Write Out Loud

Gulp. The Largest Stop Motion Animation and Dot. The Smallest.

acobb7 — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:53:35 +0000

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Gulp. The world’s largest stop-motion animation shot on a Nokia N8. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

‘Gulp’ is a short film created by Sumo Science at Aardman, depicting a fisherman going about his daily catch. Shot on location at Pendine Beach in South Wales, every frame of this stop-motion animation was shot using a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics. The film has broken a world record for the ‘largest stop-motion animation set’, with the largest scene stretching over 11,000 square feet.
The animators: aardman.com
The sand artists: sandinyoureye.co.uk
The phone: nokia.com/n8

Gulp. The Making Of

Gulp. The making of. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

Dot. The Smallest Stop Motion Animation

Nokia ‘Dot’ from Sumo Science on Vimeo.

Thoughts?

What’s On Your Bookshelf?

acobb7 — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:24:48 +0000

Students, this week’s blog prompt has to do with independent reading. Out of all the independent reading (no class novels) that you have read this year, which top four books would you put on this bookshelf?

Be sure to give the title (capitalized and within quotation marks) and author of each book.

Explain why each book made it in the top four for the year. Do not give summary! There are obvious reasons why you enjoyed these books so much. Think in terms of character development, plot/action, setting, and overall message or theme. How did the story make you feel? Why do you like this author’s style of writing?

Maybe you will inspire others to read! And that’s a very good thing!

What Would You Teach the World in an Online Video?

acobb7 — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:50:54 +0000

Students, please read the article below first, watch the video, and then answer the questions below.

Have you ever watched an Internet video that teaches how to do something or explains an idea or problem? Have you ever considered making a video like that?

What talents or expertise would you want to share in your own Internet video? What would you want to teach the world? Explain fully. (Courtesy of NY Times Learning Network)

A Science Star Already, Tinkering With the Idea of Growing Up

May 4, 2013

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Sylvia Todd, 11, produced a robot-drawn watercolor painting for President Obama on Monday at the White House Science Fair.

Sylvia Todd’s desk is not tidy. It’s cluttered with small robots (including a solar-powered grasshopper), motors, wires, resistors, a soldering iron and an array of other gadgets and tools.

A maker, tinkerer and online celebrity, Sylvia has attracted more than 1.5 million YouTube views of the show she produces and hosts, the Web-based “Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show.” She is sought after for speaking engagements, visits maker fairs and even addresses TEDx conferences.

Last week she won a silver medal at an international robotics competition. And on Monday she took part in the White House Science Fair, where President Obama tested her latest project, a robot that paints.

Not bad for an 11-year-old.

With her father, James Todd, filming her, Sylvia uses puppetry, theme music and her home as a laboratory to demonstrate how things work. She makes science fun, mostly by having fun herself.

An audience of fellow makers, especially science-minded parents and children looking for projects, follow her D.I.Y. episodes — 19 so far — on circuit boards, sidewalk chalk, rocket ships and her favorite, an LED shield.

In one episode, Sylvia made dough that can conduct electricity. The salty dough, when mixed with water, acts like wire to allow electricity to flow through it, while a second batch of dough made with sugar acts like insulation and resists electricity. Sylvia used the conductive dough to light up LEDs, make noise and run motors.

Her most popular episode, on copper etching, attracted more than 200,000 views. Her fans learned how to create a circuit board and a copper pendant.

And her latest continuing project, though not yet a subject on her show, is a robot that can paint. She showed it off at the White House Science Fair, an invitation-only symposium for 100 students that is hosted by Mr. Obama, who views and comments on the students’ projects.

The president tried out her watercolor robot, doodling “Go STEM” — the acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math — on an iPad. The robot painted his doodle, which Sylvia said she would frame.

“I shook his hand twice!” she said. “And he picked up a printed version of the White House logo that my robot did.”

Sylvia’s celebrity comes from her YouTube series, which she produces and hosts. It is a family collaboration — her mother, Christina, for instance, came up with the pendant idea — but is distinctly Sylvia. She can be age-appropriately silly, but she takes her projects seriously.

“Ever since I was really young I liked destroying stuff,” Sylvia said. “I’ve always been interested in making and doing things hands-on.”

The seeds for the show were planted when Sylvia was 5, and she and her father attended the Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif., an annual event organized by Maker Magazine that celebrates makers and their projects. Two summers ago, Mr. Todd began videotaping Sylvia’s demonstrations, as a summer project. “We just wanted to do something fun,” Sylvia said.

The popular blog Boing Boing reported on their first episode. Then Tech Crunch, Jezebel and other sites followed with praise. Make Magazine hired Sylvia to produce some of her episodes for its Web site.

Mr. Todd, 29 and a high-school dropout and Web developer, shares a tinkerer’s spirit with his daughter. (“If you do the math, I was young,” Mr. Todd said of Sylvia’s birth. “Too young,” she chimed in.)

“There was no formal maker movement when I was a kid,” Mr. Todd said. “If there had been, I would have been part of it.”

He and Ms. Todd have three other children, ages 3, 6 and 8, and he is the family’s sole breadwinner. Money is tight, and most of the science kits that Sylvia uses in her videos are donated to her. She raises money online to pay for some of her trips.

For the White House Science Fair, for example, Sylvia and her father created a campaign on a site calledgofundme.com. Two dozen well-wishers donated, and Sylvia was able to raise close to $2,000 for her trip to Washington.

