Viewing: June, 2012
June 30, 2012
Radio Show Planning
The challenge campers who are developing their own radio shows are doing a great job. As they finish writing a basic script, they are turning it into a production storyboard to specify what dialogue they will use along with what sound effects and music they will use. I love seeing their stories come together, and I hope to have them start to record and edit late next week.
Posted in Renbrook Summer Adventure|By Jon Moss
June 30, 2012
Creating an Interactive Story Book
Free choice campers in the first group are creating their own interactive story books in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure books. They started by planning their stories on Monday using a program called Inspiration to create flow charts to show the path that different readers could take. Yesterday, they finished and printed these organizers and started to illustrate their stories. We’re scanning them in, and today, the campers will finish illustrating their stories and will start to put them on our website.
Posted in Renbrook Summer Adventure|By Jon Moss
June 29, 2012
Learning Garage Band
Our end-of-the day Free Choice group is learning how to use Garage Band to develop their own music. Garage Band is one of those apps that’s best learned through experimentation, and the campers in our group have elected to “just mess around” with Garage Band to see what they can create. We’re here to help, however! On Friday, these campers will have the option to share their creations with the rest of the group! I’ll also post them here, with the campers’ permission.
Posted in Renbrook Summer Adventure|By Jon Moss
June 28, 2012
Creating Radio Shows or Stop Motion Animation
The challenge groups have their choice of two activities: creating a stop-motion animation video using iStopMotion or writing and producing an old-time radio show and digitally inserting sound effects and music using Audacity and Freesound. (I’m happy to add in more options as time goes on.) It’s great to see the ideas start to come together. As of now, three groups have developed their plans for their stop-motion videos, and I’m eager to see the sword-fighting stuffed animals, the exploding cans of soda, and the laughing chairs that various groups are planning to film. The radio shows are also coming along well, and I can’t want to hear the alien invasion show that one group is preparing (inspired by the War of the Worlds broadcast).
Posted in Renbrook Summer Adventure|By Jon Moss
June 27, 2012
Marketing a Product
This year, the senior computer group is focusing on marketing a product or idea using print media, website development, video commercials, and radio advertisements. They will produce all of these products in-house. On the first day, they were given the option of choosing to market a real or imaginary product, service, or idea. Because of mixed interests, the group split in two, and both groups are focusing on marketing products. One group is working to promote a fictitious shape shifting pill that will allow the user to turn into an animal for a short time, and the other group will advertise a port of the popular game Minecraft onto the vintage TRS-80 home computer platform. Since choosing these products on Monday, the campers have worked on developing “bibles” for their product that explain, in detail, what their product can and cannot do. (Since their products are, in different ways, fictional, these “bibles” will help them to stay grounded and committed to the “rules” of their product as they develop their marketing.) Today we start production!
Posted in Renbrook Summer Adventure|By Jon Moss
June 14, 2012
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Posted in Uncategorized|By wpengine
June 13, 2012
Items needed for Sycamore Day
-A swimsuit
-A towel
-Sunblock
-Blue PGS signature t-shirt
-Change of clothes
-Sneakers, no sandals
-Small backpack for spare stuff, and more bags for emptying the classroom!
-Bring your muscular arms and legs so that our class can again win the Nolan Cup at the tug-o-war!!!! Huzzah!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
June 12, 2012
Thoughts and comments about our class website
This year, we’ve used our class website for many different activities and purposes. In a comment, respond to some of the following questions.
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What do you like about our class website?
What do you dislike about our class website?
What was particularly helpful to you?
What sorts of activities did you enjoy the most? The least?
What changes or additions should Mr. Moss make to the class website to improve it or to improve its activities?
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
June 5, 2012
NTS: What would you have done?
In class today, we read about what happened when the Nazi soldiers came into Annemarie’s home. After they left, who would be the first to speak? What would he or she say? How would the conversation develop? Share your ideas by commenting, below. If you’re replying to someone, click the REPLY link under their message.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
June 5, 2012
Fun Activities for the Year’s End
One of the really fun parts about the end of the academic year is having the flexibility to add in creative activities that are enriching but may not fit into our thematic units earlier in the year. Yesterday, for example, the kids developed and executed a plan for measuring the distance that I walk when I collect papers in numerical order. (We’ll find the answer today!) Tomorrow, Mrs. O’Brien and I will debate the merits of The Giving Tree and will let the kids decide who was more convincing. Of course Sycamore Day is fast approaching, and I have a few more activities up my sleeve that I’m not quite ready to announce.
In preparing for some of the upcoming activities, I need a bit of help, if you’re willing. First, I need some volunteers to send in gallons or half gallons of skim milk. (I don’t know of any dairy allergies, but if there are, I’d love an acceptable non-dairy alternative too.) I also would love some disposable plastic tea cups – the kind with contoured plastic handles for warm beverages. If you can help with either or both of these needs, please email me (before sending in anything, please).
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss