We recently commenced a subscription to Go!Animate 4 Schools after our Head of Science expressed interest in trialling this web 2.0 tool with her students.

As part of Year 11 Chemistry, students have to explore the lives of famous scientists, particularly those who have had an influence in the field of Chemistry.

Usually, the students would research their chosen scientist then present their information in a Word document or PowerPoint slideshow that would be submitted to their teacher.

After seeing a colleague give a presentation that incorporated Go!Animate, our Head of Science could see the possibilities.

We started with a small number of accounts that were allocated to staff and students.  In pairs, students researched their chosen scientist, devised a storyboard outlining the key points then created an animation using Go!Animate 4 Schools that was two to three minutes in duration.

The positive outcomes of the project were:

·         A high level of student engagement

·         The opportunity to develop skills in the use of a new program

·         The opportunity to develop problem solving skills by assisting others to use Go!Animate, troubleshoot and find solutions to challenges

·         The opportunity to share their work with a global audience

·         The additional access to a bank of desktop computers in the Science area meant that students who were experiencing difficulties using their netbooks, had an alternative computer

I visited one of the Year 11 Chemistry classes as they shared their Go!Animate creations – and popcorn!  What struck me was the creative ways every group had approached the project and the way they managed to use the Go!Animate tools to their full advantage.  Characters, settings, importing images, voices and even voices in other languages were used to cleverly convey the key points about their chosen scientist.

I would like to congratulate our Head of Science, the staff and students for their enthusiasm and “can do” attitude throughout our first Go!Animate 4 Schools project.

If you would like further information about Go!Animate 4 Schools subscriptions, visit http://goanimate4schools.com

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"Sporty Maths" is a Year 8 Elective where students explore maths concepts centred around the theme of sport.

While celebrating St Valentine's Day at our school on February 14th, the class had a "We Love Technology" session

where the Xbox Kinect was used and students played the "Kinect Sports" game.

Students took turns to participate in the track and field events.

Times and distances were recorded and shared on an Excel Spreadsheet, then the data was analysed.

Many thanks to the Year 8 students for participating so enthusiastically and to their teacher,

Mr B, for his assistance in organising the session.

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One of our current displays features items related to Minecraft including books about rocks and minerals as well as some real gemstones.  Students have also assisted to create the display with some Minecraft Papercraft blocks.  I've also purchased some goodies from one of my favourite online stores, ThinkGeek, including a Minecraft Foam Pickaxe and Minecraft Magnets.

Although we don't have our own Minecraft server, students are encouraged (and very keen) to share the items they have created via their individual accounts.  When you speak to students and ask them why they enjoy using Minecraft, their answers are always similar, "I like Minecraft because I love to create things."

Everyday, I am greeted with an exciting new creation from one of our Miners!  Recently, one of our students, Corey, created his own TRON Minecraft avatar using Microsoft Paint.  By examining the Paint file of another Minecraft avatar, Corey modified it then uploaded the new file to use as his own avatar.  (Screen shot to come!)

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In our previous post, we explained how we have been testing Stephen Howell's amazing Kinect2Scratch program.  In this movie, one of our students tests the Kinect2Scratch Music game followed by Space Invaders.

In our original test of the Space Invaders game, we were unable to get the shooting action working by raising our arms.  However, after a quick tweet to Stephen Howell, he very kindly published some additions that we were able to add to Scratch in order to get the full functionality.  He also very kindly added a new game, Kinect2Scratch Music, for us to test.  As I set up my computer for the students to test this game, even I had no idea what awaited us!  It was great to share in the excitement with the students!

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We have spent the past week testing Stephen Howell's amazing software, Kinect2Scratch.  Wow! This is such an exciting development in games creation and, in particular, the use of the Kinect Sensor Camera with one of our favourite free software programs, Scratch.

We have previously used Scratch 4 OpenSim as part of our Virtual Worlds Project and are huge fans of the Scratch software.  Not only has Stephen created Kinect2Scratch but he has also shared a number of games that can be easily modified by altering the Scratch Blocks and their settings.

Our movie shows some students testing the Ball Bounce and Skeleton games.  By installing the regular Scratch program, some additional Kinect software and connecting the Kinect Sensor Camera directly to a PC, we suddenly have an exciting way to not only play games but for learners to easily create their own Kinect games. 

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As part of our Inside the Game theme this term, we are encouraging students to share games that they have created.  One of our Year 7 students, Daniel, was interviewed recently about a game he has created using the Warcraft Editor.

Students have had the opporunity to play Daniel's multiplayer game (that is yet to be officially named) and I was both fascintated and amazed to see the intricate programming involved in his project.

Congratulations Daniel and thanks so much for sharing your exciting work with us!

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We started by making two versions of a very simple game called, Rock Chase.  The object of the game was to use the cycle to run over the rocks to score points.  If the wisps flying through the sky hit your cycle, you lost points.

The day before our Year 8's were going on their camp to Lake Eildon, we decided to alter the Rock Chase game by adding Lake Eildon words to each of the rocks.  Therefore, players had to run over the rocks with the Lake Eildon words to score points.  As we played each of the games, the scores were recorded and students enjoyed trying to beat their "personal best" or their peer's highest score.

The object of these activities was to generate interest in games creation and in the use of the Kodu Game Lab software.  It is a free download, has excellent tutorials available to get you started, allows users to create simple games yet there is the potential to create much more involved games using the advanced features.  