“I would say we spend maybe $100 a year,” Mr. Todd said of the episodes. “We don’t have a lot of money for this; really, it just takes time.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: April 23, 2013

An earlier version of this article misquoted Sylvia Todd at one point. She said, “Ever since I was really young I liked destroying stuff” — not “Ever since I was really young I liked distorting stuff.”

John James Audubon ~ Tell the Story

acobb7 — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:06:55 +0000

Students,

This week’s post is in connection to your novel Okay For Now. Please choose one of the plates below from John James Audubon’s Birds of America and tell the story of the plate similar to how Gary Schmidt uses these plates

in each chapter. Look at what you feel is happening in the image and write a descriptive paragraph about it. Be creative and very descriptive. Notice the details!

Please do not borrow any ideas from another classmate!

Earth Day ~ What’s the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen In Nature?

acobb7 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:59:23 +0000

In honor of Earth Day, I pose this question to you. What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen in nature and where and under what circumstances did you see it?

What was the first thing that came to your mind when you read the question, “What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen in nature?”

Where have you seen especially interesting natural vistas, creatures or phenomena? In your travels? In your own backyard? At zoos or aquariums?
In general, how much do you pay attention to the natural world? What effect does it have on you?
(Idea and questions courtesy of NY Times Learning Network)

What Would Your Ideal Summer Camp Experience Be Like?

acobb7 — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:32:32 +0000

Students, if you could design the ideal summer camp experience, what would it be like and why?

What experiences do you already have with camp? What kinds have you been to, if any? What did you like about them, and what didn’t you like?
What would your ideal summer camp look like? Would it be a sleep-away camp, or a day camp? Would there be a variety of activities, or would it focus on just one or two? Where would it be located? What would the food, sleeping quarters, and physical location be like? Why? (Image and idea courtesy of the New York Times Learning Network)

Guess Who Is Coming To Dinner? Holling and Kiki!

acobb7 — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 19:23:39 +0000

Greetings, Students!

What do you think of the new theme?

This week’s topic revolves around The Wednesday Wars and Kiki Strike. Pretend that Holling or Kiki has been invited to your house for dinner. Based on what you know about your character from all the assigned reading so far, please include the following in your paragraph:

What would be good topics of conversation for the dinner table? Which topics would you definitely want to steer away from? What questions would you ask of your character? Remember to support all opinions with examples from the reading.

Girls, if you feel you don’t know enough about Kiki, you can have one of the other girls over for dinner! But please specify which one!

Be creative and remember good opening and ending sentences.

Mount Olympus World

acobb7 — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:14:48 +0000

Slideshow of the Sixth Grade Mythological Zoo

This week’s post has to do with Greek mythology and your god or goddess. Pretend that a new amusement park is opening up in the Tampa Bay area, and you have been asked to design a ride or attraction for this new theme park called Mount Olympus World. Based on everything you have learned about your god or goddess, what type of ride or attraction (be it purely for fun like a carousel ride or an educational attraction like Disney’s The Land) would you design? Keep in mind that what you design must reflect all that you know about your god or goddess. Be creative and have fun, but make it somewhat plausible. I am not looking for anything silly. Please include the following guidelines in your description:

1. Give your ride or attraction a name.

2. Be specific in its purpose. (Think about why a ride or attraction is in a theme park and why you re-visit your favorites.)

3. Be detailed in your descriptions. We should be able to picture your ride in our minds.

4. Design something you would go on. (Think about what you like, but do not copy or take an idea from Disney World, Busch Gardens, etc.)

I am looking for a good paragraph or two with a clever introductory sentence and a clever closing sentence. Please do not re-state your first sentence as your last.

Since many of you share the same god or goddess, please be respectful and do not borrow anyone else’s ideas. Make it your own.

Above is the Flickr Mythological Zoo slideshow. Most of the photos were taken by Mrs. Darrow with some added by me. Check out the page at the top for the video put together by Mrs. Darrow.

Someone’s Having A Birthday!

acobb7 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:51:15 +0000

Hi Students!

This week’s post has to do with independent reading and the main character of your book. If you have just started a new book and don’t feel you know your character well enough yet to answer this prompt, then use the character from the book you just recently finished.

Pretend that it is your main character’s birthday, and he/she is having a party. Based on what you know about your character (either through descriptions and/or plot, storyline, or what other characters have told you) answer the following prompts:

1. What would be the theme of your character’s birthday party? The theme of something is the overall idea. Again this needs to relate to what you know about your character. Why this theme? If your character would choose to have a space themed party, for example, why do you know this from the reading of the book? Think outside the box.

2. What kinds of activities would your character have at his/her party? Why? (Based on what you know about your character from the reading)

3. What would be the perfect birthday present for your character? Remember…a present does not have to be a material thing. Think in terms of what you know about your character. What does your character want or need? Again be sure to tell the why based on your understanding of the content and how well you know your character.

Be sure to state the title of your book. (Capital Letters and within quotation marks here as you cannot underline or put in italics. And of course, be sure to tell us who your character is.)

Is Google Glass For You?

acobb7 — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:58:02 +0000

Welcome Back, Students!

Since I had many requests to find a prompt/video similar to the blog post on coding, this week’s post will continue the technology trend. No doubt you have heard about Google Glass.

First, respond to the question on the image. Be sure to back up your opinions with reasoning.

Next, visit the video link below, which is the latest video released by Google on Glass, and share your thoughts.

How It Feels (through Glass)