Sunday, September 27, 2015

Space Websites for Jasztal's Homeroom: 9/28/15

Learn about space... When you are done with the FAIR assessment, visit these incredulous websites.

How Big Is Space? Interactive: http://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/20140304-how-big-is-space-interactive/

Solar System Scope: Headphones needed: http://www.solarsystemscope.com/

Explore Mars Now: http://www.exploremarsnow.org/

100,000 Stars: Headphones needed: http://stars.chromeexperiments.com/

Hubble Telescope: Black Holes: Headphones needed: http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/

Sungazer: http://sungazer.net/gallery#!prettyPhoto

NASA's First 50 Years: An Interactive Journey: Headphones needed: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/50th/main.html

Tech Club: 9/28, 9/29, 9/30

Wearables: 

What you have: 
(10) sets of LilyTiny kits with components (LilyTiny, LEDs, coin cell battery holders, coin cell batteries, conductive thread, needles)

What you can use as resources: Sew Electric by Leah Buechley, websites below, and websites you find while searching the Internet

Get started by looking at how the Bookmark Book Light was sewn. Be informed before you delve into the sewing component:
http://sewelectric.org/diy-projects/bookmark-book-light/

Inspiration: LilyTiny Plush Monster:
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/lilytiny-plush-monster
http://highlowtech.org/?p=2760

Design a Bracelet:
http://sewelectric.org/diy-projects/sparkling-bracelet/design-your-bracelet/

I would love to know by the end of the meeting: Is there anything specific you want to make this year that is a wearable? How do you think you will go about in preparing and conducting this project? Do you need anything beyond this kit? Something more advanced? Or a special kind of LED that goes along with this kit? Or is this sufficient? Let me know. 

Bare Conductive Board: 
Almost any material/surface can be turned into a sensor using the Bare Conductive board. This board is phenomenal for a plethora of interactive projects! Using conductive paint, you can paint a design and have people interact with it. 
MaKey MaKey:

You may have seen the MaKey MaKey before, but it is capable of doing so much more than just controlling a piano with Play-Doh buttons or making piano stairs with aluminum foil.

There are many materials out there that are conductive: graphite in pencils, aluminum foil, Play-Doh, numerous fruits and vegetables, water, conductive tape, conductive paint, silverware, and anything made of metal. This list introduces you to even more materials.

You can write programs in Scratch that interact with your MaKey MaKey. You can incorporate numerous sounds when one pushes the up, down, left, and right buttons as well as the space bar. Movement can be incorporated as well as so much more. An example from a user that is really incredible is the Dance Dance Revolution sketch.

The neat thing about the Scratch website is how you can view the programming for any of the sketches on there, and that is what has helped me to learn how to incorporate numerous phenomenal components.

People have even taken the MaKey MaKey so far to set up a conductive room. They have also made assistive technology interfaces for art as well as so much more.

What I have available today is not too far out of the ordinary. A few of my conductive materials are Reynolds Wrap and copper tape. However, there are numerous sites you can visit in conjunction with the MaKey MaKey, and it's completely compatible with Scratch coding, too. 

Gaming and instrument websites for MaKey MaKey: 

Download to enhance your MaKey MaKey experience: 

Sandbox Games/Creating Video Games: 
You get 7 courses for free when you sign up: 

Platforms: 
Added bonus: No downloads required: Classic Mario Level Editor: http://www.pouetpu-games.com/index.php?section=2&game_id=2&w=640&h=480

3D Printing: 

Cubify tutorials: Please watch and see what you can learn about our printer as well as Cubify Invent and Cubify Sculpt, two programs we have access to. 

TUTORIALS: Meet the Cube/How It Works: 

Awesomeness for the future: The more you vow to learn, the sooner these can come! 
A little more about what files stand for (converting files, etc.): 

* We have some small files today, too, that can be printed.

littleBits: 

Booklets at the station, though littlebits.cc has even more.

