Looking for ideas? Middle School Computer Lessons

Posts tagged ‘middle school computer lessons cell phones in the classroom!’

Robo-boy, NXT Robotics is good for all ages


Nxt robotics.

I friend of mine who is an Engineer at one of the worlds largest companies recently borrowed a Lego NXT set from me to do a project for work. When he returned it, my 3 year old demanded that he was alowed to try it out. So, I decided I would build and program an NXT robot that he could help in the building and be able to interact with through the programing. It was a huge success. I build a simple 2 wheel robot with sensors then paired it to my Android phone with a simple “Mind-droid”app. He was able to control the robot by tilting my phone. It was impressive to see him control it.

The Mindstorms NXT sets are so great for teaching technology. THey can be used with a great span of age ranges. This boy is 3 and he was able to use it to some degree, my friend is an engineer with a master’s degree working for a huge company and it had great use, I have seen it being used at Carnegie Mellon University. Bottom line, the NXT robotics are awesome and are perfect for Middle School Computer Classes. In this book there are at least 2 great NXT lessons perfect for Jr. high classes. Click below to learn more.

For the best Middle School Computer Lessons. Visit www.middleschoolcomputerlessons.com


Middle school computer lessons, cell phones in the classroom

Middleschoolcomputerlessons.com is a great source for middle school computer lessons, what about using cell phones in the classroom?

Well, in the district that I work in, Kids are not allowed to have their cell phones during the day. They are supposed to be kept in their lockers. So, using cel phones to integrate technology into the classroom is a tricky subject with the administration. Middle school computer lessons is all about interesting students with technology then hooking them into the lesson, so they are learning how to apply the technology instead of just learning how to use it. Cell phones could be a great way to hook kids into the lesson that you are trying to teach.

To a middle school student, a cell phone is their most prized possession. Think about it, it looks really cool, you communicate with your friends with it, and having one is sort of a right of passage. A phone to a 13 year old is like a mustang to a 16 year old. And if there was a day where your teacher asked you to bring your mustang to class….you would be pumped.

I drank the cool aid and asked all my students to bring their phones one day. With the blessing of the administration and my fingers crossed, I just did it. The students we’re really excited, but a lot of issues came up…

However I also got a really cool middle school computer lesson out of it!
I’ll Tell you more tomorrow…

Check out my blog at middleschoolcomputerlessons.com

Tag Cloud