Animated Artworks

It has become my habit in the STEM Lab to experiment, so to speak, on the 5th graders. When I devise a new project or new activity or practice, I find it useful to try it out on the group of students who will have gone on to middle school next year. That way, the necessary tweaks and alterations can be made for the following year. This unit is not entirely mine as much is adapted from a number of different activities I have seen done by my various Twitter friends.

Having said that, this is very much an experimental unit in which the 5th grade has been working. It is no secret that I do all that I can to bring concepts and skills from other subject areas into my lab projects. I have wanted to implement a unit with a fine arts focus for a while, and I felt like the 5th graders finally had the requisite physical computing skills to be successful. The project involves students creating their own interpretations of a famous artist's work, both digitally and physically.

Students started by doing some research into the life and work of a particular artist. The first two rotation groups got Vincent Van Gogh (because the first group was shorted 3 days due to various interruptions) and the third group is at work on Claude Monet. (I have not settled on an artist for the last group, yet.) These were chosen because they have a wide range of works to choose from. Students selected a work and sketched it into their notes. This gave me the chance to teach some basic drawing techniques which was a novel experience.

Next, students used Scratch to create an animated version of the painting they selected that also shared information about their artist. First they had to download an image of the painting. We used Wikimedia Commons for this because the images are free to use with attribution (which is another thing I have been working to get students in the habit of, citing their sources). They then uploaded that image into Scratch as a background. All of that is something they have learned previously. The next bit, however, took a little practice. They uploaded the image of the painting again, this time as a sprite and used the paint editor tools to erase most of the painting, leaving only the piece they intended to make move with code. In Van Gogh's "Starry Night" this may have been the moon or the clouds, in Monet's "Tulip Field" it was the flowers or the windmill blades. That sprite was then placed exactly over its corresponding place on the background so that it would only appear as a separate element when then triggering event key was pressed. Students repeated this process until they had at least 3 different animated elements in their chosen work. They also added a sprite that told about the life and work of their artist.

Here are a few example projects:
Van Gogh, Irises
Van Gogh, Starry Night
Monet, Boat on the Epte

The second part of the unit moved us into the realm of physical computing with the Raspberry Pi. First I introduced students to the Explorer HAT add on board. It is a self contained set of inputs and outputs capable of running both LEDs and motors. It has a small breadboard (which students learned to use last year) on top for building the circuits. Students are able to program the lights and motors using Scratch, albeit an older version which takes a bit of getting used to for them. Armed with their upgraded skills, students worked in teams to use the Scratch paint editor to create a digital interpretation of their chosen painting. This too takes some practice, but it also allows them to get creative with how they accomplish the drawing. Some use the shape drawing tools and fill them with color, while others use the line drawing tools. Meanwhile, the other partner is drawing the same painting on paper with colored pencils and markers. Both drawings done, the physical and the digital, teams added 2 LEDs to different places on their drawing, wired them to the Raspberry Pi, and programmed them to light up on different key presses. They also drew and cut out a detail from their painting, attached it to the the axle on a motor, and added the motor to the drawing as well. This was programmed to spin on a key press. The lights and motors matched elements in their digital drawing that they had animated on screen, similar to what they did during week 1. They also added a sprite to talk about the artist and the painting.

At this point the rotations are about half over and I am generally pleased with how it has gone so far. I think for the future I will create a gallery of paintings and artists for the students to choose from. Hopefully that will lead to a greater diversity of projects in the gallery.

Circuit Masters

Last year I introduced my 5th graders to the joys and wonders of physical computing, using a computer to program the behavior of components likes LEDs and buttons. My hope then was to eventually push physical computing down to 3rd, or even 2nd, grade. This unit sees the 4th graders take the next step in their computer science learning journey.

Students started by learning to use a breadboard, LEDs, resistors, jumper wires, and batteries to build simple circuits. Electrical circuits are not new to 4th graders, having covered them in science class already. However, these particular components are. We identified each part, discussed its function, and went over the proper handling of each. Students were then guided through building a complete circuit. As always, when that first LED blazed to life, the room was filled with gasps and sqeals of delight. (That NEVER gets old for me.) With one LED in place, the teams immediately set about adding more.

Having gotten them comfortable with the breadboard and other components, I introduced the tactile button. We started with a short overview of how the button works and compared it to the switches they had used in science class when studying circuits. So far they have all done well recreating the first day's circuit with the button from the notes in their journals. They also have thrown themselves enthusiastically into the challenge of controlling multiple LEDs with a single button. We wrap up these first few days by identifying the differences between series and parallel circuits, both of which they have now built and recorded in their notes.

