Past projects 4
Opening Up a Virtual World of Creativity
Funded Oct 4, 2014I want to say thank you for this incredible donation. The children in my classroom have already taken advantage of the screens during remediation and in a review game. It also gives me several tremendous opportunities around the building, which I will be taking advantage of in the new year.
Initially, the 5th graders in my classroom have used the screens during our daily remediation time where students have review place value in a station. Additionally, we have used the screens to make review games more interesting by using a short, movement based game as a physical challenge between rounds of our review. Both interactions were a great success and led to some great student involvement.
Additionally, in 2015 we have 3 things already planned where students will take advantage of us having these screens in our room. In January, I will be working with the 4th grade class to complete an interactive investigation of the planets in Little Big Planet. The screens will give us an opportunity to break up the class in to two groups to complete this activity. In February, our school will be hosting our second marathon for the Extra Life program through the Children's Miracle Network. We will be using the screens as stations in this activity where we give students the opportunity to do something that they enjoy to give to other children in need. During the next semester, high level learners will use the screens to design their own levels in Little Big Planet that have a theme that align with our state standards.
To sum it up, your contributions to our school are making a difference in engaging students at their level, challenging them to go farther with the learning, and helping them to give back to peers in need. Thank you once more for your thoughtful contribution to our community.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Renard
Get the Game Club a Vita
Funded Oct 16, 2013Please forgive my tardiness on this activity. This year has been full of excitement, however, switching grades has also paved way for some unexpected professional and personal challenges. For that reason this letter is coming to you later than I had intended for it to.
That said, thank you so very much for your assistance in helping us get a PlayStation Vita for the classroom and the Little Big Planet Club. From day one, the students were super excited. The very first day the students dove into using all of the features of the machine. The best way to describe it for the students is all the comforts they have of video games and iPods in one device. There was genuine laughter as they played with the microphone and camera.
Once we got Little Big Planet up and going, they were even more excited. They have been messing around with the levels and really enjoying the different elements that the touch controls add to the game. Now that they are beginning to talk about how they want to use the Vita, their ideas are very imaginative. I have heard everything from fighting dragons to using the Vita as a time bomb in a version of hot potato (which we will not be doing as we do not want it to be dropped). It was a fun idea though. As the student's progress in their work with the Vita it will be covered on the blog: lbpclassroom.blogspot.com
Also, this piece of hardware has created more opportunities for me to create things the students can use. Currently, I am working on a Civil War review game, which mixes basic questions where students tap answers with some challenging jumping sections. The best part is that I have figured out a way to randomize the questions so that students would likely never play the same way twice. It is a fun idea, and likely the first of many.
None of this would have been possible without your support, and I thank you all for that. Please follow our progress, especially toward the end of the year as students wrap up their projects. Once more, thank you.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Renard
Game Design Club
Funded Dec 11, 2012A billion times thank you. Due to your generosity, students at my school have an opportunity to take something that they are interested in and dabble with their ideas. Trying this out will potentially chart a course for their lives and a new interest for their future.
Since receiving the system (in early January) we have begun our club, and the students have had a great time using the PlayStation 3 to learn more about bringing an idea to life. They have done many fun things: some students are building race tracks that go hundreds of feet in the air and really deep into the ground, while another student is making one that requires the player to drive under, around, and, at times, on top of donuts. I have had children who have enjoyed one small aspect of the game so much that they have entirely changed their minds about what they wanted to create.
I think, however, that one of the major things that the children are learning is the scope of a project. The students are seeing that this kind of creation is a process. They are not going to be able to sit down and throw together something really fast and have it be amazing. They are going to have to work at it. It is going to take time and effort. Truly, I am excited to see what we have when it is all said and done in May or June. They are working hard, and they want their projects to turn out well.
This week, we had a really cool moment. One young lady has been toying with an idea for a while now, and she finally got it to look and work the way that she wanted. The first time she did it, the other kids in the room and I all stopped what we were doing and watched very quietly. It was a cool moment that energized the room and unified the group.
This experience has been amazing so far, and I truly thank you for allowing me to get this project off the ground. Once more, I would encourage you to keep up with what is going on with our group by going to www.lbpclassroom.blogspot.com. Thank you for being amazing.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Renard
Little Big Planet in the Classroom
Funded Aug 26, 2012Thank you so much for your assistance in providing the Playstation 3 for my classroom. It opens up so many opportunities in many different ways, and the students are already so excited about all of the possibilities it creates.
A few weeks ago, the students played Little Big Planet as part of their reading stations with much fun and success. They were engaged while playing, but the class as a whole got involved, helping each other out and celebrating when someone did a little better than the top score. Moving forward, the plan is to continue to use Little Big Planet and other games as activities in our learning environment. The kids are always asking when the next opportunity to play will be, and there is a legitimate excitement to do more.
In January, I plan to offer our fifth graders the chance to create their own levels using the Little Big Planet creation mode. This after-school activity will allow the kids to create, design, market and ultimately, publish their levels and mini-games.
I am very excited to share what we are doing, and as this year continues, I will begin posting lessons, ideas and successes on a blog. Thank you again for providing this opportunity for our kids; it means the world to them, even if they don't know it yet.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Renard
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 7 other donors.