Stop Motion Science

8Science students collaborated in the creation of a LEGO Stop Motion Video to demonstrate their understanding of substances and different types of Elements. They created a story line that included MONATOMIC ELEMENTS, DIATOMIC COMPOUND and TRIATOMIC COMPOUNDS!

New Blakers!

Welcome Dash and Dot! AfterSchool Coding Club members are test-driving the new robots which will soon be integrated into the Science curriculum.

Digital Learning Day 6th Discussion Panel

Medfield School District held its 3rd annual Digital Learning Day Conference filled with over 60 workshops for K-12 teachers in district and from schools out-of-district. Wellesley 6th Grade teachers joined Blake's 6th teachers and students for a discussion on their initial year of having 1:1 iPads in the classroom.

A Shout Out to Medfield HS/MS Student Volunteers

Our Digital Learning Day Conference wouldn't have been possible without the support of our wonderful Medfield HS Students and Blake MS students. This photo was taken at the beginning of the day, during a briefing with Neal Sonnenbergy (HS Tech Integration Specialist)

Look out for these future App Developers

This group of Blake MS girls are entered into the Global Competition, Technovation to design a mobile app that solves a community/social issue. Wish them Luck! The final pitch is on May 1st @ Microsoft NERD Center!

Took the Show on the Road

Blake MS Principal Nat Vaughn and 8Science Teacher Jason Heim presented about the Blake iPad Initiative at the LearnLaunch Conference, Harvard Business School.

Green Screen App Smashing

At our final EdTechTeacher Workshop, 6th/7th Grade Teachers explored their creative side by layering green screen videos over images for engaging instructional videos. It was total fun!

Convert Smells to Energy = Smellergy!

Nicolina is changing the world one nose at a time! Her entry was clearly on track with dreaming, designing, and delivering an energy-saving idea into the Blake Energy Invention Contest!

Sometimes the Ideas start here

Planning and drawing out a story board before the creation of an Explain Everything project is an essential step in the process!

4.13.2013

Slow Motion Science

Let's face it- there is nothing that can replace a student conducting their own hands-on Science experiments!
This pretty much still holds true in a 1:1 iPad environment.  In fact, the iPad actually takes the back seat and serves a very different purpose in these situations. Plus, you only need ONE!




Enter into Mr. Heim's 8th Science Class.
His students usually work in partners for experiments. However, the Flame Test is the one test that requires more safety procedures to be in place. Therefore, Mr. Heim takes the lead in conducting the only experiment which means most students will have to watch from a safe distance.  Can you imagine being the student sitting in the back of the class? Maybe you were absent that day?  Or the experiment happens so fast that you missed the most important part?  

Well, Mr. Heim discovered a solution to these challenges. He simply found a stand to hold his device near the experiment and the Slo Pro iPad app to record & replay the entire process in slow motion as many times as needed. 

Watch the video below to join his class in action.

*You will also notice students then documented the results by hand-drawing a chart and explaining their observations in the Explain Everything app. This makes it possible for students to later return to their own audio-visual recording of the results.   Think of how beneficial is it to be able to watch and listen to your own explanation at any time too?

Without further ado...The Flame Test!



Let's take this one step further... 
Do you think all of the Science classes had the same experience?  
Reached the same results? 
Drew the same conclusions? 

Maybe. Maybe not.
Mr. Heim now has the ability to share each recording
with each class to draw their own conclusions.

 My conclusion:  Science in slow motion can be a powerful tool!

4.02.2013

Vintage Social Networking

Parents & Teachers,


Social media has actually been around for a long time..
who knew?!
Although it looked more like this!


The difference is how it has evolved into connecting and sharing in a more public way.
While this opens up and offers opportunities to learn from others educationally 
and personally,  it is important that we have a solid understanding of social networking
and how our students /children are using them. 

Please take time to read: