Friday, September 26, 2014

Operation Sphero a Success

Phew!! Eighty-five degrees feels just a bit warmer when you're outside directing groups of excited 5th and 6th graders! I am so pleased with how today's Sphero experience went.

I had students with big grins and crazy ideas flitting in and out of the quad at our school. Here's a picture (sorry for the lame face covers... I went with a Sphero emblem).


Today we used the "Sphero" iPad app to control our Spheros (Spheroes? Spheri? We'll go with Spheros.). It is the primary app to drive Sphero around. I let them experiment with different things and enjoyed when they came up to me excited that they'd unlocked a new trick. I think it's important to let students have a little free-reign with technology before I rope them in and put them to work. Next time these Spheros will be used, we will use the "Macrolab" app to program our robots to do specific actions.

Sorry if this is the ramblings of a crazy person. :) Does your school implement any form of robotics?

Thursday, September 25, 2014

If Robots are Geeky...

If robots are geeky, guess I'm queen of the geeks this week! I am so excited to have my very first "Sphero" day with my students tomorrow. Sphero was created as a toy, but has launched a program for schools to use them to teach computer programming and coding using a tablet device.



Now, I know very little about these things, but I'm willing to learn right along with my students. School started three weeks ago and I have not gone a single day without a student spotting me in the hall and shouting out, "SPHERO!!" I almost answer to it as my name these days!

I had a small group of fifth graders gather around my room on the morning they saw my supply arrive:

 

I'm excited to share my experience with this whole thing come tomorrow! I love getting new technology in their hands - they just soak it up and the excitement beams from their faces.

Have you had good experiences with kids and technology integration? I would love to hear about any "aha!" or "oh no!" moments. :)

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Number Geek's Paradise!

So I would say I'm a self-professed number geek - what does this mean? Definitely not that I'm the greatest mathematician there ever was! For me, it means that I like finding patterns in any set of numbers I come across. Sometimes this even strays over into a somewhat "OCD" behavior...such as pumping the gas just a time or two more to end off on an even number or demanding that the TV volume be set on an even number... or a multiple of 5 is okay too, a multiple of 10 is BEST!! See what I mean, weird. Am I the only one??

 Anywho, you may wonder why I bring up this strange quirk of mine. Well, it's because I have hit the number pattern MOTHER LOAD the last week or so! Here are some of my favorites:

- I made it to 200 TPT followers! (Woohoo!)
- I now have 555 Facebook followers (thanks in part to the awesome giveaway that NC Teacher Chick has been hosting - hop over to her blog, it's still going!)
- I turned 25 on the 25th!

To celebrate this magical time, I have put my featured items on sale for...25%! Get it? :)
Click the image to link over to my store to check it out.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Miss-Mcteach-Tech-Resources

Help me feel more normal! Do you have any OCD number habits?

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Hot Summer Giveaway


Why not start off my blogging experience with a giveaway?

This one is hosted by NC Teacher Chick. The prizes are so awesome - there are two weeks left, each with a $40 value! Here's the info, may the odds be (ever) in your favor!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Welcome To My Blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm still getting everything set up, but I hope you take a moment to explore this awesome set up I received from Kassie of Designs by Kassie! Learn a little more about me and this blog in the About tab or check out my classroom set up in the Classroom tab.

As you learn a little about me, I'd LOVE to hear from you and know a little about you! What grade do you teach and what is your favorite classroom technology?