squeakland March 2011

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15 participants
24 discussions

Re: [squeakland] Etoys on an interactive whiteboard?
by David Corking 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 5:58 AM, Steve Thomas wrote (resending to list): > I tried it on a whiteboard and here is what I recall. > Getting the right click took a while to figure out. If you know the model # > and version of the software you can download the manual before you start > your tests. There should be a way as I recall to setup "multiple finger > touch" to "right click" and get the halo, but I also recall it required some > setup time and if time is limited there is a two touch method where I > touched something in the smartboard's palette that made my next touch a > right click. > One thing you will notice as well is that depending on the placement of the > projector you can block the image if you are in the wrong spot (between the > projector and a particular section of the screen you want to see/touch. > One of the difficulties I believe Bert had was being able to touch the thing > you want for small objects on a small screen. On a white board the "screen > size" is rather large and most objects were large enough that I do not > recall having that problem. > I may be able to get access to a Smartboard again for some more test. > Another thought you may want to try to give yourself more time is setup a > WiiMote Whiteboard http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/ all you need is a projector and a Wii Remote. If you > don't have a projector you can also use it on your monitor. Thanks for the tips, Steve. I most expect to encounter trouble with "hover" actions, such as balloon helps, and the "is under mouse" tile. I will experiment with the palette and with multi-touch for right click if I get time. I think the only use of right-click is to make halos appear, but I may be wrong. Maybe there is another interaction style someone can dream up for halos. The most exciting possibility to me is to see two or more students work on an Etoys world at the same time. Bert mentions multiple pointers in his video. (The classroom will be empty so I won't see students this time, but I do have two hands!) David

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Re: [squeakland] Tour of Uruguay / Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay
by Carlos Rabassa 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

David Corking wrote: > > Carlos Rabassa wrote: > >> May I answer the recent request for ideas for projects related to the >> forthcoming Tour of Uruguay. >> E042 - Understanding the Bicycle >> https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=19Dug-0DCk2520Fsx0hl-dzZDJp3cWVDWBD… > > Great projects. > > I think 2 3 and 4 have straightforward answers from high school physics. > > But the first project is very interesting but is much more difficult > and controversial. It may be sufficient to have tested some > hypotheses, without confidently discovering "the correct explanation." > > It could be a lesson in critical reading of scientific literature. > > I think some links on this BBC page may help: > http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x3y2j David, thanks for your comments, as well as the BBC link. You touched a very interesting point on which I would like to hear from as many teachers as possible. How to ask students to do an Etoys project? How much to tell them? In my non-teacher opinion, just from all I hear, I believe it is a key question. We say too much an we ruin all the value of the proposed exercise. We don´t say enough and the students might not get interested in trying and learning. I issued a first theory that was obviously wrong. It concluded we would always fall. Experience tells us this is not true. Then I tried to follow the steps of the scientific method and issue a second theory which I called "my" explanation. I thought this was implying quite clearly it is just "my" explanation and not "the" explanation. I imagine one of the many things students have to learn to do with this kind of exercise we proposed is to go one step beyond good reading comprehension, maybe this is what you mean by critical reading of scientific literature. In the real world there is no teacher to clearly state for us the problems we are expected to solve at work or in our families. One of the things we said clearly when posing the question is we were assuming very low speed. Then we drew a very simple bicycle and drew a second sketch showing a perfectly vertical and straight front wheel fork. Part of the work I was expecting the students to do was to state some limitations to simplify the problem. I just said low speed. I said nothing about the geometry of the bike, just made a rude sketch. There is a very simple experiment to get a feeling of the order of magnitude of the giroscopic effect in the bicycle wheels: Remove the front wheel, it´s usually quite easy to do. Spin it at a rotation speed equivalent to the low linear speed we proposed in the problem. Hold the two ends of its axle with your fingers. Then try to move the wheel in different directions. You clearly feel the forces but you can easily control them with your fingers. Forces of that magnitude will do very little to help you keep your balance. > I think 2 3 and 4 have straightforward answers from high school physics. This raises another interesting question for teachers. Would be nice to hear their comments. You seem to assume the teacher will follow the method used in schools years ago, when I was a student. It is probably still used today. A subject is discussed in class. Then problems are proposed related to that subject. Should we continue teaching this way? Is this the way of teaching critical thinking we keep hearing when Etoys is mentioned? You seem to imply the student will first learn math, then physics and then he will try the bicycle problem. Wouldn´t it be interesting to cause students, maybe even very young ones, to try to figure out some explanation. Whether their explanation is right or wrong, don´t you think those students would be learning? Maybe at least learning how to draw a bicycle and in the process maybe discover some hints to find a solution to the problem we posed. Maybe if they are asked to put their theories in writing, they will practice writing. Maybe if we propose they work in groups, they can learn team work, so useful in any real world work environment. Thanks again for your comments. Carlos Rabassa Volunteer Plan Ceibal Support Network Montevideo, Uruguay

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Tour of Uruguay / Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay
by Carlos Rabassa 02 Mar '11

02 Mar '11

Respondo a la reciente solicitud de ideas para proyectos relacionados con la próxima Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay: S043 - Entendiendo el Cuerpo del Ciclista https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1bEc1uHKCL38Okx8Rmvb-21GLqH1DkKpibn… May I answer the recent request for ideas for projects related to the forthcoming Tour of Uruguay. E043 - Understanding the Cyclist’s Body https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1v7oJJ0KEcmJ5cNpOokoxw0HgbWmu3ZOxX3… Carlos Rabassa Voluntario Red de Apoyo al Plan Ceibal Montevideo, Uruguay

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Test
by Beth Santos 01 Mar '11

01 Mar '11

Hi all, Just testing to see if the subscription method is still working for the Squeakland list. Thanks for the patience! Beth --- *Beth Santos* Outreach Coordinator Waveplace Foundation Tel: +1 610 797 3100 x 44 Fax: +1 610 797 3199 Cell: +1 603 661 1273 http://www.waveplace.org Waveplace on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waveplace/270512992335?ref=ts> Twitter: @waveplace <http://twitter.com/waveplace>

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squeakland March 2011