Day: January 11, 2018

SFU Fun Opportunities for Students

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to pass along some information about upcoming programs for elementary, middle, and high school students interested in computer science and engineering! 

Please find a brief description of upcoming programs below with detailed information available at the SFU website at https://www.sfu.ca/fas/news-and-outreach/community-outreach.html. 

As I am only passing along information and can’t answer questions, please direct inquiries to fasevent@sfu.ca.  

Technovation (January to May 2018)

Open to girls ages 10 to 18. The Technovation Challenge teaches middle and high school girls how to make an app for a mobile phone using AppInventor.  This 12-week, online, after-school program is structured so that groups of girls (ages 10-18) learn how to identify a problem, design and test a solution, collaborate with a team and communicate effectively.  Each team will work though the Technovation curriculum with assistance from a mentor. 

Girls Get IT (May 26, 2018)

Open to girls ages 9 to 11. Each year, the Faculty of Applied Sciences hosts a great opportunity for girls aged 9-11 to learn about the fields of Computing Science and Engineering! Participants take part in various activities and have the chance to talk to current students about what it means to be a computing scientist or engineer. All activities are supervised by SFU faculty and staff. Girl Guides Canada participants complete all requirements for both their computing science and engineering badges. 

Science AL!VE (Throughout the year)

Open to grade K to 9 students depending on the specific program. Science Alive provides opportunities for youth to explore science beyond the textbook through hands-on, interactive discovery which stimulates their interest and fosters confidence. A student-run not-for-profit organization based at Simon Fraser University,  Science AL!VE is supported by the Faculty of Applied Sciences, and a member of Actua, a national organization that reaches 225,000 youth annually. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Math: Practice Metric Conversion!

Hello Everyone!

Earlier this week, as part of our ongoing work on our math unit Math Makes It Work, we continued discussions about the metric system of measurement.

Here are some things we talked about:

  • In the metric system, we have bases which are liters, meters, and grams.
  • In front of each of the bases, we can put prefixes that tell us how many of the base is involved in the measurement. These are: kilo-, hecto-, deca-/deka-, deci-, centi-, and milli-
  • We can use a set of stairs (going from upstairs to downstairs in a left to right fashion) to convert between the different units of measurement in the metric system. To remember the stairs, you could make up a phrase, such as “Kangaroos Help Dingos Because Dingos Can’t Multiply”
  • The B stands for the base unit of measurement. Always stay in the same base when converting using the stairs.
  • You can convert measurements by putting them on the stairs in the right unit, and then multiplying or dividing.
  • If you move down the stairs, each stair means multiplying by 10 and moving the decimal one space to the right. If there isn’t a number, add zeros.
  • If you move up the stairs, each stair means dividing by 10 and moving the decimal one space to the left. If there isn’t a number, add zeros.

Want some more practice?

Quia Metric Millionaire Game

Khan Academy Conversion of Units Practice

IXL Compare and Convert Units Grade 4/5 Level

IXL Compare and Convert Units Grade 6 Level

IXL Compare and Convert Units Grade 8 Level

University of Waterloo Math Frog Metrics

More advanced Metric Units Using Notation 

More advanced Matthew Metrics Gum Parlour

Metric Card Game (which we will adapt and play in class)

Other Fun Games: (Do you have any to recommend? Tell Ms. D!)

Sheppard Software Measurement Activities

BBC Build a Shed Game

Read How To Part on this one — Death to Decimals Game

Debates! Here’s how they work

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday, we had a great conversation about the positive and negative impacts of technology on young children. Here are some of the points you made during our in-class discussion:

  • Technology is being used in positive ways by children to communicate with one another, to make change, and to interact with their world.
  • Some people become addicted to technology for a variety of reasons, and the World Health Organization has identified it formally as a potential addiction disorder.
  • While some people are addicted, which means they just can’t ever stop being on digital technologies and playing video games, others are just staying too long on the computer. There was general agreement that people need to monitor how long they are on devices.
  • Being on a device for too long can have an impact on your body (posture, eye strain, eye development, etc.) and on the sleep you need to help your body.
  • We need to be aware of balance between computer activities and other fun entertainment. You all identified many ways you like to have fun other than sitting in front of a computer, like swimming, reading, drawing, playing with friends, biking, and more!
  • Some video games can be violent and we need to be aware of how our systems can be sensitive to the stimulation. Violence in video games does not necessarily make a person violent according to research.

I was impressed how many of you took a look at the UNICEF document I pointed out before. Great job reading the articles from the blog! If you want to see those links again, here they are.

So, how do we get started on a debate?

  • We create a statement we can debate, which is called a resolution.
  • Our statement is: Be it resolved that the use of technology by young children should be more limited as it has a negative impact on their development.
  • We then form teams of two.
  • All team members will make research cards that either support the resolution or go against the resolution.
  • One team member will make a positive paragraph about the topic, and the other one will make a negative paragraph. Or, the two team members can work together on both.

During the actual debate, what do we do?

  • We flip a coin to determine which team is positive and negative.
  • Positive team goes first with an opening statement – 3 min. max
  • Negative team goes second with an opening statement – 3 min. max
  • We pause and think. Teams think about what has been said during opening statements and look for evidence in their collection that will help make a counter argument and prove their case! – 5 min.
  • Positive team provides a rebuttal — 1 min.
  • Negative team provides a rebuttal — 1 min.
  • Positive team sums up their arguments – 1 min.
  • Negative team sums up their arguments – 1 min.

Evidence Cards:

Use the model I gave you. You can put your evidence on index cards. You could also collect the evidence in a list online, but it makes it harder to see it all during the debate. Each index card should have:

  • Title to say if this is negative or positive evidence, and what kind of argument
  • Name of where you found the evidence and the date
  • Quote directly from the evidence, in quotation marks

Marks and Judging:

  • Each person will be marked on a rubric for their completion of evidence, their public speaking skills used, and their overall thinking about the topic
  • Teams will be evaluated in the first rounds by Ms. D and the class. Final rounds will be evaluated by guest judges.
  • Everyone participates in minimum one round. Some people may do more if they win their rounds.
  • Winning does not impact your mark. Public speaking, being prepared, and completing your evidence does.

Thank you!

Ms. D