Got An Itch?

AASL, American Association of School Librarians, Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning 2010, under the heading Media Sharing, using the following Standards for the 21st-Century Learner 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view and assess, 3.3.4 Create products that apply to authentic, real-world context and 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning, selected the web 2.0 application, Scratch.  Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.  The Scratch project is based upon research supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 0325828.

This is a programing language intended for ages 8-16 but can be used by younger students with assistance.  It welcomes those desiring to create stories, music, art and games that are interactive.  These are meant to be shared.  According to the site:
As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.

Users are greeted by a Home page chock full of choices; down the center are Featured Projects, Projects Selected by...(a Scratch member chosen by the Scratch Team to curate), Projects from Scratch Design Studio, What the Community is Remixing, What the Community is Loving and What the Community is Viewing.  Off to the right are:  Collab Camp (creating Scratch projects together with other members around a common theme), Scratch Day, May 19, 2012 (events for users of Scratch), ScratchEd ( a page specifically for educators), Scratch Design Studio, Video Tutorials, Featured Galleries, Popular Tags, Social Media (read the blog and follow Scratch on Twitter), Scratchers' Wiki and Community Stats.  Across the top of the page are tabs for further exploration and information, projects, galleries, support, forums, about or language.

To begin download the correct version of Scratch (at no cost) for your operating system. For the Windows version it is about 33MB.  The next step that I recommend is to read online or by downloading and printing the fourteen page Getting Starting Guide.  (For additional information there is a twenty-three page Scratch Reference Guide  and a Scratch FAQ.)  Once you have played around with this app, I highly suggest viewing the Scratch Reference Guide.  It explains each of the components clearly; giving the user a greater understanding of how this software functions.

When opening Scratch the workspace looks like the screen capture to the left.  First practice by moving a block (farthest column on the left) into the Scripts area (next column over).  If you click on the block the sprite in the large screen area will perform according to the block.

Within the blocks area there are eight different tabs of actions that can be taken.  Some of the blocks have additional selections that can be displayed by clicking the down arrow such as the play drum shown here.  After adding a couple of motions and sounds a control can be added; they suggest the forever control which needs to wrap around all of the blocks.  At any time to run a stack click on any block.

You can always stop by clicking on the miniature stop sign in the far right hand corner of the screen.  A block from the control section can be added telling the script to run whenever the green flag next to the stop sign is clicked.

Each object in Scratch is called a sprite.  Beneath what I call "the stage" are three stars for adding sprites; from left to right paint a sprite, upload a sprite from a file or get a surprise sprite. 

When you import a sprite from your computer you have the option of editing it as shown.

By clicking the sounds tab in the scripts column you can record your own sounds or import files (MP3, AIF or WAV).  These sounds can be selected from a block and moved into the script area.

When saving a Scratch it goes to your computer rather than in a cloud.  When you share a Scratch you login to your account at their website. 

If creating an account at the Scratch site, a user is required to give a username, password, birthdate, email address, gender and country.  Your state and city are optional.  Upon registering you are asked to comply with the Community Guidelines.

Here is my test, as corny as it is.  Time will fly by as each user discovers the endless possibilities available using Scratch. I can't believe it took me this long to try this out.  Students will love using this site and software; this is learning at its best and it's fun to boot.




Intro to Scratch from ScratchEd on Vimeo.

Z is for...

Another recipient of the recent American Association of School Librarians Website for Teaching and Learning 2011 honor is ZooBurst.  ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books.  Using ZooBurst, storytellers of any age can create their own rich worlds in which their stories can come to life.

To sign up for this free application users need to be over 13 years of age with a valid email address.  First name, last name, a display or nickname, an email opt-out choice for news and age are all needed to begin.  Once your registration is accepted an email is sent to you for confirmation.   This email message states as a user, in addition to the 3D  book builder, a community web site that allows browsing for other created books, an online book viewer to see your book, send it to others via email, hyperlink or embed it in another site or blog are available.  If your computer has a web cam you can view a book in Augmented Reality and capture a photo postcard to share of you reading that book.  I have to admit that when I tried this feature it was amazing and very simple to do.

Once a user has signed in, by clicking on the books icon on the top right, a page will appear listing books already made beneath a New Book button.  There is a New Snowglobe button for premium/paid users only.
After clicking on the New Book button users are prompted to enter in a name for their book, describe what it is about, who can see it (everyone, everyone with a password or just yourself) and whether comments about their book are allowed.  Then the fun begins by selecting the Build button.

When building a new book a screen will appear that allows for multiple design options.  On the left is a work area where images can be obtained from an extensive clip art selection or uploaded from your computer.  An extra icon allows for viewing those pictures used in the book currently on the screen.  Simply click on a graphic to enter it either on the pages of the book or in the background behind the book. 

For each screen containing a page, color can be chosen for the page, ground, horizon and sky. When a particular item on the page is selected it can be sized, rotated, the pop angle can be altered, cut-out visibility is an option as well as pop delay and time.  Text can be added to each page overall and individual items on that page.  Font can be made bold and hyperlinks can be added. 

When the 3D book is complete click the save button.  At that time it can be printed.  To share the book the user needs to exist this screen by clicking on the books icon again.  The list of books created will appear with several buttons on the right.  Click on the view button to see the book.  When viewing the book by dragging your mouse over the pages the book can be rotated as if on a disc and up or down.  At this point the sharing options are displayed.



With a premium subscription teachers can add up to 250 student accounts giving them a safe platform in which to create books with visuals and narration of their choice.  The owners of this site will not post anything that is inappropriate.  There is a thorough breakdown of what a teacher can expect with a premium subscription.  It is $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year. 

Go Go Glogster

I finally got some time today to visit the web site called Glogster: Poster Yourself only to find out that they had an application specially designed for educators. Glogster EDU

I absolutely loved creating a poster about the two media centers that I plan on using on my Smartboard during parent open houses. New School Year In the Media Centers This application allows you to add text, images, video, sound, drawings and change walls(backgrounds).  It looked like you could also add data but it appeared that you had to pay for that feature.  Everything else about this web 2.0 application is free, free, free!  Also when you add anything you have the option to put frames around it.  When you sign up you are allowed to add up to 100 students who can also make fantastic posters using Glogster.  What a wonderful interactive way for students to create and share class assignments.  Have a wonderful week staff as we gather to get ready for our students.