PS 10 Computer Lab has a new home!

If you are looking for the "Mr. Casal's Computer Lab" assignments for students of PS 10, the blog assignments are in a new place!

The new home of all things technology at PS 10 is located at:

http://ps10tech.blogspot.com

http://ps10tech.blogspot.com

Thanks!

5th Grade - Thanksgiving 11/2013 - Who's Coming to Dinner?

Imagine you are hosting Thanksgiving. You can invite one person to eat with. That one person can be anyone at all. It must be a living person, but other than that you can choose anyone in the world to share Thanksgiving dinner....

Who would you choose? Why them?

Your assignment:

• Name the person you'd choose to eat with
• Explain your rational for choosing this person. Why them?
• Describe what you would want to talk about with this person during dinner

Post your response, in full and complete sentences, as a comment to this blog post. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Your comment will not appear right away. I, Mr Casal, will receive an email when you post a comment and I will publish it as soon as I see it. 

Thank you, and have a good Thanksgiving...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

4th Grade - Thanksgiving 11/2013 - How to Cook a Turkey

You are in charge of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. You have to cook a turkey and 2 side dishes (a side dish is usually mashed potato, mac & cheese, stuffing, etc).

How are you going to cook the turkey? What side dishes are you going to make?

Imagine you have no help from your parents, what & how are you going to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner?

Your assignment:

• Describe your meal in one or two sentences
• List your ingredients for all aspects of your meal
• List the directions you will use for preparing your turkey and side dishes
• If you could have help cooking from one person, who would you choose to help you & why

Post your answers to these questions, in full and complete sentences, as a comment to this blog post. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Your comment will not appear right away. I, Mr Casal, will receive an email when you post a comment and I will publish it as soon as I see it. 

Thank you, and have a good Thanksgiving...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

3rd Grade - Thanksgiving 11/2013 - What is Thanksgiving?

What is Thanksgiving? Do you know where the holiday came from? Do you know some of the myths of thanksgiving?

For me Thanksgiving is about remembering how we got to where we are. Remembering those who came before us to help us get where we are. It is a chance to get together with family and friends and think about our history as well as look to the future. And honestly, for me, it's also a little bit about football. Eating and watching football has always been a big part of Thanksgiving in my family. We have a football tradition, every year we play the "Turkey Bowl". The Turkey Bowl is a 1 hour touch-football game where we split the family into 2 teams and play before we eat. It's all in fun, and it works up an appetite.

Your assignment:

• What does Thanksgiving mean to you? 
• Why do you think we celebrate it? 
• How do you celebrate it? 
• What are your family's traditions?

Post your answers to these questions, in full and complete sentences, as a comment to this blog post. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Your comment will not appear right away. I, Mr Casal, will receive an email when you post a comment and I will publish it as soon as I see it. 

Thank you, and have a good Thanksgiving...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Blog homework - "how to comment" tutorial video

There are often assignments for students that require them to comment on a blog post.

We do a number of these assignments in class, but there are also homework posts.

The regular homework assignments are:

• Thanksgiving Break
• Christmas Break
• February Break
• Spring Break

Students have from the last day of school until the next time they see me for class to complete the assignment. Each assignment will be different by grade, with each grade having their own independent blog post with which to comment in. The actual post titles will be sent home on a half-sheet of paper by the last day of school before each break.

This blog, and the comment form, can be accessed from any internet-enabled device; smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, Android, iOS, Mac, PC, etc. With the assignments being given over extended periods of time, and with the blog being open & accessible (no need to log in) I have made every effort to ensure all students have plenty of time & opportunity to complete the assignments.

Posting comments require a few steps and are moderated to help ensure only appropriate content is published. Here is a short video tutorial on how to post a comment:

I will review each comment and publish them within 24 hours of submission, so feel free to check back the day after a student submits a comment to make sure it went through.

As always feel free to reach out and contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Thank you

Blog homework practice post

This post is for 3rd-5th graders to practice leaving a comment

Over Thanksgiving, Christmas, February, and Spring Breaks all 3rd-5th graders will have homework. The homework will be in the form of a post on this blog. Student will have to read the post, follow the directions, and leave a comment as directed to complete the comment.

This post is a practice forum for leaving comments...



Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

5th Grade Bloggers

In the ongoing experiment about the best ways to use various tools within the elementary environment I have been letting one class create, manage, and curate their own independent blogs. Ideally we will expand beyond this one class, but at this time a single class is the ideal setting to test the limitations & possibilities of independent student blogging.

The list of their blogs is on the right hand side of this blog.

One of the things I like best about it is seeing the excitement they have in writing & publishing on their terms. It is also great to see the focus and dedication they give to their design and layout.

A brief glimpse of the independent writing & design during their class period today...

Blogging is a great way to create a positive digital footprint, a portfolio of independent (and sometimes directed) writing, meet a number of the Common Core learning standards, and maintain a creative outlet they are excited about and proud of. Authentic learning & true publishing beyond the bulletin board...

Missed Parent-Teacher Conferences

As a teacher with roughly 700 students it is not possible to have all the conferences in the time allotted.

