I plan on skipping this lesson. I don’t think I understand it enough and how it fits into student learning needs in order to effectively teach it. Plus, our veteran ECS teachers said they had trouble getting through unit 6 the first year so this will help.
The big idea I hope the students come away with is that; in gathering data connections way be obscured by the expression of the data. Standardizing the expression can reveal otherwise obscure connections.
So last year I replaced the Native American bead activity with the following activity.
1 Journal on the question “What do you think Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg was about”?
2 Do a wordle using the Gettysburg Address’ original text. Note the standout words and themes from the original text. Revisit your journal entry. Save the wordle.
3 Massage the data of the original text by (a) identifying themes in the words of the texts for example “final resting place”, “gave their lives”, “last full measure of devotion”, “dead”, “died”, and “perish” all have in common that they in some way reference death. Other themes can be identified, life/birth and consecration/dedication. (b) Replace the words used to express the themes with common word identifying the theme; the 6 examples, listed above, expressing the theme of death would each be replaced with the word death. Hence the “death” would appear now 6 times. Similar replacements should be made for each identified theme. Question in discussion whether the substitutions change the essential meaning of the speech
4 Create a wordle using the “massaged” text. Compare it to the original wordle. Revisit journal entries regarding the meaning of the speech.
5 Journal the question “If the essential meaning of the speech was unchanged why did new meanings and themes appear after the substitutions?”
The student’s historical and artistic background for the Native American bead activity will be very slight. The discussion of symmetry is very condensed. The connection between the symmetric figures and their meaning is fleetingly touched upon in the discussion. Unaddressed these 3 problems stand in the way of a student’s appreciation of the use of computers to represent data and to discover meanings in that representation. On the other hand, the American Civil War and Lincoln are topics touched on in elementary school social studies and again in secondary school. The identification of themes involving common English words and a few graphic phrases is likely to be more accessible than stylized icons of animals and cultural themes of Native American art. The act of adjusting representation into computer analyzable data is at least as obvious in rewording as it is in designing abstract digital images. The concept of mathematical symmetry is indeed lost in the rewording activity but symmetry should not be considered central to the goal of identifying “the mathematical connections in the output of [data analysis] tools”. Focusing heavily on it, as a student would have to, in the beads activity could skewer the student’s understanding of data analysis. The student could well have a take away that sees geometric symmetry as essential to data analysis.
I understand that there is a loss to cultural identification in the reworking of the activity at this point and will find another activity in which it can be legitimately included.
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Attached is my design. This lesson is engaging to students. This is also my first time using beadloom program and I will also try other programs. I will let my students more freedom to choose their designs or projects and also the program they would prefer using. I will show the videos to ignite their interest. Lastly, I will relate geometric shapes and coordinate systems in this lesson.
This was fun. I think student’s will be able to relate to the importance of design and accurate directions.
Struggling with this one! We have 1-1 devices in my room and they are IPADS. So of course that is what I have at home. I tried each one of the links you gave me and all came up with a screen saying it wasn’t supported by my device, one said I needed adobe flash player… Which isn’t accepted on iPads either. The only thing I can think of is trying to schedule a time to get into the computer labs at school and have them try these. I was kind of interested in the hands on building of the buckyball molecules ( hexagonal weave) just because my geometry students do a Christmas project. We call it Geom-a-tree and we create polyhedrons and decorate trees for Hospice patients for Christmas and donate everything. So maybe that would be a time to reintroduce this lesson show a video or two that kids can relate to with CS, but have them create the hexagonal weave? If anyone has a suggestion for programs that work on iPads …I’m listening?!
I think it would be valuable to connect this lesson to something the students can really grab hold of, whether it be designing a video game character, a design challenge to solve a problem, or creating a new product to market!
Also, here is my design, I’m a simple person.
I will show the video clips then tell students the completed assignments can be duplicated on the computer in a matter of minutes. I will show how the lesson emphasis coordinates found in math especially geometry. I am still working on my project and will post soon.
I like the idea of showing the videos and letting students see how the design concepts are used on the computer. Then I like how they can have a hands-on practice with the design/planning/patterns by using the resources provided (bead loom, basket weaver, rug weaver). This will also relate to algebra and graphing which a lot of students probably already have experience with. I think relating this to what students see in movies and video games will keep their interest.
This ties in well with the concepts of slope and coordinate geometry, as others have mentioned. I believe that I will need to be very clear on the directions (they were a bit lacking here) on what I expect students to accomplish. We will not have access to Photoshop so I will need to do some exploring (I was unclear what we were using Photoshop for, here, to be honest). The bead weaver app was a lot of fun and it would be something that we might be able to tie in with our Fab Lab design work.
I must say this is an interesting lesson and I understand the concept being taught, however I was unable to use the software to create a bead pattern. At this time, my students would be using graph paper to create a bead pattern and writing down the commands and controls being used. Hopefully the students will be successful in using the inquiry method and we can share with the class.
I think that I can relate this lesson back to how graphics are created on screen. By repeating certain patterns and shapes you can get a reasonable image.
I would definitely have my students plan out their designs on a piece of graph paper before using the computer software. That way the students can plan out their start and end points for their design.
One resource I am considering using in processing. This application allows a user to make graphics through code.
This unit has really thrown me. I do not know anything about design, geometrics, etc. I find it very hard to follow this lesson, therefore, I can’t create an image. I clicked on the different types, but it is not registering with me. Truly wish this had been a lesson gone over in PD.
I think this is a great unit that shows how data, modeling, and designing is an important CS concepts. Since I also teach Adobe, I am fortunate to have access Photoshop; and will be utilizing the projects given in this lesson. I have also seen other great ideas in this forum that could also be used.
This lesson can be related to design because of the creative aspect. Students can use the designing and can make connections to modeling and data. I used the basket weaving website and I found it fairly simple to use but students will need a little more instruction than what was given. Here is my image.
I agree with previous comments about getting this one in the week long PD, but I am unsure of where it would fit in. I don’t think the attendees should have to present it, but I don’t think the presenters should have to present another lesson. Maybe this would be a good lesson to discuss as a whole in between the lessons that are already taught and together everyone could determine the best way to present it.
I think this is a great unit to demonstrate to the students how data, modeling, and designing is an important CS concepts. I also teach Adobe, so I will be utilizing the projects given in this lesson. I have also seen other great ideas in this forum that could also be used.
A group did go over the culturally relevant design tool during the training I attended. Through no fault of theirs, I felt a little lost and thought I would figure it out when I had time to go over it at home. The beading and basket weaving tools are easier for me to relate to than the hair braiding tool that the team chose to present in class.
You’ll have to trust that I created a design. I switched devices and I don’t know how to find my image.
I think my students will enjoy this lesson being most of them video games’ fans. I will play the avatar video and ask them to design on paper first and them use the site to replicate their desing and reflect what was the hardest part of using the software. I also love the fact they will see math use in their software as they use it.
This has been one of my favorite lessons so far because it is interactive and uses concepts that are not inherently computer related but will be very relevant. This lesson can be used in a discussion of pixels and computer graphics as well as programming and computer language. This lesson also enforces equality because most students will not be familiar with any of the cultural creations. My lab does not have Photoshop, but I will use the basket weaving program. I will use youtube to show a video of a video game being created. I have not found a perfect video yet, but there are quite a few behind the scenes videos about the creation of graphics and games. The connection to gaming will engage students and excite them.