Snow Day and Radio

We've had two weeks of classes since I last posted.  Here are a few of the things we've been doing.

Let it Snow!

Wednesday January 23rd arrived with a big new dump of snow.  The morning class made the most of the sticky snow, constructing a pretty big snowman!  Check it out in the slides below (link).

Audio Recording and Editing

All of the classes are working on their recording and audio editing skills.  Each week we usually record a group story.  Students get to practice using the field recorder and everyone's technique is improving.  We have also been learning how to edit audio in Audacity, an open source audio editing program.  Students have been learning how to:

• import audio
• cut audio
• fade in and out
• add sound effects
• move audio clips around
• play with various audio effects such as adding echos, reversing audio, speeding audio up, and many other cool things!

This past week students began working on recording short station IDs, editing them, and exporting the audio in the proper format.  Next week we will finish these up, and then students will dive into producing original audio content that will be part of our radio show!

What's in a Name?

We are working on coming up with a name for our radio show.  The show is focusing issues of interest to kids with content created by kids.  My intention is to continue the show even after our class project is over, with other kids and teens.  On the forms that I sent home a few weeks ago the tentative name for the show was 'The 3 R's; Reading, wRiting, and Radio',  but this is just a placeholder until we come up with a name that really sizzles!  Some of the students have already suggested names, but if they (or their families!) have some other name ideas, please submit therm here.

Ready, Set, Design!

On January 23rd the Wednesday morning class did another 'Ready, Set, Design' challenge.  (At the beginning of January, all of the classes had tried a similar challenge which you can read about here. )
The challenge: design a way to collect and transport water.
The materials: 2 balloons, 3 popsicle sticks, a long length of yarn
The goal is to use the materials to make a prototype that will meet the challenge.  It is great to see the creative ways that students interpret the challenge and use the materials.  The discussions during the design and construction phase are really interesting.  At the end of the 15 minute time limit students present and talk about their design.  Assistant Superintendent Todd Manuel was visiting our class during this activity and enjoyed seeing how the students worked through the challenge.  Check out the slideshow below for pictures of the process (link).



Thanks for checking in to see what we've been up to the past few weeks in Gifted!