0600

Four brave students decided to showcase their strong voices today. Click on the links below to hear their podcasts.
group1.mp3
nash.mp3
nicholas.mp3

roman.mp3

tyler.mp3

The Computer Kids also created maps today using the program Neighborhood Map Machine. They added roads, highways, biking paths, buildings, lakes and mountains to their neighborhoods. We talked about how to use a key and locate landmarks on a grid.

To end the morning, we went on a webquest. We visited a website that talked about the importance of Internet safety. The site is called NetsmartzKids. We also visited Whyville and translated language using Google Translate.

Computer Experts

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:22:13 -0600

Your child is officially a computer expert, or well on their way to becoming one. We learned about all the parts of a computer today! Ask your child to name three parts of a computer. Some of the parts we dicussed today were: keyboard, mouse, speakers, CD-Rom, monitor, CPU, ethernet, USB, firewire, headphones, microphone, and power button.

We also used the program Key Skills today. This is a math and language arts program, specifically designed for K-2. Students worked independently at their own level on reading and math skills.

Lastly, the kids created songs in GarageBand. Click on the links below to listen to some of their creations.
ComputerKids1.mp3

ComputerKids2.mp3

rock'n roll 1.mp3

Summer camp song.mp3

A special thanks to our helpers today!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:51:52 -0600

Here are some pictures the students drew in Kid Pix to go along with the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle.

Say Cheese!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:00:37 -0600

We started off the morning by drawing pictues in Kid Pix to go along with our Brown Bear podcast yesterday. They learned about various tools in Kid Pix (paint brush, fill, erase, type).

Later in the morning, the Computer Kids were busy taking pictures with digital cameras. They learned how to turn the camera on and off, frame the shot and take the picture. They took some amazing photos! I think we may have a few aspiring photographers!

Please email Ms. Gaida if it is okay for her to post your child's picture on this blog. No names will be attached to the pictures.
ngaida@moundsparkacademy.org

Computer Kids Corner...off to a great start!

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:28:30 -0600

Computer Kids Corner met for the fist time today. What a great group of kids! After some brief introductions, the students got right to work. They drew pictures in Tux Paint, visited the Harcourt math web site to play a game which was tailored according to their grade level, and created a group podcast. Click on the link below to download and/or listen to the podcast.

A special thanks to our student helpers today, Brendan and Laurel!