Updated Picture!

WCS finished up a major school renovation this past summer.  My classroom was one of the last to be completed.  Here the latest picture of the space...still several more projects to complete, but it's looking good!

Taking Our Work with Micro:bits a Little Further

I have had a number of students in my last class of the year get really excited about extending their learning beyond classroom assignments.  As we come to the end of the year, students are finishing up by sharing their projects.  This first clip shows a student who integrated a servo motor to create a High Five-o-Matic: 

Then this student impressed his class by teaching them how to make video games with Makecode and a Micro:bit.  They were so inspired that they are all trying to make their own games now!

Micro:bit Projects

Basketball Scorekeeper

New Fidgets

Our latest design challenge was to create a "fidget" with at least three inputs and three outputs.  Students were given the choice of using either the Microbit or the Circuit Playground Express.  It was a lot of fun to see what they came up with...many upcycled their old stuffed animals!

Circuit Playground (Express)

After spending some time programming Micro:bits with block coding on Makecode.org, I introduced out new Circuit Playgrounds.  We just received a set of 20 for the Design Tech classroom from Williston's Family As Partners.  The students were so excited to see how the CPs could take their programming to the next level.  Lots of excitement for the built in speakers and sound and light sensors!  I can't wait to see what they create with them for our next challenge!

Making Counting Devices

This week my students were assigned the task of creating a device that included a program for their Micro:bits that used some type of counting.  Duct tape wallets were very popular, but there were many other ideas inclusing, scorekeepers, magic eight balls, and pedometers!  Check out one student sharing her wallet: