Forewords:As the former head of the NYC Department of Education Office of Instructional Technology and the current president of the ISTE Technology and Literacy Special Interest Group. I visited Mr. Carideos class last year with curiosity about the state of technology education in NYC. I met vibrant engaged and fluent students using various technology tools for television, pod, graphic arts, and gamestar design. Mr. Carideos love for the written word and his expertise in film making and journalism flavored his warm approach to engaging students in technology.It is no surprise that Mr. Carideo, a superb collaborator has managed in this collection to tap his colleagues Dr. Reissman, Ms. Gillespie and Mr. Grzeleckis passion for literacy. Mr. Carideo successfully piloted an online podcast where students from last years 6th grade shared their author sites. Mr. Grzelecki was fabulous at engaging his informational literacy students in actually posting to the Classroom Robotics blog to make informational literacy come alive for them.Mr. Carideo models the best elements of technology educators roles as teaching and leading the embrace of CCSS standards for rigor, fun and real world learning.

Mark GuraPresident of ISTE technology and Literacy Special Interest Group

As president of the Pennsylvania Social Studies Council, I have been a dedicated follower of Mr. Carideos DNN television show which embodies key CCSS SS/History literacy standards and makes listening and speaking as well as short research come alive.It is a joy to see how Mr. Carideo infuses his SS background into maps and timelines plus short research on the fictive Ivan Gorilla based on the actual Ivan of the Atlanta zoo.Mr. Carideo has been awarded the Presidents Award for his work in multimedia for 2013.I cannot wait for him to share some of these projects with our Pennsylvania educators eager to use technology to address CCSS standards with fun and real world skills.David Keller Trevaskis, President of the Pennsylvania Social Studies Council

I am not an expert in technology, yet as Chair of the York College Teacher Education Department, I am always eager to identify new techniques to use technology as an integrative literacy tool. As I read through these writings, it was a joy to learn how Mr. Carideo worked with author sites to build deep literacy, research and speaking and listening connections for students and ELA teachers. His project done jointly with Dr. Reissman on Ivan-a Newbery Award winning book, takes this book from fiction to sad humane fact. The range of student responses and use of the engaging pictures to tap student engagement in all classes, plus collaboration by Ms. Gillespie, makes this an exemplary project.I rarely blog, but Mr. Grzeleckis Classroom Robotics 660 students engaged my attention.

Bravo, Mr. Carideo

Dr. Lindamichelle BaronChair of the York College

Department of Teacher Education

Table of Contents Forewords-

Mark Gura, Dr. Linda Michel Baron, Dr. David Trevaskis

Chapter I- Talk Back to Ivan a) Carideo Author Site. NYSUTs Journal of Best Practices

in Education

Chapter II- Poolplympic podcasts and Loud Neighbors.

Chapter III- Scripts Mentored by Film Director Carideo

Chapter IV- Robots Article Blog, Robots Comments

Chapter V- Gamestar,

Afterword Comments on Carideo

Background:COMMON CORE STANDARDS CONNECTION- Dr. Reissman was captivated by the book The One and Only Ivan which was written by Katherine Applegate. She checked out the author and title site. Then she found out that Mr. Carideo was teaching script writing. Dr. Reissman also realized that the TEXT COMPLEXITY standard would support the use of quotes from the book as springboards to student script writing. As the students identified the quotes from the text, they were involved in qualitative analysis of the text and by developing their responses to the script they collaborated to create another text based quantitative document. Mr. Carideo bridged the connection between facts and fiction by including online research of Ivans life with maps of his travels and Ms. Gillespie contributes a timeline of Ivans life to make a connection to CCSS SS/History Literacy.

Chapter - ITalk Back to Ivan

Talk Back to Ivan:Your answers and art may be chosen for Mr. Carideos book.

React, say something to Ivan. These are his direct quotes. Tell him if you agree or disagree. Make a picture of him talking to you or a picture of what he is talking about or put this all together as a poem or bubble coming out of Ivans mouth. You can ask Ivan questions if you like.

Zenaiah Borsu

1. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.-Its not noise. Maybe if you could understand what we are talking about you could even have fun.

2. Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much. -Well, human have more things in life.

3. In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I am thinking of is how the late day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.-We humans are afraid because you are very big. Maybe if there were not scary movies, we wouldnt be scared.

4. Im mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.-Yes, Ivan you are very big. Your size is what we humans fear.

5. Sadly, I cannot read, although I wish I could. Reading stories would make a fine way to fill my empty hours. -True, we should read together. Ill teach you.

6. Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger.-Anger is precious. We shouldnt waste something that causes problems.

7. All day, I watch humans scurry from store to store. They pass their green paper, dry as old leaves and smelling of a thousand hands, back and forth and back again.-The green paper is money. Think of all the bananas you can buy.

8. Then they leave, clutching bags filled with thingsbright things, soft things, big thingsbut no matter how full the bags, they always come back for more.-We continuously need things.

9. They spin pink clouds you can eat. They build domains with flat water falls.

10. But they are lousy hunters.In 7-10, what is Ivan observing? Is he correct in what he says?

David Fontanez

1. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.

2. Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much.

-At times gorillas go crazy, some humans are good.

3. In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I am thinking of is how the late day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.

-People act like that sometimes.

4. Im mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.-Yes you are strange, but dont brag.

5. Sadly, I cannot read, although I wish I could. Reading stories would make a fine way to fill my empty hours. -Dont worry you can learn if you try.

6. Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger.-Yes, I agree with you.

7. All day, I watch humans scurry from store to store. They pass their green paper, dry as old leaves and smelling of a thousand hands, back and forth and back again.-That is green paper we need to buy stuff for our family.

8. Then they leave, clutching bags filled with thingsbright things, soft things, big thingsbut no matter how full the bags, they always come back for more.-Those things in the bags are food to feed me and my family.

9. They spin pink clouds you can eat. They build domains with flat water falls.

10. But they are lousy hunters.-No, we dont live in the woods, we dont hunt.

In 7-10, what is Ivan observing? Is he correct in what he says?-He was observing people shopping.

Britney Jean

1. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.-Stop and listen, the information may actually benefit you.

2. Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much. -Too much patience is sometimes not a good thing.

3. In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I am thinking of is how the late day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.-Well unfortunately that is in a big ball of flowing gas.

4. Im mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.-So? Being ready for battle doesnt matter. Its fruit.

5. Sadly, I cannot read, although I wish I could. Reading stories would make a fine way to fill my empty hours. -Reading is a great way to pass the time.

6. Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger.-Getting angry all time is not always the answer.

7. All day, I watch humans scurry from store to store. They pass their green paper, dry as old leaves and smelling of a thousand hands, back and forth and back again.-In our world, we need it to survive.

8. Then they leave, clutching bags filled with thingsbright things, soft things, big thingsbut no matter how full the bags, they always come back for more.-Nothing lasts forever.

9. They spin pink clouds you can eat. They build domains with flat water falls.-We can do a lot of things, more than you, actually.

10. But they are lousy hunters.-We were not made to hunt. You were. Dont judge what dont understand or know.

In 7-10, what is Ivan observing? Is he correct in what he says?-No he is not. We are beings who cant live off of just a small amount of things

Faria Sultana 601

1. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.-I disagree because people are communicating with each other. They also learn and talk.

2. Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much. -I agree with you because gorillas are patient, but humans can be patient too. Some humans, not so much.

3. In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I am thinking of is how the late day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.-People are afraid of you because of the way you look, but if you were in a big cage they would feel safe.

4. Im mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.

5. Sadly, I cannot read, although I wish I could. Reading stories would make a fine way to fill my empty hours.-I love to read stories to fill the empty hours or when I am bored.

6. Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger.-Many people have anger. A gorilla needs his troops to manage his anger.

7. All day, I watch humans scurry from store to store. They pass their green paper, dry as old leaves and smelling of a thousand hands, back and forth and back again.-Green paper

8. Then they leave, clutching bags filled with thingsbright things, soft things, big thingsbut no matter how full the bags, they always come back for more.

9. They spin pink clouds you can eat. They build domains with flat water falls.

10. But they are lousy hunters.

In 7-10, what is Ivan observing? Is he correct in what he says?

Zakiyyah Hercules

1. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say. -Well listen, it is not how much we are saying it is what we are saying.

2. Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much. -Well, there are many reasons because some people have school and others have work.

3. In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I am thinking of is how the late day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.-I wont judge you I would be your friend dont think I would judge you for being a gorilla.

4. Im mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.-So that does not mean you are strong. You are strong and you have brains.

5. Sadly, I cannot read, although I wish I could. Reading stories would make a fine way to fill my empty hours. -Yes it would, but that does not mean you are not smart.

6. Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger.-Thats not us, we scream the word help or call emergency.

7. All day, I watch humans scurry from store to store. They pass their green paper, dry as old leaves and smelling of a thousand hands, back and forth and back again.-Well those dry leaves are money. We use it to get through in life.

8. Then they leave, clutching bags filled with thingsbright things, soft things, big thingsbut no matter how full the bags, they always come back for more.

9. They spin pink clouds you can eat. They build domains with flat water falls.

10. But they are lousy hunters.

In 7-10, what is Ivan observing? Is he correct in what he says?

Jordan Taylor

1. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.-I disagree, because I think everybody should be treated the same.

2. Gorillas are as patient as stones. Humans, not so much.-Everybody is the same but different in a way.

3. In my size humans see a test of themselves. They hear fighting words on the wind, when all I am thinking of is how the late day sun reminds me of a ripe nectarine.-Mostly everyone think of anything, but people think the same.

4. Im mightier than any human, four hundred pounds of pure power. My body looks made for battle. My arms, outstretched, span taller than the tallest human.-People come in many shapes and sizes.

5. Sadly, I cannot read, although I wish I could. Reading stories would make a fine way to fill my empty hours.-Reading is a good way to express feelings.

6. Anger is precious. A silverback uses anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger.-People have ways of expressing their anger.

7. All day, I watch humans scurry from store to store. They pass their green paper, dry as old leaves and smelling of a thousand hands, back and forth and back again.-Ivan is observing humans.

8. Then they leave, clutching bags filled with thingsbright things, soft things, big thingsbut no matter how full the bags, they always come back for more.

9. They spin pink clouds you can eat. They build domains with flat water falls.

10. But they are lousy hunters.

In 7-10, what is Ivan observing? Is he correct in what he says?

One of Dr. Reissmans prompts was to engage students in imagining what would happen were Ivan, who does not love words, to visit Ditmas.Bonil Raziilor/209Ivan: The Mighty Silverback GorillaIvan: You people have nothing to talk about.Teacher: You see we do have something to talk about.

Student: Listen to me, we do have something to discuss. We are talking about the Holocaust it was a terrible thing people were doing.

Aisha:

Ivan felt like they just did this awful thing to me. Why would they do this? They wouldnt like if I were to do this to them. This cage is not meant for a gorilla.

I need to be in the wild. I didnt hurt anybody. I dont deserve this at all. My name is Ivan and this is outrageous. I have to escape. There is no way out. What I am going to do? I am just going to sleepIts morning oh my goodness my sister shes dead. What am I going to do? I am all alone no family. I just want to be in my original habitat. We reached the Atlanta zoo. I felt myself slipping into a great depression, so sad, lonely. I dont know what to do. All I just want to do is draw in mud. And sing. Im going to die alone.

Zenaiah Borsa:

In the picture where hes with his sister, Ivan is thinking why are learning this? I dont like this. I really want my mommy. By the way where is she? When am I going to see my family again? In the picture with Ivan in a cage is thinking where did my sister go? Hes like where is my friend? Im here by myself, now I really want to go home. The picture of him in the zoo: he feels like I want my family. He is like why wasnt my mom around? Finally, some space to walk around. I wonder how other animals live.

Zakiyyah Hercules:

I think Ivan is thinking well I can believe I am free, but I still want to be in the wild. Also these however smell good. I also think that Ivan is cool. I think that if Ivan would also be happy he would not consider as enemies consider as friends.

Mariam Gurgus:

Ivan felt very bored and lonely when he was in the cage trapped. He looked as if he was very depressed and very sad. He also looked like he really wanted to be with his troop and also his sister that had died to be with him. I think that if he had his sister with him he would be enjoying his life time with her. Also he lost his mother, father and his 6 siblings So now he has nothing to do without his family/troop. This is how Ivan had probably had felt in the cage trapped. Ivan looked very happy, excited and very splendid to be out with all of this beautiful and pretty nature. He looks like he enjoys being at. Ivan feels free and very, very happy to do out and free. Thats how Ivan probably had felt when he was out.

Chapter - IIPoolplympic Scripts

Ms. Xavier Class PodcastA park used for over 25 years with a pool and a crafts center

Characters:Roy Beecher, park counselor:

Jonah, age 12:Brian White, age 12:

Kyle:Sally, Jonahs best friend:

Narrator 1:Narrator 2:Narrator 3:Narrator 4:Narrator 5:Narrator 6:

Chorus:

Music: ____________ (swim, cheating.racing)

Scene 1: At the pool

SFX: __________________

Narrator 1: Jonah straightened his swim trunks. He curled his toes around the lip of the pool. His two opponents

did the same. All three competitors waited as Roy Beecher counted down:

Music:

Roy: On your mark, get set . . . . . Go!!

SFX:

Narrator 2: Jonah dove long and straight. He kicked into the Austrian crawl. Jonah had gone through a growth

spurt this year so for the first time he could seriously compete. He made a clear turn in the water at the

far end. When he touched the wall, he was surprised to hear his name called out. He had won.

All: applaud. . . cheer!! Go for it, Jonah!!

SFX:

Narrator 3: The trophy was small and plastic,

but two other twelve-year-old boys seemed bitterly disappointed at their loss.

Music:

SFX:

Brian: Jonah, you made a false start!!

Jonah: I did not!! How dare you suggest I would!

Scene 2: Foosball section

SFX:

Narrator 4: For the next hour, Jonah and his best

friend Sally played foosball. Then they gathered up their things from a row

of cubicles just inside the pool fence. Thats when Jonah saw that his little trophy

was missing from his backpack. In its place was a note. Cheater! it said in big,

scrawled letters.

Music:

Sally: This is so immature. It had to be Brian.

Jonah: Or Kyle. He was pretty angry, too.

