ABC LRC

Read an E-Book Week

2012-03-06T09:28:00.003-06:00

It is Read an E-Book Week this week! Join in on the fun, read e-books, have a photograph taken of you reading an e-book and try out the exciting daily competition. You might win one of many great prizes.

See Mrs. Garcia, Yensi or Hilda in the LRC for more information.

Book Week Update Wednesday 29th February, 2012

2012-02-29T16:08:00.000-06:00

Spanish Book Drive - A collection box is set up at the front of the LRC for Spanish language book donations. So far it is completely empty! :-{

Please drop off your old Spanish children’s books. It is for a great cause.

The Book Fair continues tomorrow and Friday from 8:00-3:00. There is a great selection of books to choose from so come along and check them out.

Character Day is on Friday- Dress up as your favourite book character (or come as Harry Potter on his summer holidays).

Book Week Update

2012-02-28T16:42:00.004-06:00

Book Week Update!
Thank you to all of you who contributed to the Book Assembly. If you want to join the Hobbit Bookathon but were unable to see Mrs. Garcia please make sure you see her or Mr. Keslake tomorrow and we will arrange a catch up session. We will continue listening each afternoon for the rest of the week, so do come along.

The Book Fair starts tomorrow Wednesday, and will run for the rest of the week, from 8:00-3:00. Come see and buy!

Come along to the LRC today and on Friday to create digital Flip Books with Hilda. Finished books will be published on the web, printed off and bound so that they can be donated to a local library.

Check out our Book Week photos and join in on the fun. Pose for a poster. Check out all our great photos at

Check back for regular updates.

The February Newsletter is Out!

2012-02-22T15:44:00.002-06:00

Please click on the image below to access the full newsletter. We hope you enjoy it. We would love to hear back from you, so please take a minute to write us a comment.

Mrs. Garcia

Special Reminders for This Week!

2012-02-20T13:52:00.003-06:00

Here are some important reminders for you.

Please remember that the Internet Safety Competition comes to a close this Friday. If you intend to participate, please email Mrs.Garcia today and bring your poster and/or video submissions to the LRC by this Friday 3:00.

Book Week is Coming up Fast! Please fill in the form in your email or by clicking here and share the title of one of your favourite books with us.

Augmented Reality and SketchUp

2012-02-09T15:50:00.003-06:00

I am in SketchUp mode right now, as we are working with the program in our 8th grade lessons. The students have been given a special task. They are to create a room based on a descriptive piece they wrote in English lessons, entitled a Character's Mind as a Room.

It's the second time we have done this project in two years the culminating activity for which, is to create a SketchUp video of the models. Yesterday the plans changed a bit something new and exciting appeared on the horizon. I came across a slide share presentation posted by Martin Burrett on augmented reality. The presentation lead me to AR-Media's cool plugin for Google SketchUp. I needed to check this out, one because I have never really investigated augmented reality (except for the time I tried to get it to work in Zooburst, failed and gave up...[Note to self: go back and try this again]), but more importantly because it would be an exciting activity to do with our kids when they complete the unit. They could even screencast themselves manipulating their models.

All anyone needs to do is to download the free plugin from AR-Media then build or open an existing model. A working webcam is a must, most computers come with built in cameras today, as is a print off the marker from the AR-media folder in your computer library.

To get a better idea, watch the very short inexpert video demonstration I put together. There are plenty more of these peruse, including one produced by In Globe Technologies, which demonstrates layers management, real time sections and more.

The January Newsletter is Out!

2012-01-25T14:39:00.002-06:00

Here is our January Newsletter. Do have a read when you get a moment and feel free to comment back to us on this blog.

This is a snapshot. Please click here to read it online.

When Glitches Bring Gain

2012-01-17T08:50:00.000-06:00

http://www.islabit.com/6789/corriendo-world-of-warcraft-en-un-iphone.html http://otrapartida.com/ya-a-la-venta-la-version-completa-de-minecraft/10776/

Each Monday our World of Warcraft group meets to discuss our readings, blog posts and work together in-world. Unfortunately yesterday afternoon, WoW was experiencing difficulties with user log-ins and after a few tries we gave up. The kids then resorted to their next favourite game, Minecraft and a discussion soon began. Some of the students had found out on Twitter that on the 18th (tomorrow) Minecraft might be allow online users to play the complete game for free. They were very excited about this, and since I don't play Minecraft and couldn't access my WoW account, I decided to delve into it further.