Using a switch or button to control the flow of electricity is a mechanical process and something of a review for 4th graders. Memories refreshed on the topic of circuits, we moved into the substance of the unit, physical computing. In the lab we are fortunate to have 10 Raspberry Pi computers. Each is equipped with 40 GPIO pins (General Purpose Input/Output) and it is these that make physical computing possible. Students began with a basic introduction to the Pi and how it like a regular PC as well as how it is different. Among the many languages available to students on the Raspberry Pi is a version of Scratch with an extension that allows for physical computing. For the first day, so that they could focus on programming, and not on juggling LEDs and resistors, we used an add-on board called Traffic HAT. It has 3 gumdrop sized LEDs and an adapter that fits neatly over 4 of the pins on the Pi and greatly reduces the time it takes students to get to blinking lights. I am so proud of how the students have been working together to debug when programs don't work as expected. The best thing to see is when one team gets the lights going in some wild pattern and calls across the room, "Woah! Look at that!". The inevitable response is a chorus of, "How did you do that?". Soon the room is full of the sounds of genuine engagement as teams call out programming tips to their friends.

Students complete the unit by learning to use the breadboard and other components with the Raspberry Pi. First they add a button to control the start of the light sequence on the Traffic HAT. This usually proves harder than most of them think it will be. Again, there is lots of cooperative debugging and problem solving. With that task accomplished, they use LEDs, resistors, and buttons and experiment with programming the components to behave in different ways. This generally becomes an exercise in making the lights blink as fast as possible in the greatest variety of patterns.

This has been a fun unit and I am looking forward to next year with this group and pushing their digital making skills to the next level.

My Favorite Project Was...

The Year of Exciting Houston Weather continued with 2 unexpected days off for ice and snow. I am kind of hoping that we are done with interesting weather for the year.

At this point, I am two and a half years into the project of creating the Sinclair STEM Lab. Over the course of that time, I have been teaching a lot of what might be termed "tool use". That is, students learn how to use technologies like Scratch, Makey Makey, Micro:bit, and Raspberry Pi by completing a series of set tasks. I have also worked on teaching a number of skills like how to follow a design process and how to use reclaimed/repurposed materials to create products. The units that have centered on these and other tools and skills have been sort of, but not very, open-ended. Students have had some creative freedom, but in the end they were all making variations on the same theme, be it a Scratch quiz, cardboard arcade game, or interactive poster. My goal however, has always been to get students to the point where, for each project, they select the tools and techniques best suited to how they want to present their learning, which brings us to the current unit in 5th grade.

This is the most open-ended project I have tried in the lab and I decided to implement it with the 5th grade first because they have the most experience using the widest variety of tools. Also, they will all have gone on to middle school next year so I can adjust the unit plan as needed and roll it out with next year's classes and it will be new to them. I began by asking them to reflect in their journals about their all time favorite school project, not just from the lab, but throughout their school careers, and to say why it is their favorite. After a few minutes I shared about my favorite project from high school microbiology. (We each received a culture of an unknown bacteria and had to use all the skills we had learned to identify our mystery germ. Thank you Mr. Rohn!) Several students then shared their reflections which included projects from every content area and ranged from kindergarten to 5th grade. As to why that particular project was their favorite, every student said that it was because it appealed to a particular interest of theirs and because they were able to make or do something that was personally relevant. 

Following that discussion, I outlined the project. Students would choose an ancient civilization from a provided list to research with a focus on the artifacts of that culture. They would then follow the design process to generate ideas for a work product that they would use to teach an invited 3rd grade class about their chosen topic. I reviewed some of the tools, skills, and technologies that they were familiar with from their time in the lab, but I made it clear that they could create whatever they wanted to so long as it served the purpose of teaching others about their research topic. Students were allowed to work independently or in teams of up to three. As students began gathering information and brainstorming presentation pieces I was bombarded by questions that all began: "Can we make a...?". I expected this as it is very much like to questions I got when the STEM lab was new and students not yet comfortable with the idea that their work product looked different from all of the others. This project represents another step towards the goal of greater creative confidence. This is the first project that I know of them completing where each product could be of an entirely different sort.