If you were not able to meet with me, Mr. Casal, during the Parent-Teacher Conference times but would still like to speak, feel free to email me to set up a time...

http://ps10tech.blogspot.com/p/contact.html

I am happy to connect via email, phone, in person, or via Skype/Google Hangout. Which ever medium is most convenient.

If your child is in Kindergarten or 1st Grade, Mr. Waisome is the lower grade computer teacher. He can be contacted via ewaisome@ps10.org to schedule any needed conferences.

Thank you

Google Apps for Students

PS 10 has been a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) school for over 3 years. Teachers have been using Google Apps for email (@ps10.org) and collaboration. This year we have begun to roll it out to students for instructional use. Grades 3-5 have @ps10.org accounts. Grade 2 students will get them closer to June.

No. Students do not have email. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

The following document will be going home with the student's login name and password. These accounts are strictly for school-related purposes so parents are encouraged to look at the types of things students are using Google Apps for. With this login information students will be able to access schoolwork at home, share files with their teacher (without printing), and begin to create an authentic digital portfolio.

Many middle and high schools are using GAFE, as are many colleges & universities. Various governmental agencies are using Google Apps as well. Having PS 10 students use Google Apps puts them at the forefront of a technology used globally on a daily basis.

Students will also be issued, via their Google Drives, and will review in class, the PS 10 Student Code of Ethics with Digital Tools and @PS10.org Accounts.

 




Feel free to contact Mr. Casal with questions or concerns at any time.

All documents related to PS 10's GAFE platform can be found here.

Social Media @PS10Brooklyn

I am often asked about how we use "social media" here at PS 10. It is a question that is both very simple & easy to answer and one that is also complex and nuanced. Let me elaborate...

Social media as defined by many people includes things like Facebook and Twitter. According to the Department of Education's social media policy for staff, social media is defined as:

... any form of online publication or presence that allows interactive communication, including, but not limited to, social networks, blogs, Internet websites, Internet forums,
and wikis. Examples of social media include, but are not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,  Google+, and Flickr... (source: http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/BCF47CED-604B-4FDD-B752-DC2D81504478/0/DOESocialMediaGuidelines20120430.pdf)

That is a fairly broad definition, and includes a lot of platforms not generally association with "social media" such as wikis & blogs.

Here is how we, as teachers, use it...

• Teachers have class webpages/wikis/blogs to help foster the home-school connection. These sites are great resources for keeping all members of the class community in the loop. Updates of class happenings are posted, often with pictures (great ways to get insights into the class environment). In addition, many also post homework assignments, calendars of events, book lists, field trip itineraries, and so forth. The sites are "social media" and serve the great function of connecting the community & helping to create transparent learning environments.
• Teachers have blogs, such as this one, for student writing. I often post assignments for either in-class exercises or vacation homework. These posts are both technical in nature as well as writing focused. Many teachers use the blogs for such things as an outlet for student free-writes. Using a blog hits many important curriculum areas, such as differentiating instruction as well as meeting many Common Core Standards (see here & here for examples).
• Twitter is used by many teachers to tie elements together. A blog post takes time to write & publish. A web page takes time to write and publish. A tweet can take only seconds and serve the same purpose. Blogs and web pages are great, and the time invested is well worth it. But sometimes there are great things happening in class that deserve to be shared immediately. Twitter is a fantastic platform for that. In addition, some teachers aren't comfortable editing a web page or maintaining a blog. Twitter is a great platform to create the digital home-school connection & transparent learning environment without requiring a lot of technical expertise. There are a few other posts about how we use Twitter here, here, and here.

Here is how students use social media...

• Checking class web pages to keep up to date on assignments (very useful when absent)
• Checking class web pages for resources & follow-up information related to class work
• Commenting on class blogs as an option for writing assignments (as mentioned above: differentiated instruction & CCSS)
• Creating blogs & web pages as alternative options for projects (again, differentiated instruction & CCSS)

How I, as a computer teacher, use social media...

• Blog commenting for assignments
• Two classes have student-authored blogs as an experiment into student-run blogging. These blogs are tied to restricted @ps10.org accounts under our control (students have @ps10.org accounts but DO NOT have email inboxes)
• Have students tweet from the @PS10Tech account (on an iPad) to write in a different medium, write using digital tools, and publish to a broad audience (again, CCSS)
• Use tweets as a style of writing - creating a complete sentence with descriptive language in 140 characters or less is not always as easy as it seems. Composing a tweet can be a great way to teach brevity in writing as well as how to skillfully edit & revise for length without changing meaning
• Most importantly, teaching my students a wide range of technology tools and platforms

At no time do I permit the use of any student's personal email or social media accounts. Anything we do in the lab, or in school, I stress needs to be done within the confines of the school/educational setting. If a student has a personal Twitter or Facebook account, that is between the student and their parents. They are not permitted to access or use those accounts during the school day.

I hope that brings some clarity to the use of "social media" within PS 10. Everything done with social media is done to help create a transparent learning environment, teach 21st century skills and proper use of related digital tools, and meet the needs of all learners through differentiation while also meeting CCSS.