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Looking to use BlocksCAD in the classroom?

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BlocksCAD is an education technology company dedicated to creating tools that help students of all ages pursue their love of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). Our signature product, BlocksCAD, is a cloud-based 3D modeling tool that encourages users to learn math, computational thinking and coding concepts through visualization and designing models to be 3D printed.

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Hour of Code

This year, we're taking Hour of Code to new heights by offering coding opportunities that encompass both artificial intelligence (AI) and non-AI components.

Want to keep learning? Go beyond an hour

Teachers: Host an hour or read the How-To Guide

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Use computer science to explore and learn about AI!

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EduBlocks is a free tool by Anaconda that helps anyone learn how to code with text-based languages like Python or HTML using a familiar drag-and-drop blocks system

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Have a blast turning and old book into something new or build one from scratch.

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During COVID this resource is currently free for students or teachers. Choose your age group then try one of the challenges.

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ACCOUNT REQUIRED: Test your skills at converting binary to decimal, base 2 to base 10. You will need a code.org account. If you don't have one for school and if you are under 13, ask you parents to help you set up your own personal account.

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Use Google Slides to make a stop motion video. You will need png files to make it look good. :)

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Practice some digital literacy and computer science terms. How tech savvy are you?

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20-Color Pixel Art Template

Either use the link below or visit the site for some instructions and then open the link. Make a copy of Control-Alt-Achieve's free 20-Color Pixel Art Template. It is AWESOME!
On the blog, scroll down to the bullet to click the template link and see the directions: 20-Color Pixel Art Template - Google Sheets link

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-VdNoLO9gYPB0EEVhxznyK8yGI8zeeYqEt4UeAlMN4M/edit#gid=1082374461

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Growing up with video games in the 70's and 80's, I was well aware of pixels. When video games first started out, the screen resolution was so low that all your game characters and items were made of big blocky squares called pixels. With some imagination we could see a jumping plumber or a flying spaceship in those 8x8 or 16x16 grids of colored dots.

Today video games are so hyper-realistic that you can't tell if you are watching a real-life video or a computer simulation. However, everything old is new again, so there has been a resurgence of love for retro-games and their nostalgic pixelated style.

And so we have " Pixel Art" which is making images out of a small grid with limited number of colors. As with any creative activity, pixel art can have many applications for education. Lots of educators have created pixel art templates and activities including Alice Keeler here and here and here and Patrick Johnson here.

In this blog post you can get a copy of a free 20-color pixel art template I have created for Google Sheets which includes several built-in activities. We will also look at directions for how to use and modify the template as needed for a variety of activities.

20-Color Pixel Art Template

Below is a link to get your own copy of my free 20-Color Pixel Art Template. It was created with Google Sheets. Simply click the link below to make your own copy that you can edit or use however you need.

The template is made of several Google Sheets tabs. Here are the different tabs you will find in the template:

Directions - Brief instructions for how to use the template. Be sure to scroll all the way down to see all the directions.

Draw - This is a 60 column by 30 row sheet where you can create your pixel art drawing.

Fractions 8x8 - This tab allows you to make a pixel art drawing inside of an 8x8 grid, and then you determine the fractions represented by each color you used.

Fractions 10x10 - Same as above but with a bigger 10x10 grid.

Fractions 12x12 - Same as above but with a bigger 12x12 grid.

Area - This tab allows you to make a pixel art drawing and then determine the area in square units represented by each color you used.

Conditional Formatting

There are many ways you can set up a Google Sheet for creating pixel art. You could use the " Fill color" tool to choose a color for a cell, or you could use the "Paint format" button or the copy and paste option to copy a color into other cells.

However, for this template I used " Conditional Formatting" to make the process as easy as possible for the end user. Conditional formatting is when you set up rules for the Sheet to format cells based upon what you type into them. For this template I have created conditional formatting rules that will fill in the cells with specific colors based on the lower-case letter you type in from "a" to "s".

The color key for the template is:

Directions for Creating Pixel Art

Here are the directions for creating pixel art with the template:

Click on the tab in the template titled "Draw".

For your easy reference, the color key will be displayed at the top with each color in the column with its corresponding letter.

To color in the cells simply type in any lower-case letter from "a" to "s" and the corresponding color will be applied to the cell.

If you want white, just leave the cell blank. Altogether this gives you 20 colors to choose from.

To change the color in a cell, just type in a new letter.

To remove the color from a call, just delete the letter from the cell.

To move around to other cells, use the arrows keys or your mouse.

To save time, you can select a bunch of cells and then copy and paste them into other sections of the sheet.

Also, you can click in a cell, then click and drag the little square handle in the bottom right corner to drag that cell's color into other cells.

Since this is a Google Sheet, don't forget that you can share the Sheet with other people to collaboratively work on the pixel art.

Changing the Color Template

Although I have provided a diverse range of 20 common colors to use, you may find that you want or need to change some of the colors for the particular art you are working on. You can change the conditional formatting rules to change the colors as needed.

Click "Format" in the top menu bar.

Choose "Conditional formatting" from the drop-down menu.

This will open the "Conditional formatting" panel on the right side of the screen.

Scroll down through the rules to find the color you want to change.

Click on that rule to go into edit mode.

Click the "Text color" button and the "Fill color" button to choose the new color you want to correspond to the letter for that rule.