Digital Booklets:

C++ Basics: 

I have an excellent book that teaches the basics, but this is an online tutorial: http://www.sololearn.com/Course/CPlusPlus/

Microcontrollers: 
Tools -> Serial Ports (If you must, please check the serial ports. Drivers may have to be installed.) 

These are the steps you need to follow in order to be up and running:
- Get an Arduino board
- Download the Arduino environment
- Install the USB drivers

Direct quote from Arduino.cc's How To Guide that I want you to see: "If you are using a USB Arduino, you will need to install the drivers for the FTDI chip on the board. These can be found in the drivers directory of the Arduino distribution. On Windows, you will need to unzip FTDI USB Drivers.zip. Then, when you plug in the Arduino board, point the Windows Add Hardware wizard to the FTDI USB Drivers directory."

Important: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ftdi-drivers/all and http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm

- Connect the board
- Upload a program

If there are errors with the regular Arduino program download, try this: 
*You will just need to paste in the codes. 

Getting Started with Esplora: 

Here is a tutorial, with codes, for Arduino Esplora: 

Digital Sandbox Experiment Guide (uses a program called Ardublock, which is downloaded to my personal computers): 

Animation: 

Websites for animation: 
- Animatron: Can work immediately: https://www.animatron.com/
- Masher: Online video mash-up software: http://www.masher.com/
- Mixamo: Requires sign-up: https://www.mixamo.com/ *Can download Fuse Basic Preview, Face Plus Preview Demo
- EdgeAnimate—Must be downloaded 
- Google WebDesigner—Must be downloaded: https://www.google.com/webdesigner/
- NodeFire: http://www.nodefire.com/nf.html: Free 30-day trial; sign up with Google
- Excellent Resource: http://www.animationmentor.com/

Monday, September 21, 2015

September 22, 2015

Flocabulary: Hyperbole: 
http://blog.flocabulary.com/hyperbole/

Figurative Language in Disney Songs: 
https://prezi.com/ztl1-a6loyj3/figurative-language-in-disney-songs/

2:18-4:44: Geico Commercials Demonstrate Figurative Language: 
https://vimeo.com/78444023

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Spheres of the Earth-- May 7, 2015!

You have a poster that you can keep in poster form, or you can fold it into a book with a front and back cover as well as two inner pages. You must write about the five spheres on your poster/in your booklet.
You can conduct a Google search to find the information, but here are some links to help you.

  • Geography4Kids:: Covers a lot of information! AWESOME site to garner tons of neat facts for your poster or booklet.
  • GREAT site about all spheres!
  • Cryosphere from National Geographic
  • Atmosphere from Ucar.edu
  • The Hydrosphere
  • Sunday, January 25, 2015

    January 26, 2015 Links!

    Math: Um... hint, hint! You can go on Reflex any time! (And I definitely want you to go on sometime this week, but... humor this teacher for now! =))

    Line Plots-- Scholastic StudyJams!

    Equivalent Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions Pac-Man Game (Fairly easy, but the levels get more challenging)--
    http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/mathman_improper_fractions.htm

    Fruit Shoot Game-- Adding Fractions (Choose your challenge!)
    http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/FruitShootFractionsAddition.htm

    Equivalent Fractions Fruit Shoot! (Choose your challenge!)
    http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/equivalent_fractions_shoot.htm

    Soccer Math-- Dividing Fractions Game
    http://www.math-play.com/soccer-math-dividing-fractions-game/soccer-math-dividing-fractions-game.html

    Science: * BTW: This week, I'll tell you about and show you the My Incredible Body iPad app! 

    National Geographic: The Human Body
    http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/

    Study Jams! The Skeletal System
    http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/human-body/skeletal-system.htm

    Circulatory and Respiratory Systems
    http://archive.fossweb.com/modules3-6/LivingSystems/activities/circulation.swf

    Cardiovascular System
    http://www.goldridge08.com/flash/carvas.swf