Only one of the four 5th grade classes have come through the lab at this point, so it is a small sample, but so far this unit has been a success. First, the projects by and large turned out quite well and when the groups presented their work to the visiting 3rd graders, they were genuinely excited to share what they had learned and made. Second, there is the information from the Google reflection form they completed at the end of the unit. One question asks what they would have me change about the unit and most said "nothing" with several adding that it was "good", "great", or they "really liked it". Another reflection item asked them to rate their performance from 1 to 5, with 5 as the best. I always include this to encourage them to think critically about their work. usually the bulk of each class rates their work as a 3 or 4. For this unit however, 75% of the class rated their work as a 4 or 5. As I said, it is a small sample, but I am now very interested to see if this continues, increased creative freedom leading to increased student satisfaction with their own work. 

I am so excited to see what students in the other groups create! Check out the album for this project here. I will continue to add photos throughout the unit.

How Fast Can the LED Blink?

This highly unusual school year has settled down to the point where things feel more-or-less back to normal. So I will be going back to my rough schedule of one post every couple weeks, each highlighting the work of a particular grade level. This post starts at the top with 5th grade.

Physical computing refers to using a computer to control the actions of physical objects. It is a chance for the 5th graders to combine their computer programming skills with their knowledge of electrical circuits. The computer gives them more control of their circuits than a typical switch. For this unit, students used the Raspberry Pi computer. It is a low cost, single board device that has all of the functionality of a typical desktop, but with a set of 40 input/output pins that allows users to connect and program components like LEDs, buttons, buzzers, and motors. The Pi operating system includes a number programming languages for students of all levels. We started with Scratch, a block- based programming language with which students are already familiar.

The unit began with an overview of the Raspberry Pi itself, with attention to how it is similar to and different from a traditional PC. Following that, we reviewed the use of components like LEDs, resistors, jumper wires, and breadboards. This group of students used these parts last year, but it was necessary to explain how their use differs on the computer. Over the course of the first week, students worked with partners to build increasingly complex circuits controlled by Scratch programs. The final "test" was to build an LED traffic light and program it to run the sequence from red to green to yellow and back to red at the push of a button. The teams quickly realized that this simple sounding task is not quite as easy as it sounds. Getting each part working in the correct order took more planning than they expected, but each group got their lights going eventually. Then, as usual, they set the wait time to a decimal and competed to see who could get the LEDs blinking the fastest.

Once they were feeling confident with physical computing using Scratch, I introduced them to Python. This is a professional level programming language that is user friendly enough for 5th graders. We repeated the same circuits they had built for their Scratch programs so that they could compare programs that achieve the same end with different means. After a couple of days, most students say they prefer Python to Scratch for physical computing. Some say that it's faster to type the Python than to move all the Scratch blocks around, while others feel like Python is more real. In any case, everyone has done well with their taster lessons on text based programming.

For their culminating project, the student teams returned to Scratch to create some kind of quiz game that incorporated the electromechanical components studied. Most of the teams in this block opted to make multiplication games, and one decided to make a world capitals quiz instead. This was the first of the 4 groups that will come through the lab for this unit and I am excited to see how it goes with the others!

That is so cool! Physical Computing with Raspberry Pi

Last year I added Raspberry Pi computers to the STEM lab. My main reason for doing so was to have more computers available for my after school coding club. The more familiar I became with these amazing devices, the more I wanted to teach a whole Raspberry Pi unit to my regular classes. The problem was that I was not quite sure where or how to start. Then I was fortunate enough to be selected for the Picademy training held in Austin this past December. (I wrote about that amazing experience here.) This unit is the result of what I learned there. It is a work in progress, a "first attempt in learning" as they say at Picademy. I will take all of the lessons from this unit, including student feedback, and use that to plan Raspberry Pi units next year for at least 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.

I decided to put the focus of this unit on physical computing, using a computer to control or respond to events in the real world. During the previous rotation in the lab, 5th graders learned to use a breadboard to build circuits using LEDs, buzzers, and buttons. These circuits were battery powered, so the set up was a little different. (That was the first thing I learned in fact, be explicit about the differences between wiring a circuit to a battery and to a Raspberry Pi.)