It turns out that many online services have planned activities, amongst these "blackouts" to protest SOPA. We weren't terribly familiar with what that was, so we dug further and found out that it is a piece of US legislation that is meant to protect against online piracy- called the Stop Online Piracy Act. There is a great deal of public opposition to SOPA and as a result many online services have planned a blackout.

http://ml109.deviantart.com/art/STOP-SOPA-279366889

What is your Opinion on SOPA?

The kids, our learners of the remix generation, were genuinely interested in what SOPA was and why Wikipedia, Minecraft and many others were so unhappy with it that they would go to these measures. I don't think I have ever had 6th graders ask me to send them news reports before. Yesterday after a brief discussion, many of them requested that I forward on the information to them.

The Fullfillment of a New Comment!

2012-01-12T14:31:00.002-06:00

It is always very exciting to receive feedback on published work. It generates a feeling of pride, boosts confidence and helps you to realise that you can make a contribution regardless of your age.

Today I received a notification that one of the student videos received a comment.

Our novice WoWers were able to help someone with the game in their very first video tutorial.

"gaqol29 has made a comment on Darnassus- transportation for Night Elves.mov: thanks alot this really helped me to get out of the elf world"

Please do take a moment to comment on our WoW blog when you get a chance. The students are submitting their first homework assignments based on the readings and the game this week.

Holiday Operating Hours

2011-12-16T08:53:00.002-06:00

The LRC will be open during the holidays for checking out & returning books, from 8:00-12:00 & 1:-3:00 until December 21st & as of Jan 1st.

Happy Holidays!

WoW-Our First Meetup!

2011-12-05T20:02:00.001-06:00

We had our first World of Warcraft Meetup today! This was a very exciting first step for us. The kids couldn't be more excited and to be quite honest nor could the teachers. Please read more about it on our WoW Blog.

The November Newsletter is Out!

2011-11-30T16:25:00.001-06:00

Please take a look at the November Newsletter to find out more about what is happening at the LRC.We hope you enjoy it and would love to hear back from you, so please feel free to leave us a comment or two below.

The image below is only a preview. Please click here to download the complete newsletter.

Screencast Tutorials

2011-11-22T09:23:00.001-06:00

Our 6th and 8th grade students have created some exciting screencast tutorials in ICT lessons. In these tutorials the students teach many different technology skills that they have learned over the past few months and even years. We have begun publishing them on our LRCABC Youtube Channel for the world to enjoy and learn from and hope you will find a few minutes to browse through the collection. Who knows, you may even learn something new!

What About Cell Phones in Lessons

2011-11-15T09:06:00.001-06:00

Cell phones can be so much more than we tend to give them credit for. If you think about it, how do kids use them most as phones? One might argue that the phone call function is perhaps one of the less used on most student cell phones. Cell phones are mini video and audio recorders, digital cameras, devices for browsing, accessing and creating content for projects and ultimately for the web.

Last year we used cell phones in a few lessons as response devices, allowing students to connect up to teacher created surveys and view the results in real time. This year many students used them to record their raps durin the rainy week, their talking head videos for English class as well as video for the creative carrousel.

Cell phones are powerful tools, most students have them and know how to use them, so the question is, why not use them in lessons when it makes sense to do so.

I am interested in gaining some insight on this from the student perspective and have created a survey for them to fill in. It is anonymous and only ABC community members can access it. I have embedded a copy below and included a screen shot of it for those of you who are not immediate members of the ABC Community. I would really welcome any comments and/or questions you may have on this. Please do use the comment option in this blog to respond.

Screen Shot of the Survey

Survey

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

The October Newsletter is Out!

2011-10-26T12:47:00.001-06:00

Please click on the image below to open up the October LRC Newsletter. We hope you enjoy it.

Click here to download the newsletter.

8th Grade Book Trailers

2011-10-09T07:33:00.000-06:00

The 8th Grade created video book trailers on a book of their choices which they planned and produced in groups. This was a 6 week process involving 18 lessons of ICT. The 8th grade students are already quite skilled at video production, so this was an opportunity for them to branch out a bit and take on a video genre they were unfamiliar with. In preparing for the project, students learned about shots, angles and camera movement. They learned that trailers are generally fast paced,short in duration and involve a variety of shots and angles as well as scene changes. Through the project the 8th grade students were able to fine tune their video editing skills as well as try out a great many new techniques incorporating special effects and using the green screen. These trailers can be found on the LRC YouTube Channel as well as on this page. We hope you enjoy them!