Narrator 5: The trophy was worth next to nothing. It was

certainly not worth making a fuss about. But the word on the note Cheater stung.

Jonah: Its the word cheater that gets me.

I have to find out who wrote that.

Scene 3:

Narrator 6: Jonah and Sally sit on a stump by the door to

the crafts shed. They devise a strategy.

Jonah: Well talk to Kyle and Brian separately and

find out where they went afterthe swim meet. If one of them has an ironclad alibi, then well know it has

to be the other.

SFX: Footsteps

Roy Beecher: Congratulations again.

Jonah, you won by two seconds.

Jonah: Thanks. Mr. Beecher, do you know where

Kyle and Brian are?

Sally: Thanks we need to go home too, Mr. Beecher.

Jonah and Sally waved goodbye, they started walking the length of the park toward Grove Street.

Scene 6: Grove Street Walk. Empty Trashcan.

Jonah: Who should we question first?

Sally: Oh, it was Kyle. I know it for a fact.

Jonah: How do you know that?

Sally: Think about it and lets see Jonah if

you are as smart as I am.

Narrators:

WHO DONE IT? HOW DID SALLY DEDUCE THE THIEF?

CAN YOU SOLVE THE CASE?

COMMON CORE CONNECTION:

Although two students were absent for the pod recording, the students demonstrated preparation for careers in communications and workplace teaming, as they quickly filled in the missing roles. They had rehearsed with older peer Sean Tsyganovsky and excelled because of that peer collaboration and comprehension of Seans instructions.

When we were doing the podcast, it was great because we got a lot of practice from Sean, and Mr. Liotta. It was great because we learned how to speak loudly and to express our feelings.

Melanie Huerta 602

I think the visit with Sean was a good idea because we worked on stuff we couldnt do. He told us our weak points. He also stated our strong points. He gave us tips on what to do.

Ulugbek Ubaydullaev 602

I think that working in the podcast was great because we were able to help each other out. Also we got to practice which makes us better readers. I am grateful to Ms. Xavier and Dr. Rose for this experience.

Marlon Iqbal 602

It felt good working on the podcast. I think that everybody did a wonderful job on their parts. They spoke loudly and did what they needed to do. It also felt really good working with them, they told us what we had to do and everybody did a great job.

Brandon Benn 602

I felt proud of my overall performance. We together made a very incredible team. I felt proud I learned many ways to help me with my reading skills. It was a great experience working with Dr. Rose and the podcast.

Chris Bailey 602

I think my experience with this podcast made me a way better out loud speaker. I learned many different things like how if there is a period, I wait for 3 seconds. If there is a comma, I wait 1 second. Dr. Rose taught us how to read for a podcast recording.

Calvin Mattar 602

Overall, I was very proud of recording the podcast. But two people were missing, so other characters had to take their lines. I think the listeners will get confused with that but the speaking was excellent.

Zenab Ahmad 602

I was really excited for working. I was kind of nervous but fine. The process felt like it happened in real life with me now. It was going good.

Umme Hussain 602

We had a lot of fun. It was amazing and we learned how to work in teams. Mr. Liotta was impressed and I was proud of myself.

Sarwat Khalild 602

Chapter - IIIMovie Scripts

Using Google Doc Sharing and Collaborating Students logged into their iDitmas.org account. This is a partnership with Google

Education and Ditmas JHS.

One student (The Leader), created a Document and shared it with the rest of the writers.

All writers are on separate computers, but are sharing the same document in real time.

The leader points to a writer and he/she writes the characters line.

The script is written in real time.

This keeps all parties engaged and excited.

Nerds Vs Bullies BY: Gazzaly Mahmud, Niko Koloseus,

Galileo Callejas, Joshua Gallardo

People What they are doing: Actor Name

Niko Koloseus Secret fighter getting bullied/ nerd Never knew (Nerd 1)

Galileo Callejas Secret fighter getting bullied / nerd Never knew (Nerd 2)

Gazzaly Mahmud Bully 1 Mike

Joshua Gallardo Bully 2 Henry

TWO NERDS WALK DOWN THE HALLWAYNerd 1:

Gee I cant wait for science!

Nerd 2:Me too. We are going to learn about the periodic table.

Nerd 1:Hey maybe we can go to the science museum next week.

BULLIES MIKE AND HENRY WALK DOWN THE HALLWAY PUSHING PEOPLE OUT OF THE WAY AND SCARING THEM.

THEY WALK UP TO NERDS.

Mike:Hey losers give me your lunch money before my friend here beats

you up, just like what he did to Jimmy.

Henry:(Laughs and punches his fist.)

JIMMY WALKS TO THE NERDS ALL BEAT UP.THEN RUNS AWAY WHEN HE SEES THE BULLIES.

Nerd 2:Im sorry but we need to get to class before it is too late.

Mike 1:Oh so you think youre cool now huh, well you dont make the rules

here.....

(Nerd 1 interrupts bully 1) Nerd 1:The teachers and the principal do.

Henry 2:Oh you think youre so smart?

(Bullies both try to punch the nerds, nerds block it and punch them back in the face.)

(Bullies get up and wildly curve punch them.)Nerd 1 kicks him in the stomach then spin kicks him in the face.Nerd 2 grabs the punching arm and flips him over his shoulder.)

Principal:WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOING ON HERE!

Bullies:He punched me.....then I flipped... and I got a foot in my mouth

What do you have to say for yourselves? (principal tells nerds.)

Nerd 1:Well we were just heading to class, when these kind gentlemen were

asking for some change for lunch

(Nerd 2 continues) Nerd 2:However, they threatened us with wild punches so we use self-de-

fense and kicked them in the face.

Principal:Wha... what... you did this? (he slaps his face) good.... next time just

tell the teacher.

Lesson Learned:Metallica said Fight Fire With Fire.

Ghandi said An eye for an eye makes the world blind.What do you say?

Common Core State StandardsExample:

Annotation

The writer of this piece:

Establishes a situation by naming a place. (Ditmas JHS)

Recounts several loosely linked events and the order in which they occurred. (Students walking in hallways, Conversations, Interac-tions)

Provides a reaction to what happened. (Lesson Learned!)

Offers a sense of closure. (Principal tells students to tell teacher.)

Demonstrates command of some of the conventions of standard written English.

(1) This piece illustrates consistent control of beginning-of-sentence capitalization.

(2) The writer also uses capital letters appropriately in the title of the piece.

(3) It is written in proper Scriptwriting Format.)

Chapter - IVRobots Article Blog, Robots Comments

Robots Make Common Core Informational Research Come Alive: One Robot News Story at a Time

6th Grade Informational Literacy Class Reviews, Reflects, and Responds to News Stories at

Classroom Robotics Blog

As part of their informational research and review writing for the Common Core ELA reading, writing, and speaking/listening literacy strands, the student journalists of Mr. Grzeleckis 660 Writing class reviewed and reflected on 3 videos featured in Classroom Robotics blog. With the support of Dr. Reissman, the Director of the schools Writing Institute, they first analyzed the prompts supplied for each video before viewing it. They discussed the pros and cons of each very real and engaging issue presented. These involve authentic robotics products, advertisements, and applications in Space Research. Dr. Reissman pointed out to them, as well, that in the related genre of Science Fiction writers often include descriptions of technology items (inventions and products) which, while they may be very expensive at the time of the writing, will become affordably within comfortable reach of the general public in a future perhaps that may be only ten to thirty years of the storys publication. Mr. Grzelecki reminded the students to take notes during the viewing of the videos. After each short video, Dr. Reissman and Mr. Grzelecki had the students revisit in discussion their initial takes on the issues. Finally the student news journalists offered their reactions in writing.

These students participated as members of a community of learners focused on the blogs contents, viewing electronic and visual text and commenting as real world citizens on ethical, economic, and lifesaving issues raised by robotics technology. Thats kick starting genuine Common Core skills that count in our real challenging world. Below, is a selection of their commentary.

On whether commercially available killer robots were a good or bad idea (http://classroomrobotics.blogspot.com/2013/04/kuratas-one-bad-s-robot-or-grown-up.html):

Abdullah H ---- The killer robot could be exceedingly destructive. It is very cool looking. Still using it could be very bad for our country.

Bisma N ---- I am not in favor of the killer robot. The robot could kill anyone it is programmed to kill. In addition, the robot could turn against all humankind and kill humans.

Kamela L ---- I am in favor of robots going to war. It will save many lives. This will allow our population to grow.

Sherry ---- My reaction to this product is interesting. This product is better than people for combating war. In a war, you could send a robot, instead of a person. A person can get injured and pass a way. But if a robot is disabled, so what? I think this is a good product.

On whether current use of robots in space instead of humans is a viable and desirable choice (http://classroomrobotics.blogspot.com/2013/04/robonaut-2-robot-astronaut.html) :

Cristofer H ---- Robot Astronauts are a great idea. Robots can reach planets, humans cant reach such as Mars. If something goes wrong, there is no loss of human life.

Svetlana G ---- I am in favor of replacing humans with robots for space exploration. Robots can explore space faster. They can do a better job than humans. It could be dangerous for humans to go into space, but for the robots the dangers do not matter. I personally dont think it is amazing when humans travel into space, but when robots do it is cool.

Shamar K ---- I think that the idea of robots going into space is awesome. The use of robots to explore space could help us find out about distant worlds. It costs less money to send robots into space. Using robots can prevent human astronauts from getting hurt or killed. Traveling to space is a dangerous job, let the robots do it.