We started our physical programming adventure with an overview of the Raspberry Pi, paying special attention to how it differs from a "normal" computer. The Raspberry Pi was designed specifically for teaching computer programming and digital making skills to children and comes loaded with a number of programming tools and languages. One of those pre-loaded languages is Scratch. The students are already quite familiar with using the "broadcast" blocks in Scratch to tell stories and control the action of their projects. These same blocks are used to configure and control the GPIO pins that make physical computing possible. I started them off with blinking LEDs and then button operated LEDs. As red and green LEDs blinked to life, the room was filled with surprised gasps and exclamations like, "It worked!". It was one of these beautiful teaching moments when you know for certain that every student is engaged and genuinely excited about what they are doing. After their initial successes, students went wild adding LEDs and tinkering with the blink speed. The final challenge was to build a traffic lights arrangement of LEDS, operated with a button. This is a fairly complicated task, not because the sequencing of the lights is difficult, but because of the large numbers of broadcasts that are needed. I am proud of how the students I have had so far have persevered and succeeded. This part took a day longer than the two that I thought it would take, but that has not been a problem as it allowed the students extra time to experiment with their code.

.From Scratch, we moved on to Python which is text-based, unlike Scratch which uses blocks. I set them essentially the same tasks, blinking LEDs, buttons, and traffic lights, but this time they had to type everything. This took the necessity of careful attention to details to a whole different level. Python is extremely user friendly for students, but syntax and indentation does matter. At first, there many error messages. Once again, I had reason to be proud as my students, albeit with much grumbling about commas and capital letters, stuck to their work and overcame the challenges. Students having an understanding of the two languages also provided an excellent opportunity to compare them to highlight their similarities, and to dig deeper into computer science concepts like abstraction.

The final two days of the unit are a mini project in which students apply what they have learned to another program. The first group created a multiplication quiz game in Scratch with LEDs that light when the player answers, red for an incorrect response, green for the correct one. This the end of the second rotation and the students are just starting these final projects. I am experimenting with giving them a choices of final product. A few selected the multiplication quiz (those with a pronounced preference for Scratch), but most elected to work through a tutorial on programming Minecraft Pi with Python leading up to combining physical computing with events in the Minecraft world. I am so excited to see how these projects turn out, and to see what the next 2 groups achieve.

First Attempt In Learning = FAIL: Picademy Reflections

I spent last Thursday and Friday failing repeatedly, and it was the best teacher development I have ever had! The facilitators encouraged us to fail, they expected it, and were not in the least dismayed when we did. All 40 of us failed over and over, and rejoiced in the freedom we had to do so. However, over the course of the 2 days, all of our failures added up to enormous success. This was Picademy, where F.A.I.L. stands for First Attempt In Learning.

If you are not familiar with the Raspberry Pi, you can check it out here. Basically, it is a small, but versatile computer designed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the UK to introduce children to computer science and coding. It comes pre-loaded with several coding languages like Scratch and Python. It also has accessible input/output pins making it possible for students to experiment with physical computing; controlling lights, sounds, and motors using code. We have 6 of these in the STEM lab which have heretofore mostly functioned as extra computers. I knew that I had not been using the Pi to its fullest, but as it does so much, I had no idea how or where to begin with the students. Then I learned about Picademy.

In September I found out that there was to be a Picademy in Austin at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), I applied immediately and then crossed all of my fingers and toes that I would be accepted. Frankly, my hopes were not too high. Only 40 educators are selected for each session out of hundreds of applications. I was pretty sure that my tremendous lack of experience with computing, educational technology, and digital making would get me a very nice "Thank you for applying, but..." letter. To my immense surprise and joy, on Halloween, I received an email that I had been selected to attend Picademy.

I spent the 5 weeks between that email and this past Thursday and Friday pondering just how out of my league I would find myself when I arrived in Austin.

Day one started with that most Texas of teacher training traditions, breakfast tacos. After a brief overview of the coming days and introductions all around, our facilitators taught us the Picademy motto: FAIL. They warned us that we would make mistakes, that we would feel overwhelmed, and that we may feel uncomfortably out of our depth. However, a fail, we were constantly reminded, is just a first step in the learning process. Assured that we had the freedom to fail, and that we would have the support to keep trying, they lobbed us into the deep end of computing with Raspberry Pi. We blinked LEDs with Scratch and Python, first one, then a set of traffic lights. We made music (or in my case discordant noise) using Sonic Pi. In Minecraft Pi we teleported, built towers, and turned everything we touched to gold with Python. With the Pi Camera we took pictures and movies, we used the Explorer HAT to drive motors and control more LEDs. And, and, and!

PiCamera photo booth

That afternoon, we toured the Texas Advanced Computing Center which was amazing. It is part of the University of Texas and is home to some of the fastest computers on Earth. Most are used to run simulations and forecast models of events like hurricanes, black hole collisions, and chemical interactions between materials. They have projects dealing with machine learning, public health issues, and genetics. It is a fascinating facility.

