3rd Grade - Spring Break 4/2014 - Building the biggest

Have you ever seen a very large boat? How about a big cruise ship? Often, out in New York harbor you can see very large ships carrying containers. They are shipping goods throughout the world.

Have you ever seen one of those giant container ships being built....?

Below is a video of the largest shipping container ship being built. The video is a time-lapse video comprised of 50,000 pictures. You will be able see the entire ship built in 76 seconds...

You can read about the video here and here.

Your assignment:

Watch the video and then comment with answers to these questions:

• Have you ever seen one of those ships in New York harbor (or anywhere else)?
• What are your thoughts about the video?
• What is one thing that stood out to you the most after watching the video?

Please post your comments in full and complete sentences with proper grammar, spelling & punctuation.

Have a great Spring Break!

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 - Spring Break 2014 - Pinokio

We live in interesting times. Technology is all around us. Some technology is passive, meaning it only does what we make it do. Other technology works on it's own...



Can technology talk to you? Can technology play along? The robots of the movies, are they possible in today's technology filled world?



Watch this video and answer the questions below:

Pinokio from adambd on Vimeo.

Here is information about the Lamp from the creators of the video:

Pinokio is an exploration into the expressive and behavioural potentials of robotic computing. Customized computer code and electronic circuit design imbues Pinokio with the ability to be aware of its environment, especially people, and to expresses a dynamic range of behaviour. As it negotiates its world, we the human audience can see that Lamp shares many traits possessed by animals, generating a range of emotional sympathies. In the end we may ask: Is Pinokio only a lamp? – a useful machine? Perhaps we should put the book aside and meet a new friend.

Your assignment:

Watch the video and read the quote from the creators. Post a comment in paragraph form with your thoughts on what you saw and read. Keep these questions in mind:

• Did you ever think a robotic lamp was possible to make?
• Now that you've seen one are there other objects you think can be made to move and interact with people?
• Does this mean we'll have full robots soon?
• Over all, what are your thoughts & reactions to this video and the description from the creators?
• Can you think of any other every-day objects that have been changed or upgraded with technology?

Please post your comments in full and complete sentences with proper grammar, spelling & punctuation.

Have a great Spring Break!

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 - Spring Break 4/2014 - We are technology

Technology is everywhere. Often, we think all things are created with things like computers. We also tend to think computers are what make everything better. But that is not always the case. Sometimes the greatest technology is the human mind and it's creative potential...




We've all seen a kaleidoscope  But have you ever seen one made with people? Made without any help from a computer?

Watch this video and look for the assignment below:

TEDxSUMMIT - The Power of X from WE ARE Pi on Vimeo.

A quote from the description of the video:

...they fused architecture, dance, math and magic into a bespoke18-meter high triangular mirrored structure that hovered over a multi-colour moving floor to create the world’s first Human Arabesque (with no computer graphics). 

An Arabesque is a form of art that reminds me of a kaleidoscope.

The "Power of X" as they say, to me, means "the power of our minds & creativity." The power of our potential.

Your assignment:

After watching this video post a comment with your thoughts and reflections about what you saw. Use these questions as a guide:

• Have you ever seen a human kaleidoscope?
• Now that you know they made that video without computer animation, what do you think you can create & accomplish without computers?
• If I asked you to create something amazing, without a computer, what would you define that as? What would you try to make?
• If you could do anything in the world, but couldn't use a computer or any other technology, what would you do?

Please post your comments in full and complete sentences with proper grammar, spelling & punctuation.

Have a great Spring Break!

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.

Where we are...

Here is a quick update as to where all classes are in the Computer lab...

2nd grade

• finishing their work on their History documents
• writing
• editing & revising
• formatting
• searching for relevant & appropriate pictures
• downloading & inserting pictures into their documents

3rd grade

• beginning Google Presentations
• taking History document and converting essay content to bullet format
• adding slides
• discussing the difference between conveying information on slides versus an essay

4th grade

• building personal portfolio websites (using Google Sites)
• used Microsoft Word to begin building a site map
• creating pages within Sites
• beginning to add content to pages
• discussing he importance of safety and security of personal details and information
• discussing the importance of creating a positive digital footprint

5th grade

• building personal portfolio websites (using Google Sites)
• used Microsoft Word to begin building a site map
• creating pages within Sites
• beginning to add content to pages
• discussing he importance of safety and security of personal details and information
• discussing the importance of creating a positive digital footprint

As always, feel free to contact me at any time with any and all questions.

Thank you!

Mr. Casal

Grade 4 - Panorama

4th graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will do the following assignment, answering the questions as comments.

Once you have successfully posted a comment you can finish work on your "Me2013" Google Presentation.

Have you ever wanted to look at something from above? Have you ever wanted to look at a monument of city from every angle?



A panorama is a wide-angle look at something. 360 degrees is a full circle...

There is a website that has taken 360 degree panoramic images of famous places and made them available for free on the internet. The company uses helicopters and a variety of cameras to make these 360 degree panoramic photos.

These photos are wide angle looks at various places, wide-angle views from every angle in all directions.

Your assignment:

• Go to the site http://www.airpano.com/
• Chose one or more of the 360 panoramas (you can select from their home page, from the World Map link, or from their full list)
• If you have any trouble loading a panorama click on the "iPad/Android" link to get a version that will load more quickly
• When you open the panorama, explore it, more the image around, look up & down, left & right. Use all the tools such as the ones I've circled in the picture below:

Post a comment with:

• The name/location of the panorama you looked at
• The things you observed
• What  the images made you think of
• Your thoughts & ideas about the website & pictures in general

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.

Grade 5 - Yosemite

5th graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will watch the video below and answer the questions. When you are finished, and have successfully posted a comment you may continue to work on your "Me2013" Google Presentations.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

The United States has many National Parks. Yosemite is one of them.

First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

The video:

Yosemite HD II from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Some informations about the video:

A 200+ mile backpacking experience through Yosemite National Park captured by Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill. This project was filmed over the course of 10 months. We spent a combined 45 days in the park capturing the images in this video.

If you want to read more about the makers of the video, click here

Your questions:

• Have you ever been to a National Park?
• Have you ever been to Yosemite?
• When you watched the video, what stood out to you the most?
• What did the video make you think about?
• After watching the video, would you want to go to Yosemite?
• What are your overall impressions of Yosemite after watching the video?

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.

When you are finished, and have successfully posted a comment you may continue to work on your "Me2013" Google Presentations.

Grade 3 - New York Day

3rd graders.
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will be watching a short video and answering a few questions related to it as comments. You must answer all of the questions.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

As students are probably aware I am a big fan of time lapse videos. I think they are great ways to see the world and experience things in a very different & exciting way.

I have discovered another New York City time lapse video...

New York Day from motionkicker on Vimeo.

I found this video on Mashable.com, a great resource for all things tech. Here is what they said about it:

Timelapses have been a particularly popular trend as of late, and New York City has always been a hot spot because of its' edgy beauty — but Samuel Orr is taking the entire concept to a new level with "New York Day."

The photographer hopes to create a series of timelapse videos that chronicle life and people in a sprawling city. Each video is a small story — people coming to life in the morning on their commute, going about their day, eating and then homeward bound in the evening — all compiled to show what an average day in New York is like. Orr says that including the sounds of the city makes the series "more of an immediate experience."

"It can be tricky shooting timelapse in a place like NYC," Orr tells Mashable. "People are challenging, but in general they're kind, interested, and helpful. Or at least don't bother you - except for the guy who was concerned I was taking too many pictures of the Empire State Building."

Orr's path to timelapse photography was unexpected. He began as an ecologist, which led him to develop nature documentaries. During that time, he realized timelapse would be the perfect way to demonstrate how natural landscapes and plants change over time.

Read the passage above and watch the video.

Post a comment with your response to the passage & video

• What did you think about it?
• What stood out to you?
• Are videos like this interesting?
• Do you enjoy seeing these type of videos?

Remember to post your comment in full and complete sentences with proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Post as "Name/URL" using your first name and last initial

Enjoy!




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.

Grade 2 - History of Typography

2nd graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will watch this video and then answer the questions below. After you have posted your comment you can open up Word and continue on your History document.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.





When we are typing we are entering our text using a particular font, or style of writing. But fonts aren't just fonts, they are "typography" or the art or technique of arranging type in order to make language visible.

Before computers there were typewriters and before that, handwriting. In order to make writing universally legible there needed to be typography.

Watch the video below and answer the questions as comments...

The History of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest from Dezeen on Vimeo.



The questions...

• What did you learn about typography?
• Do you remember any of the typography style names? Which was your favorite?
• What did you think about the style of video?
• Did you like the way the video looked and was animate?
• If you saw this video last year, have any of your thoughts or opinions on typography changed? Did something new stand out to you?

Answer these questions in full and complete sentences as a comment below...

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.

When you are finished you can open Word and continue working on your History document. Remember:

• 5 sentences
• edit & revise
• Format
• title
• centered
• underlined
• different font
• different size
• essay
• different font (one font for whole essay)
• different size (one size for whole essay)
• 5 pictures related to your writing

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 - February 2/2014 - The Science of the Winter Olympics

The Olympic Winter Games are currently happening. They started on February 7th and go until the closing ceremony on February 23rd.

Below are a few videos about how some Olympians compete in their sports...

(for more videos check out the website NBC Learn)

Choose one of the videos to watch. After you watch it, post a comment about what you learned. Is it a sport you might want to try? Does seeing the video make it easier to understand how the athletes compete? Has your idea of the Olympics and the athletes changed since watching the video?

These are a few questions to get you thinking. Pick a video, watch it, and post a comment on your thoughts related to what you saw, heard, and learned...

Downhill Science (Alpine skiing):

Air Lift (Ski Jump):

The science of Snowboarding:

Figure Out Figure Skating:

Watch one of the videos here, or feel free to go to the Science of the Olympic Winter Games website to check out some of the others. Make sure to post your thoughts about the video you watched when you are done.

Your questions:

• Is it a sport you might want to try? 

• Does seeing the video make it easier to understand how the athletes do the sport? 

• Has your idea of the Olympics and the athletes changed since watching the video?

• Any additional thoughts you would like to share?

Please respond in full and complete sentences, paragraph form. Double check your work before posting your comment. Once you post your comment, Mr. Casal will be notified and he will grade and approve your post. Your comment will not appear on the blog until Mr. Casal has read and approved it.

Have a great week off, watch the Olympics, and have fun!

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 - February 2/2014 - New Winter Olympic events

The Olympic Winter Games are currently happening. They started on February 7th and go until the closing ceremony on February 23rd.

Below is a video describing the new events at these Olympic Games. These are events that have never before been Olympic events.


Watch the video and answer the questions below...

Your questions:

• What did you think about the video?

• Which of the new events looks most interesting to you? Why?

• Have you watched any of the Winter Olympics this year?

• Have you seen any of these new events? 

• Do you currently do any winter sports? Ice skating, skiing, hockey, etc?

Please respond in full and complete sentences, paragraph form. Double check your work before posting your comment. Once you post your comment, Mr. Casal will be notified and he will grade and approve your post. Your comment will not appear on the blog until Mr. Casal has read and approved it.

Have a great week off, watch the Olympics, and have fun!

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.