Geraldo S ---- My reaction to having robots do the difficult task of space exploration is a positive one. I am impressed and glad about this idea because it will make things easier. For a human creating cars for space is a difficult. The cars a human creates might not be efficient. But for a robot, making these cars might be easier and more efficient. This potential use of robots does not only apply to their crafting a car, but can apply to other manufacturing tasks as well. For robots, jobs like fighting wars and making weapons or even behavior correction are appropriate work.

Shajid M ---- Yes, I think that robots should manage the difficult tasks that humans cant do properly. Robots can absolutely replace astronauts, teachers and factory workers. In using them salaries and benefits are saved.

Dyamond B ---- I think it is a good idea for robots to replace humans in outer space. Its cheaper because you dont have to train them as astronauts.

On evaluating the kicking female Hot- Bot robot in the Super bowl 2013 commercial and its message of Respect the Tech (http://classroomrobotics.blogspot.com/2013/04/student-focus-questions-what-does-this.html):

Zuha A ---- I think that the message of respecting the uses and powers of technology was shown in that commercial. But in the real world, I am not in favor of such robots. They might do something crazy.

Jasmine E ---- I think that minus the female kicking robot, the commercial would be much less effective. Using the female super robot makes men feel inferior, like the man in the commercial.

Susan G ---- If robots were to take over jobs people do, such as car building and car sales, it would be dangerous. If robots get too violent as the female does in this commercial, how can a human stop them? If like in this commercial, they become very humanoid, they might begin to pretend and feel that they were actually humans.

Ahmed R ---- A robot like this should not be available for purchase because it could really hurt people. It is too violent.

Shajid M ---- This Kia ad does indeed teach its audience to respect the powers of the Hot Bot robot. Once the man kicks the car as he looks it over, she kicks him into the wall. Got to respect the tech.

Materials forwarded by Dr. Rose Reissman

Chapter - VGamestar Mechanic

Student Experiences:By Sarwat KhalidMy first game is Keep it up! Keep it down! this game has two levels. Let first talk about the first level. You have 30 seconds and need to pick 54 points. Now I am going to give you some tips that may help you. The Sprite is fast and the pattern can be tricky. You need to find the exact pattern or you lose the game.

Now we will talk about the second level. This level your time is limited. Also I created a chance to gain 5 extra lives. You must at least frag 6 enemies and collect 100 points.

Gamestar Mechanic taught me how to design my own games!

It gives me creative problem solving skills. It also gives me writing and storytelling skills that help in English class.

We also reflect on all the designs we create. We blog and have student responses.

So these were some tips and description on my first games. This is my game link.

http://gamestarmechanic.com/game/shared/122599/7d5d0675996008b05b990e23009a3996

future!

Alonza L. 605 (Alonzas game are pictured above.)In gamestar I enjoyed playing and creating all of the levels. I was voted the Most Creative designer in the 6th grade. I had to use logic, design and creativity to draw up my game. I had to create rules that govern the game also.

Mohigul B. 605I had a fun time creating levels. They were very challenging. Some levels were hard to create. It took a lot of planning and developing. The designing part was really fun. We had to look at all the Sprites and pieces and put them together.

Ayesha N. 605 It was fun playing different levels of the game. We all made our own levels and played games that other student made. I used a lot of math and logic skills.

Jordans Game Above (Class 601) / Davids Game Above (Class 601)

Gamestar Mechanic was designed with the understanding that game design is an activity that allows learners to build technical, technological, artistic, cognitive, social, and linguistic skills suitable for our current and future world.

Creates a motivation for STEM learning.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH

Text Meets Video in the Blogosphere: Complex Informational Content for Todays Students

I recently came across a digital text resource online that Ive applied with great success in my Literacy work with middle school students. This simple blog has proved to work wonderfully for assuring that their experience involves Text Complexity as prescribed in the Common Core Standards.

Im talking about a type of blog that marries high interest, STEM-based, traditional news articles with videos on the same theme. The result of this pairing is a blend of media types that combine synergistically to give students a very rich, complex text, comparative, literal, figurative, craft and word domain experience. This blog genre is not only replete with videos and print articles, but also text-based questions to prompt and focus collaborative discussion and writing. Responding to these, my middle school students eagerly understood, discussed, interpreted and evaluated both types of informational text as an outcome of their own fascination with the blog focus.

At Ditmas Intermediate School in Brooklyn, NY, I work as a Literacy Professional Development/Instructional Support Specialist, often pushing in to classes to work alongside the regularly assigned teacher to enhance literacy instruction for students as well as to collaborate with master teacher educators to enhance, stimulate, and engage requisite student CCSS ELA and multi-content literacy. One sixth grade Title 1 class Ive worked with this year is Mr. Grzeleckis 6th grade Informational Literacy class. This class meets twice a week and its purpose is to ensure that the students are focused on all CCSS ELA informational reading and writing standards with an emphasis on text complexity in multi-content subjects. Mr. Grzelecki had already actively engaged the students in qualitative and quantitative review of various print and online book reviews and consumer product reviews. He printed out online reviews for the students to use as texts to cite the reviewers explicit response to books and products (qualitative measure). In addition, the students, as collaborators and accurate text readers, also discussed the print and online reviewers style word length, frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion. This served as a springboard for them to develop and to create as writers and then as speakers reading from their writing book reviews and product reviews reflecting their own values and arguments as readers and as consumers.