PiCamera photo effects

Our final assignment on the first day was to brainstorm project ideas. The second day of a Picademy is largely devoted to applying what one learned on day one to a project of some kind. This proved to be a tough task as I was in the throes of a full scale information overload. I was trying to think of a project that I could work on that would, in some form, be within the abilities of the the students I teach once they were more familiar with the Pi. Still, I did what I could to think of ways to apply my learning and hoped that I would be able to remember enough of it to use on Friday.

Day 2 started with some amazing speakers. Marc Scott talked about the open source educational resources movement. Amanda Haughs discussed using Raspberry Pi in the K-5 classroom. We heard more about the work done at TACC from the director, Dan Stanzione. Finally we heard from a 14 year old entrepreneur from Houston, Ethan, who started his own computer company, PCs for Me. He sells Raspberry Pi starter kits and accessories. Ethan talked about some of the projects he is using Raspberry Pi for in his classes this year.

After that healthy dose of inspiration, it was time to form a team, select a project, and get started. Matt, our lead facilitator, likened it to one of those cake baking competitions they have on TV. Teams would have 4 hours to work. At the end of that time, they would have to transport their project to the auditorium and present their work to the rest of the cohort.

Whiskers ready to dispense teaching wisdom

I was lucky to have my partner in all things also be accepted into Picademy (something that we never thought would happen). We had worked out an idea that morning as we drove to TACC. Our aim was to build a robotic virtual teaching coach who could dispense advice any time a teacher might need it. When they gave the word, we grabbed some art supplies, an Explorer HAT, a couple motors, and a handful of jumper wires and got started.

We elected to use Scratch as our programming language because it is something with which we and our students are very familiar. The Explorer HAT was selected because it can be programmed using Scratch, and can control both LEDs and motors simultaneously. To summarize the process, there was much failure. Our code needed a fair bit of debugging before it functioned to our liking. We needed help from just about every facilitator in the room and several cohort members as well to find the correct commands to light our lights and move our motors. Then there was the actual construction of Whiskers and his mountain top temple of educational wisdom. We did not have time to get all of the sound effects in that we wanted, but in the end we were pretty happy with our work. Whiskers asks for the user's name and then offers them a chance to ask a question. He then thinks for a moment and says helpful things like, "Let's talk about that in PLC next week", "You're an amazing teacher, you've got this", and "Have you tried Donors Choose?".

Set up and ready to share our project

The other presentations were great! There were several projects that used Twitter. One tweeted when a program monitoring temperature reached a certain level. Another took a picture and tweeted when a student left class for the nurse, office, or restroom. There was even a motion activated classroom pet movement camera that sent tweets. There was a Minecraft project that used the Sense Hat to search for gold underground so that the player would know where to dig. Another Minecraft project used the Pi Camera to take a picture and then rendered it in Minecraft blocks. One group built a station for creating audio books, another gutted a stuffed bear and fixed it to play lullabies and take pictures when shaken, and one built an Explorer HAT controlled scribble-bot. It was truly inspiring to see so much success after all of our first attempts in learning. Frankly there were too many amazing things to describe them all here. You can watch them all here. FYI, the movie is about an hour long.

After all teams had presented, we were officially recognized as Raspberry Pi Certified Educators. We took turns walking to the front to be presented with our certificates and pins to the stately strains of Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance". Then it was time to pack up and head for home. I cannot say a big enough thank you to the whole Picademy team. Matt, Marc, Amanda, Matthew, Courtney, and Venus, along with the wonderful people from TACC, made this one of the absolute best trainings I have ever had the pleasure to attend.

My brain is still a little bit overloaded with ideas that will need to be tamed and organized over the coming days. I am already working with other participants from the Houston area to have a get together in January so that we can continue to inspire and help each other to move our Raspberry Pi plans forward. The people were pone of the best parts of Picademy. There are so many dedicated, brilliant, and inspiring educators out there that I am so excited to learn from. For the classroom, I am working on Pi lessons for my after school clubs having gotten so many great ideas about where to start. I am working on developing a unit to teach to my 5th graders during the 4th nine weeks. Lessons learned from that experience will help me to adapt the unit for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades next year. Doubtless more ideas and plans will follow as I continue to reflect on Picademy and engage with the wider Raspberry Pi community.

If you are a teacher looking for the best STEM training around, go to the Picademy USA website and register your interest. They are hoping to hold 7 or 8 Picademy USA sessions in 2017.