Teaching with Technology in the 5th Grade

Lego Robotics -- Let's Roll!!!!

2011-12-20T13:01:00.000-06:00

My class is off and running with Lego Robotics. We are using the RCX version of Lego right now. I have 22 kids this year in my class and I have split them up into 7 groups total.
I started by showing the kids the various parts of the kits and their names. I explained the differences between plates, bricks, and beams. I also showed them how the everything is labeled for example 1x2, 1x6, 1x16 and so forth.
In another session, the groups worked on building their Tankbots. Most groups finished fairly quickly. I had to go back and show some groups how to tighten some bushings so that the axles would not slip and fall off.
In the next session, I showed the groups how the Robolab program works. We talked about the various toolbars that they would need to program their Tankbots. The groups also received sheets with the Robolab icons and explanations on it. I think the hardest part of getting the robotics going was making sure that the IR towers were connected properly and working. That took a lot of time.
Now it was time to get started with the robotics challenges. The groups were given a sheet of 10 challenges to complete. The challenges start off easy and move to a little more complex each time. Up to this point I have about 5 out of the 7 groups on at least the 7th challenge.

Lego Robotics Workshop

2011-09-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

I recently attended a Lego Robotics workshop at the university down the street. The workshop was geared towards newcomers to Lego Mindstorms. The workshop offered information and tips on forming and preparing a team to participate in the local Mindstorms Challenge held the the university in the spring of 2012.
Some of the things we worked on were -

learning the basics of Mindstorms 2.0
how the NXT works
basic building and programming
problem solving

Lunch was provided and I had a blast all day.

Here are some pictures from the day.

My 5 minute bot.

Programming the 5 minute bot with NXT software,

Robotics

2011-09-15T09:23:00.002-05:00

The kids in my class are very excited this week. I announced last week that we would be doing Lego Robotics in my class. Yesterday the kids worked on getting the kits out to make sure that we had the proper items in the kits. I was really nice to see all of the kids working together to take apart last year's projects and getting excited about starting up this year. I am planning on going to a workshop this weekend that talks about robotics in the classroom. The workshop is going to be fun.

Updates coming soon

Have a great day.

L

New School Year

2011-08-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

Hello to you all,

I have been away for a long time. I have told myself that I need to get started back to blogging on this site. I have taken some time to read some posts from teachers on various sites. After reading countless posts, I have made a commitment to blogging. I try to use a lot of technology in my class and I will reflect on what I find works and what doesn't. I also want to find out what works for you in your class. Thank you for reading and check back often.

Have a great year!!!!

L

Welcome Suprise

2010-05-03T22:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, here is the story. I get to school on what I think will be a very wild Monday. We had lots going on at school today. My team partner was gone today to take care of some family issues and the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teams had a behavior party for our kids a the local nature center. So needless to say I was a little busy.

So when I finally, check my email and see that I get an email from my friendly KS DEN (Discovery Educator Network) Leaders. The subject line is DEN Appreciation Week Day 1.

It looks like DEN and Prezi are working together to give away the educator pro version of Prezi (a $59 value) for one year.

I am not sure if you have seen Prezi or not, but I really love it. I have not had as much time to mess with it as I would like, but I know for sure this will really help.

A big THANKS to DEN and Prezi

Lego Robotics

2010-03-30T12:04:00.001-05:00

Hello there all

We have started our Mini Middle School rotations. My groups are working on the Lego Robotics kits. The kids have been working on building lego creations and making visual directions on how to put items together. We are hoping by tomorrow (Wednesday) that every group can have a set to work on for their own. I will upload some pictures in the near future.

Mr. R

Publish Post

Vocabulary Terms for Unit 3

2009-11-20T13:27:00.002-06:00

Here are some terms along with pictures to explain what we are working on currently in math.

Acute Angle -- An angle with a measure greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees.

From Math Images

Unit 3 - Geometry Concepts

2009-11-20T12:11:00.000-06:00

Long time no see :) I have been gone for a while keeping busy in class. We are currently working on geometry concepts in math groups. The students have and will continue to work with a compass to help measure and create angles. We are also working on congruent figures. One of the fun tools that the kids love is the Geometry Template. It contains protractors and rulers for measuring.

I will work on posting some vocabulary terms and pictures soon.

Thank you for reading

L

Math Arrays

2009-09-15T15:04:00.000-05:00

Hello there all

I just made a Prezi talking about Arrays. Check it out.

Luke

New Layout

2009-08-28T11:10:00.001-05:00

Hey there all

Tell me what you think about the new layout.

LR

Wordle Picture

2009-08-26T22:44:00.002-05:00

Hey there check out these Wordle pictures that I found online.

2nd Week of School

2009-08-26T22:26:00.003-05:00

Good evening all

Well I am into the second full week of school. The kids are working really hard in math class. As some of you may know we adopted a new math series in our district. Everyday Math is the new choice that we are using, so far the kids are really taking to it. I introduced it to the parents last night at our Open House and they really seem excited about it. The thing that I really like about it is that we don't have to go and search for new resources to supplement the lesson. The kids and I really like the Math Journals. We are still getting used to the Student Reference Books. (SRBs)

Well I will give you an update at the end of the week about how things went. If you are using Everyday Math I would love to hear from you.

LR

STS Event

2009-07-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

Hello there all

I am attending the Annual Site Technology Specialist Summer Event. I am getting to see a lot of neat things. I will report more later on this evening.

Luke

New Wordle

2008-10-31T11:16:00.002-05:00

Check out the new Wordle.

WSTL Conference

2008-10-22T14:12:00.001-05:00

Today we had the chance to go to our WSTL Conference. We had a blast!! Check for more info coming soon.

Thanks for checking.

WSTL Conference

2008-10-22T14:12:00.000-05:00

Today we had the chance to go to our WSTL Conference. We had a blast!! Check for more info coming soon.

Thanks for checking.