It was to this group that I introduced a few of the posts I found on a blog titled Classroom Robotics. From the students point of view, these were simply interesting and entertaining; how could a story about a real robot that washes your hair for you, be otherwise? But from my point of view, beyond my pleasure that these students were reading and deeply reflecting on what they read, I identified the blog as providing the very sorts of Complexity in Informational Text needed for the range of texts that anchor standard ten - range of text complexity mandates. In this single blog, there was a built in library of text types

and ranges which could be used to differentiate instruction for special needs, ESL and newcomer students as well as to accelerate and engage students already demonstrating an interest in STEM content area. Beyond that, as an ELA teacher, I could also build on the science fiction and pop culture student fascination with robots in fiction and in movies. Not to leave out, that I could tap the enthusiasm of those students who had friends involved in the annual FIRST Lego League robotics competition. Further, because the resource I had introduced was a blog, there was a built in mechanism (the Comments function) with which the students could respond to what they read. This topic of a prototype robot that was actually being used in a city in Japan as an assistant hair washer, working alongside human salon hair washers, turned out to be highly accessible as a video text to all students (including those who did not grasp the special domain vocabulary of the article and the voice over of the narration of the video). What was even more compelling about its efficacy as a multi-dimensional, complex set of interrelated STEM video and print texts, was its capacity to engage the entire group of multi-level reading and writing, sixth graders. It strongly held their interest in our whole group, general viewing of the video followed by a qualitative discussion of its explicit message, and then by a differentiated discussion of its structure as a video. In fact, our students continued enthusiastically with a discussion of the videographers message and finally, the extent to which they agreed or differed or could argue the print text and video centered question: Would such robots be useful in our current society? What might be the impact of their use in our current society?

In addition to this blogs argument-focused print and video texts for students to compare and contrast as to text qualitative literal quality of author/film maker meaning; the synergy of visual /print/electronic texts had a single robot hair washer focus that all students could equitably and arguably address, pro or con. They literally started with themselves and whether they would want to have their own hair capably washed and scalp massaged by a robot. But then, the combined texts, allowed them to step back and to frame arguments using the qualitative or quantitative structure of the visual text or the electronic prompts to frame whether replacing human hair washers with robots was economically feasible and to analyze the reader task from the perspective of physically disabled or elderly persons who could not effectively wash their own hair. Even better, the blog format serves not only as a platform from which content can be obtained, but one in which the reader can participate by entering written comments, making it a platform on which students can publish their writing.

How does a blog post about a hair washing robot and its paired news text and related video format engage students in reading and using Complex Informational Text?

First and foremost a blog post which mixes video and electronic print text focused on Stem concerns involves all students, whatever their different personal reading levels may be, in reading and viewing complex texts as a community of student citizens. The provocative content fosters conversations to understand and respond to either or both of these texts, as well as the text-

based focus questions provided by the blog. It fosters a critical audience of informed and alert citizens. These texts help students summarize and synthesize (qualitative), analyze and critique (quantitative) and design and create (reader based task argument) responses grounded in multi-text, evidence-based arguments for or against a real societal issue. Should we be spending time and money on mass producing robot hair washers? If we have the capacity to do so, is it ethically and economically worth our while to do so? Importantly, through technology (the use of such a blog and its videos and electronic text scaffolds) the teacher is enabled to engage special needs or ESL or newcomer students in text complexity that is at the heart of the CCSS ELA literacy curriculum.

Deep Comprehension Across Content Areas

Such a blog resource immediately makes available material for STEM comprehension. In this case the science of robot development, the possible economic impact of the prototype described, the cultural capital of its tryout in a Japanese salon, the health/diagnostic/rehab value of its use for the elderly, the disabled and in rehab, and the psychological consequences of the hair washing experience coming from robotic digit massage versus human hands.

My partner teacher and I provide support in moving through increasing and challenging levels of text complexity in several ways. We moved around the classroom to help students with special domain vocabulary and content words. We also scaffolded the discussion so that they got words and concepts as well as implicit messages in the video by their quantitatively analyzing it in their own discussions with our focusing them on the voice, music, and culture in which the prototype experience was displayed.

Mr. Grzelecki and I had the students identify and relate domain specific vocabulary to the academic (e.g. prototype) and domain specific (e.g. sensor) content the blog provided. They also discussed how the video, shot in Japan, included cultural and social studies, as well as robot science, robot fiction, and language arts dimensions.