A Better World Project

2011-10-08T10:36:00.000-06:00

The first creative carrousel has just ended and along with it 6A's work on the A Better World Project. This is the second year we run this ABC Global initiative, which involves students collaborating on rap lyrics, creating and performing music tracks and planning and producing a video which includes both computer generated animation in the form of talking avatars as well as student performances.

This year we have again opened up the project to the world and will be involved in collaboration not only within the ABC Walls but with students in other countries. Do check out the first round of projects on the A Better World Website, to get a better idea of how the project works.

Website Evaluation

2011-10-08T10:17:00.000-06:00

The 7th grade students are learning how to evaluate websites in ICT lesson. In doing so they look at the following areas: source, affiliation/bias/purpose, content and currency. They recorded their findings in a private chatroom using Today's Meet. This can be a difficult task for students, many of whom are not used to questioning content found online. These students are now well on their way to becoming effective and efficient researchers.

Banned Books Week at the LRC

2011-10-07T08:34:00.000-06:00

Banned Books Week was celebrated in the LRC during the week of September 24−October 1, 2011. This is an annual event which focuses on celebrating the freedom to read. "Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books..." ALA

The event generated a great deal of conversation between members of staff and students, who were shocked to see their favourite books on the banned list or behind bars. They soon felt much better about it once they understood that the purpose of the event is not to ban any book, but rather to raise awareness about the issue of censorship

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The Puppet Project

2011-10-07T08:22:00.001-06:00

Mr. Alfaro began running the LRC Puppet Project during as the LRC's contribution to Theatre Week. This project involved students creating Muppet type puppets from foam for use in school projects. The project proved so popular that it was extended for a total of 3 weeks. Puppet making is now well under way and the first puppet (Space Toad) who was featured in the video advertisement has now debuted as the main character in a student production. The Project will wrap up next Friday, with a few small puppet plays.

Steve Jobs- A Tribute

2011-10-06T07:39:00.001-06:00

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday from pancreatic cancer. If you would like to learn more about this amazing thinker, whose ideas revolutionized the computer industry, take a look at the Steve Jobs A Master Thinker Tribute on Scoop.it.

Do also have a look at his Stanford Speech. It is quite inspirational.

LRC Newsletter-Issue 1 September 2011

2011-09-29T17:33:00.000-06:00

The September LRC Newsletter is out. Read it online here.

Lrc Newsletter 1 Sept 2011 Upload

The Future of Learning

2011-09-29T07:33:00.001-06:00

I came across this great presentation by Steve Wheeler at the University of Plymouth on the future of education this morning, as I was trawling through my scoop.it updates.

It's interesting to see how many new technologies were met with resistance and are either still going strong in some form or other, or have become a thing of the past only after many years of being the "new tools". What is really powerful is the concept of digital evolution as opposed to digital revolution, the idea of merging virtual and real worlds. If you look at Steve's 6 trends for a the digital age, it becomes obvious that we are smack in the midst of this particular merger.

New Technologies and the Future of Learning

View more presentations from Steve Wheeler

2011-09-26T15:52:00.001-06:00

There are many ways to find out what is going on at the LRC. You can "like" us in Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, view the website, and view LRC Videos and photos on YouTube and Flickr.

This school year the LRC has launched this new blog which will bring all of these networks together in one place, as well as provide a venue for short informative updates, as well as the LRC Newsletter to be uploaded each month for your viewing pleasure.

It is our sincerest hope that you will enjoy our new blog, use it to keep up on the latest in regards to the LRC and feel free to communicate with us through it and our other social networks linked to within.

Here's to the start of a new exciting school year full of innovation in learning.

Theatre Week

2011-09-22T14:38:00.007-06:00

This Week is Theatre Week in the Secondary School. Plenty of theatre related activities are taking place in the different subjects, whilst at the LRC a special set of workshops have begun.

The LRC Coordinator and Digital Media Artist have prepared 6 after school sessions, over the course of 2 weeks, aimed at teaching students how to make foam puppets. This activity will end with a series of short puppet shows performed by the students on the last day.

Sessions take place from 2:00-3:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Students can sign up using the Google Form in their email inbox.

Take a minute to view our Theatre Week Puppet Project Video.