STEM

Hi Everyone,

Time is flying by, and the middle of Term 2 is upon us.

Below are the different STEM activities the grade levels have participated in this term.

In Prep this term, we focused on developing good cyber safety behaviours by watching and discussing videos on safety habits. We have also reinforced the importance of following good cyber safety practices by naming, discussing, and illustrating examples. We have learnt about algorithms; what they are, what a bug is concerning coding and algorithms, and creating algorithms to guide robots or move characters on online coding platforms such as Scratch Jr.

In Grades One and Two, as part of our cyber safety program, we have focused on positive ways to be safe online and the importance of asking the permission of a trusted adult. We used Chromebooks to complete various topic-related activities and followed steps to create algorithms to move robots or characters on online coding platforms. We’ve learnt about repeat coding blocks and their function in Scratch Jr, what bugs are, how to identify them, and how algorithms can be debugged.

In Grades Three and Four, the students' cyber safety component examined the question, "Is it ever okay to lie?" Accompanied by a video and discussion, this lesson explored dilemmas and pitfalls of being truthful if students find themselves confronted by someone trying to obtain personal or identifying information. Students learned techniques to deal with peer pressure online, created algorithms on Scratch using different coding blocks in a 10-block challenge to make a character move. 

In Grades Five and Six, as part of our cyber safety focus, students viewed a video on finding respectful ways to seek permission before posting online and why their and others' important information shouldn't be posted online without informed consent. The students developed a poster about Consent using Canva. They learned how to demonstrate integrity and depersonalise information while using digital tools such as AI safely, the importance of creating safe settings online when using new platforms, and protecting their privacy while working online. Students explored and experimented with the 3D online virtual world program Delightex to develop code using coding blocks, build algorithms to move objects, and experiment with coding blocks such as IF-THEN blocks, WHEN blocks and IF-THEN-ELSE blocks. They then created a scene using coding where characters/objects move and discuss the importance of safety online.

Scott Webster, 

The Stem Team