5th Grade Computer Club

Day1

What would you like to do in computer club? Enter your ideas here so we can vote.

Club Rules:

Once we voted for the activities, you will do your best to participate.

You will not engage in unrelated activities: youtube, gaming or anything else. If I catch you doing something you are not supposed to do, I will take your laptop or iPad away for the session.

Today, let's do stop motion animation

Watch this video as an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3p2TZ5q9to

- Open the Stop Motion App on your iPad (let's make an alphabetical list of your names and then assign iPad numbers for each of you in sequence.

- Watch the stop motion example that comes with the app: it rearranges the letters of WELCOME

Day2

Many of you asked for Scratch coding, so let's start with that. We will work on this for several sessions.

Go to scratch.mit.edu in a web browser. Depending on your level, you can do one of three things:

- new to scratch, please follow the Getting Started tutorial (Level A)

- fairly new to scratch, please follow the Virtual Pet tutorial (Level B)

- advanced scratchers (Level C): Find a partner. I will ask you at times to help the beginners if they get stuck on a step in the tutorial. The rest of the time, you and your partner should DESIGN a cool project or game. Design means you brainstorm on ideas, then choose one and write down in a document what your game is supposed to do. The main idea, and then details. Put your design in a shared google doc with your partner and me. I will come around to discuss your ideas. Then you can log into your Scratch account, and start implementing your game.

If you are new to scratch, you don't need to create a Scratch account for now, you can try it out without an account. Just click the Create link on top, then click the Question mark in the upper right corner, so the Help section comes up, click Step-by-Step tab, and follow the Getting Started with Scratch tutorial. If you want to save your work at the end, we will need to create an account for you (so call me), but just to try it out, it's not needed. After you are done, you can spend time exploring what other people created in Scratch by clicking the Scratch icon on the front page. At the end of today, or next time, we will have a short quiz on basic Scratch terms: sprite, backdrop, how to create or delete a sprite, how to animate a sprite.

Animation challenge: Get the cat to walk across your screen.

Day3:

1. If you don't have a scratch account, let's create one for you so your projects get saved.

2.Review basic scratch terms.

3.Who was able to get the cat (or a person or anything) to walk across the screen?

4. Take the Quiz.

5. Teamwork: Eventually, I will want all of you to find a partner and work in teams of two. To design your story or project or game, copy this design template, rename it, so it reflects your names (eg. Oliver and Max Schratch Design), then share it with your partner and with me, so we all 3 of us can read it. Let me show you an example.

Day4:

Let's review your designs!

Still don't have an idea for your project? Try this: think of what you learnt in the "Feelings" class (the Second Step weekly lesson in your homeroom), or the Project Planet discussions about climate change. Why not do an animation or a game about feelings or climate change? [credit: I got this idea when watching my son Thomas create a game about a cat and a dog getting into a fight] For example you can have a game where you have two characters in a conflicting situation, then show how they can resolve the problem based on what you learnt in "Feelings" class. :-)

For climate change, you can review this video

Day 5:

Some students decided to work on their biome research project during computer club to practice their computer research skills.

Benjamin found this raining tacos version on Scratch, and had great questions: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/179826979/

- how do you make the tacos fall and spin?

- how do you animate the face of the boy so it looks like it's moving his lips while singing?

Activity: Click See Inside and examine the code, then start a NEW Scratch project (from scratch), draw your own character and animate it. Write the code yourself (don't copy to your scratch backpack or don't remix the game).

Day 6:

iPads and Apps

Day 7:

Contests and Winning Projects discussion

Day 8:

Let's test a digital printer, and print a chess piece.

Day 9:

CodeAcademy.org - python coding

Day10:

Bitsbox

To get started watch the video: https://bitsbox.com/start/ then try the tutorial that teaches you the basics. Next, I will give you Bitsbox cards. Watch video #2 "Creating your first Bitsbox card app.