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The Level Up Report, your newsletter on 21st-century learning through games, coding, and making.
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Level Up Report

August 7, 2018
 
 
Hey, it's a mid-week Level Up Report? Well, okay! Hope you're enjoying some summer fun!

Thanks to Michelle Miller and Russell Shilling for contributions to this issue! Send us YOUR news at news@levelup.org.

 

News

We have to lead off with these two awesome new products recently announced: Kano teamed up with Harry Potter to launch a build-it-yourself wand kit for learning coding (video). LittleBits announced an Avengers Hero Inventor Kit with a cool translucent arm that you can modify with sounds and lights (video). These both look amazing!

We've been talking up computer science education in this newsletter since 2013. But we know how hard it can be to find the funding for the appropriate tools and training. THE Journal talked to educators and CIOs for an interesting article on creative ways they've found funding for coding programs, or stretched the dollars they already have.

One great idea for stretching the impact of limited funding is to build a mobile STEM lab. Who doesn't want a bus full of makerspace equipment to roll up to your school for the day? EdTech Magazine details a few efforts on building out high-tech classrooms on wheels.

Speaking of funding, do you know a US high school student who is intending to study computer science in college? They should apply for the $10,000 ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize! 2017-2018 winners worked on systems to combat fake news, a mobile app to aid epileptic patients, computer vision analysis of surgical skills, and an online programming competition. Check it out!

We're big fans of Chromebooks at Level Up, and always looking for new tools to use on them. Tanya Avrith and Holly Clark are a techy teacher and an education strategist who teamed up to write the book "The Google Infused Classroom". Check out their thoughts on two great tools for creation on Chromebooks: Book Creator and Adobe Spark.

While Google Glass may have been a fashion flop, it is still finding use in non-fashion settings. Stanford University researchers used Google Glass to help autism spectrum kids improve their emotion recognition and social skills. "Mommy, I can read minds."

What else can you use the school library for, in this age of mobile devices? We love the idea of library makerspaces. But how about a YouTube club, for students to learn how to make videos? Erick Hanson from Pennsylvania's East Pennsboro School District tells the tale of how their club came into being.

For some kids gym class is their least favorite hour of the day. When I was in school I did everything I could to hang out in the computer lab or math classroom instead. But do you remember Moneyball, the movie about using statistics and data analysis to assemble a baseball team? Eli Sheldon and Eric Murphy from Excel Public Charter School in Kent, Washington, decided to add a little Moneyball flavor to the traditional physical education class, and they share their experience. Fascinating!

We talk a lot about engagement in this newsletter... and few things are more engaging than flying around a quadcopter drone! Kimberly Crowley is a K-8 math supervisor in Jersey City Public Schools and has literally "written the book" on using drones in education. Learn from her and from Long Cane Middle School in this article. Why not teach math skills, or science, using flying objects? A popular classroom drone is this UDI U818A-HD, which costs just $54.

The Library of Congress's Teaching with Primary Sources program grants were recently announced, and the winners are all "Friends of Level Up"! Congratulations to FableVision, PBS NewsHour, and Second Avenue on splitting over a million dollars in funding for impressive Congress- and civics-focused apps and websites!

Can fitness-focused video games help kids get into better shape? Of course! Research published in Pediatric Obesity details a randomized controlled trial where kids played exercise games three times a week for an hour each session, for 24 weeks. Of course the kids saw improved BMI, blood pressure, and total cholesterol. Amusingly, so did some of their parents!

 

Play

Scratch 3.0 Beta (Web) – The Scratch 3.0 beta is out! While 3.0 won't become the mainline tool until January 2019, why not go try it now to become familiar with it and give the team some feedback? What's New In Scratch video.

Pocket City (iOS, Android) – Build your city, your way in this SimCity-style game that is simple to pick up and hard put down. Well designed game with that "just one more quest" feeling and no in-app purchases! Video.

 

Watch

Scratch Story: Jinho – After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Scratcher Jinho found himself wondering what he could do to help. Gathering together over 40 Scratchers, Jinho led the development of a multi-animator musical tribute to inspire hope.

A Treasure Trove of Ancient Video Games – Game developer Mike Mika has an unusual passion for video games. A few years ago he modded Donkey Kong so that his daughter could play as Pauline. Gizmodo followed Mike into his underground video game bunker, a Fantasyland of historic video games.

RoboRuckus public test – There have been a number of great board games about robots or computer science the past five years. But very few games that actually had robots IN THEM! So why not build one? Check out the video, then jump to the MakerShare article to learn more.

 
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