Scratch Projects in Science
Scratch allows students to be 21st Century learners and become digital citizens. Students create and share projects as they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Through product development, they learn real world skills and become interested and engaged in technology supported science activities. Hands-on experiences lead to deeper understanding and application of science concepts.
Jamie Hagan-Holt will present a project and activities completed by her students along with Donna Markey's students at Vista Magnet Middle School. In completing their projects, students investigated and reported on an element from the Periodic Table. Their projects addressed the National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) through their "Creativity and Innovation", in addition to the standard for Research and the standard for Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. During an awards event, students and guests judged student presentations using a rubric to identify award winners in a variety of categories. These students will never forget what they have learned from these experiences.
Link to Scratch Web Site: This link will take you to the Scratch Web site at MIT where the free software can be downloaded and sample projects can be viewed. There are also resources on this Web site to support classroom use.