In short, using this blog, although any similar content bearing resource could work as well, our students had a high energy, learning-rich experience from start to finish. There was high interest as the group read, viewed, and discussed the articles and videos. Our class conversation might well be described as passionate, as students not only expressed their views on what they had learned, but because the material clearly involved significant impact on their own lives, as well as those of their fellow humans, they strongly took and debated personal positions on it.

Based on our experience with several class sessions involving student interactions with posts from this blog on robotics news (vetted for relevance and appropriateness for k-12 students), my partner teacher and I will be on the lookout for sources of content that offer a similar format: online text news articles paired with embedded video. Further, I see in this a great opportunity for teachers who are willing to do a little 21st Century content preparation

themselves, to come up with their own pairings. All thats required is some online searching, thoughtful review, and downloading materials. In fact, creating a free blog like the one that triggered my own teacher-as-researcher experimentation with this content format for our students, is an easy matter for teachers who are willing to simply follow directions and experiment with a new resource type. Best yet, I will be assigning students to research and create their own pairings and share them with peers this way, making students their own source of Complex Informational Text.

The Classroom Robotics blog can be accessed at: http://www.classroomrobotics.blogspot.com/

The blog post referenced in the article Next! But first let the robot wash your hair... can be accessed at http://www.classroomrobotics.blogspot.com/2013/04/next-but-first-let-robot-wash-your-hair.html

Text-based Question prompts provided with this post:

Yes, its a cool idea, but does the world need a hair washing robot?

Would you let a robot wash your hair?

Who could take advantage of this technology?

Do you see any problems with this?

Bibliography

Calkins, Lucy, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman. (2012). Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement. NH: Heinemann.

Hiebert. Elfrieda H. 2012. The Common Cores Staircase of Text Complexity-Getting the Size of the First Step Right. Reading Today (Dec.2011/January 2012): 26-27.

Piercy, Thomasina. 2011. The text complexity Staircase in the Common Core standards. The Leadership and Learning Blog.

Afterwards

Dear Mr. Carideo, I would like to tell you I like the book. My favorite part was having time to do research on the computer and some of the comics I made. This is the best monkey book that I have ever heard read aloud or read myself. I also thank Dr. Rose for being this idea. Thanks to Mr. Carideo and Dr. Rose for having taken their time reading the book The One and Only Ivan. Sincerely, Jamecy Baptiste

Dear Mr. Carideo, I would like to tell you that I enjoyed your class about the book Ivan. I loved the part we drew. We also talked about how we feel about Ivan. My favorite part about making the book was taking pictures. We wrote scripts about Ivan and the class. I like the Ivan book, it was nice. Sincerely, Umme Saima

Dear Mr. Carideo, I would like to tell you that I loved the book and it was really interesting for us to read. I liked the book because it had sad parts in it and had good parts in it. Sincerely, Sidra Bhatti

Dear Mr.Carideo, I would like to tell you thanks for reading Ivan with us. My favorite part about making the book was when we learned about Ivan and how he had to see his sister die, thank you. Sincerely, Franklin Coss

Dear Mr. Carideo, I would like to tell you that I enjoyed the book The One and Only Ivan. I also enjoyed working with you and Dr. Rose. Thank you for everything. I also enjoyed writing and drawing about Ivan. Reading The One and Only Ivan was the best thing that I read this year. Sincerely, Alyssa Cruz

Dear Mr. Carideo, I love this book because it told you the life of a gorilla. So thanks for the help with the book, you are the back bone of our success. You are the root of our success, so thank you. Sincerely Sam

Dear Mr. Carideo, I would like to tell you that I enjoyed this book because Ivan lost his sister and his mother and father because he got taken away from his mom and he was sad because he did not have a family no more. Sincerely, Amanda Mobiley

Dear Mr. Carideo, I would like to tell you how much fun I had making the book and drawing the parents of Ivan and thank you for letting us read The One and Only Ivan. Sincerely, Emanuel

Dear Mr. Carideo, I like the book because its a very good book and has sad parts. I think they should read the book to kindergarten because its a very good book. Sincerely, Antoni Balderos

Dear Mr. CarideoWe loved reading the book with Dr. Rose the book was sad, it talked about when Ivan was taken away from his mom and dad. He was forced to live in the zoo, we loved drawing and reading about Ivan. It was fun to learn about Ivan. Sincerely, Gerald Theophile

Dear Mr. Carideo I would like to tell you, thanks for letting us do Ivan as our activity. We had a lot of fun. We got to see images, read and write about Ivan. Sincerely, Abdul Hizam

Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes

b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues

d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities

2. Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media

b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats

c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures

d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media

c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks

d. Process data and report results

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation

b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project

c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions

d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutionsiste.org/nets

5. Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and

ethical behavior.

a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning

d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

a. Understand and use technology systems

b. Select and use applications effectively and productively

c. Troubleshoot systems and applications

d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

NETSS 2007 International Society for Technology in Education.

ISTE is a registered trademark of the

International Society for Technology in Education.