It was great to see students asking questions about the software and the Windows Controller. Kodu Game Lab allows you to easily share your games creations with others to play and edit. We shared our Rock Chase with one of our students, Andrew, who made his own improvements and then shared it with us :)

Visit the sites below to learn more about Kodu Game Lab and obtain the free download:
http://www.kodugamelab.com/
http://planetkodu.com/
http://fuse.microsoft.com/page/kodu.aspx

You can also download our basic Rock Chase game and try creating your own version :)

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This week, I was fortunate enough to visit Meredith Primary School where Year 6 teacher, Ben Gallagher, is running a program he has called the Digital Sandpit.

As the name suggests, it is a "sandpit" approach to the use of technology, giving students a variety of experiences with digital devices.

Students are organised into groups and, each day when they arrive at school, have different activities to participate in.  Some activities are quite structured (eg: Mathletics on a laptop computer or Brain Training on a Nintendo DSi) whilst others are less structured.

Activities are centred around the use of a variety of devices such as gaming consoles (eg: Kinect Sensor Camera with the Xbox and the Nintendo Wii), hand held devices (eg: the Nintendo DSi and the iPod touch) and mobile devices (eg: the iPad and laptop computer).

What struck me immediately was how happy and enthusiastic the students were as they started their school day.  It was evident that the first 20 minutes spent on these activities really set the positive tone for the rest of the day.  Ben explained how the introduction of the program was having a positive influence across the curriculum, with the Digital Sandpit activities being used as a basis for Literacy and Numeracy.  The program has been extended to the Year 5 class and there are hopes to extend it to other year levels, depending on funding.

Meredith Primary School is also very close to completing an impressive refurbishment and I was fortunate enough to be taken on a tour by their principal.  The learning spaces are open, flexible and inviting with beautiful decking areas leading to the playground.

As I left the school, I was surprised to see that I had only been there for an hour as I had got so much out of the short visit!

Ben was a presenter at this year's ICTEV Conference and you can click here to view his presentation, The Digital Sandpit, exploring and learning through technology.

Special thanks to Ben for being so welcoming and the friendly staff and students at Meredith Primary School.

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So far, our Virtual Worlds Project Team have been exploring "The Architecture of Games" and Kodu Game Lab has been enthusiastically received with students playing and editing Xbox style games with the use of a Windows Controller.

Stay tuned!  There's more to come!

Special thanks to:
The students from Northern Beaches Christian School for their "Minecraft Pixel Art" image
Tara, for her OpenSim creations and
Stephen Howell for sharing his Kinect2Scratch software 

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This is an amazing infographic from the Online Colleges website.  It covers five areas:

1. Skills video games develop
2. Educational games
3. Facts and statistics
4. How video games are used at school and
5. Other skills video games can help you hone

Click here to view the infographic on the Online Colleges website.
Special thanks to Cathie Howe from the fabulous MacICT team at Macquarie University in New South Wales. 

Via: Online Colleges Guide

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In 2011 we have continued to explore a number of exciting areas such as games creation using Kodu Game Lab, Scratch and use of the Microsoft Kinect Sensor Camera with these tools.  We have also had lots of fun creating our own special BeeBot, "Phee-Bee" who has been programmed to complete some exciting journeys around our Senior Library this year!

You can follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bgselearning

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1. Outline what you were aiming to achieve ‘in world’ in terms of your robot. That is, give an outline of what you wanted to create and how you wanted it to operate.

I was trying to make a pool so it would follow me around but I couldn’t make the right script so I made a ball that comes when I call it.

2. Include a copy of the Linden Script in a separate notepad (text) document. Access this through Windows > All programs > Accessories > Notepad

// levelOut()
// remove the x and y rotation components, so that the object is
// level with respect to the ground
levelOut()
Makes it level to the ground so it will not go into the ground.

3. How could your robot be improved further? Provide an outline of at least one other thing that could be achieved in world.

Make my ball follow me around. Maybe make it look like there is water in the pool.

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I built a tower/building which will raise 20m or follow me when I tell it to. I have also put a tree and a smiley face which follows me.

:)NATH>G:)

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Hi
What I have learnt in opensim and scratch has been very helpful. What I have done is cool but not what I wanted to do because nothing would save like my walls and my roof. The only thing that saved was my plane. I was planning to build a two storey home with a carport at the bottom of it.
Lachlan

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1. I wanted to make an object that would spin around 360 degrees in 60 degree intervals whenever it is touched by someone.

2. In the virtual world we were able to successfully make a robot. I think that robotics was pretty successful and I’m not sure how it could have been improved. My object qualifies as a robot because it can complete a routine task on command.

3. My robot successfully spins around when touched. I could probably have made a more complicated script to improve it though, such as making it go up and down as well as spin.

Ben

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Hi,

In Virtual World I experienced many things. I learned how to create things and how to link and build different stuff. I created a house with a floor that would look different when you moved and a bed, a dart, a chair and a table. I had a good time inworld and it showed me about virtual worlds. I would recommend everyone to give the virtual world a good go.

Cheers,

Will

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I decided to create an arrow that did a lot of movements when you typed in Fly and pressed enter but it did not really work as planned. It would have worked better if I had thought about the movements a bit more.

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1 Outline what you were aiming to achieve ‘in world’ in terms of your robot. That is, give an outline of what you wanted to create and how you wanted it to operate.

I wanted to create a forest where I could hide in my tree-house.

2. Provide a written assessment of the successes and areas for further work and improvement of the exercise. Include an exploration of how your object meets the criteria of being a ‘robot’.

I think my robot exceeds the criteria for being in its self because of how it reacts to commands making structures and wearing different clothes.

3. How could your robot be improved further? Provide an outline of at least one other thing that could be achieved in world.

I think I could in improve my character and creations by probably creating an elevator to the bottom of my tree house so I can quickly get up there without a fuss.

By Jesse

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