Click "Done" when finished.

Any cells with that letter will now be updated with the new color you chose.

Pixel art can be used for many educational activities. The "Draw" tab is a for open-ended drawing of whatever pixel art you would like to make. This could be used for many activities including:

General creativity - Have students be creative and make whatever they like.

Art - Have students create their own artistic works, or pixel versions of existing art.

Tech Skills - Great for younger students to practice typing, using the arrow keys, using the mouse, clicking and dragging, and more.

Characters - Making characters from a story read in class or for a story the students are writing.

Concepts - Illustrate a science concept they are learning.

Retelling - Show an event from history or from a story.

Mapping - Create a map of your neighborhood, state, country, famous battle, land forms, or such.

In addition to the open-ended activities you can do on the "Draw" tab, the template also contains a few pre-made activity tabs. These lend themselves specifically to math concepts.

Fraction activities

There are three "Fractions" tabs. Each tab provides a grid for the student to draw in. The grids are 8x8, 10x10, and 12x12.

After creating their drawing inside of the given grid, the student them counts up how many squares of each color they used.

These numbers are typed into the boxes on the right of the Sheet to show the fractions each color represents.

Next the student can simplify the fractions (if possible) by typing in the reduced version of each fraction to the right of the original fractions.

Area activity

There is one "Area" tab. The student can create their drawing anywhere in the tab.

After creating their drawing, the student them counts up how many squares of each color they used.

These numbers represent the area in square units that color covers.

These numbers are typed into the boxes on the left of the Sheet to show the areas for each color.

When Finished

After completing any of the drawings or activities, there are some options for cleaning up and exporting the results.

You can delete the color key at the top of the sheet if you would like.

You can delete any extra rows or columns if you want. Click on the row or column heading, then click "Edit" and choose "Delete row" or "Delete column".

You can remove the gridlines if you want by clicking "View" and unchecking "Gridlines".

You can print you art by clicking "File" and "Print".

You can download your art by clicking "File" then "Download as" then "PDF document".

You can take a screenshot of your pixel art by using any one of the many screenshot tools such as Nimbus Screenshot.

Spreadsheets can be used for much more than just crunching numbers. Pixel art is one example that can be fun, creative, and educational. If you have other ideas for how pixel art can be used in school, or if you have examples of pixel art your students have created, please consider sharing in the comments below.

If you would like to learn more about creative uses of Google Sheets in all subject areas, including a free 1-hour recorded webinar, check out my post on " Spreadsheet Activities for all Subjects".

Post by Eric Curts. Bring me to your school, organization, or conference with over 50 PD sessions to choose from. Connect with me on Twitter at twitter.com/ericcurts and on Google+ at plus.google.com/+EricCurts1

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Pixel Art Activities for any Subject with Google Sheets

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Growing up with video games in the 70's and 80's, I was well aware of pixels. When video games first started out, the screen resolution was so low that all your game characters and items were made of big blocky squares called pixels.

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Grab an iPad and use Art Studio to create some beautiful things. Be sure to save and share your work so I can show it off!
Put your work in your Google Drive. Don't forget to sing out when you are done! The iPads are shared devices. :)

Click here for our wanted list.

Artstudio Pro tutorial: Basics

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If you do not have an account you can still use Scratch you just can't save your projects. If you do not have an account you can:

1. make one with your parents (be sure to share it with me,) or

2. make one with me in class with your parents permission of course. You will need their email address too so don't forget to bring it to class.

Here is a studio for you to share fun random projects that you have worked on during free class time: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/25320295/.

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Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

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Check out one of these helpful videos. Don't forget your earbuds. You can find the yarn on Hard Drive.

HOW TO FINGER KNIT FOR BEGINNERS

How To Finger Knit from the Finger Knitting Expert

How to Finger Knit, Episode 80

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Give our Bits a whirl. Watch the first two videos on the attachment before you can use these tools. When you are done, check in with the teacher to access the tools.
Have fun! Share what you learn. :)

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Ozobot Drawing Color Codes Bot Camp Ozoblockly Bot Camp Getting to Know Your Bot Advanced Go to ozoblockly.com/ on your iPad. COLORS 1 2 3

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Use this Wakelet collection to have some fun coding. This is a photo opp of me with Hadi Partovi. Hadi founded code.org, started the Hour of Code, and is an advocate for brining more computer science to schools across the globe. This photo if from a trip to the White House that I was fortunate to attend with 99 other teachers from all over the United States.

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Staff picks for Hour of Code activities in 2019.

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Interland by Google

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Interland is an adventure-packed online game that puts the key lessons of digital citizenship and safety into hands-on practice. Play your way to being Internet Awesome.

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In this new Private i History Detectives unit, Elementary students analyze primary sources to discover how Constitutional Amendments attempted to address slavery's wrongs, how the courts challenged unfair laws, and how individuals and groups fought for civil rights.

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In this new Private i History Detectives unit, Elementary students analyze primary sources to discover how Constitutional Amendments attempted to address slavery's wrongs, how the courts challenged unfair laws, and how individuals and groups fought for civil rights.

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Let's recycle and make some art with some donated books. Give them a home and make them feel special.

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Get creative or use an example from this collection to make a book sculpture of your own.

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Create audio books for elementary teachers and students. Use our recording studio equipment and a book from our elementary library.
Possible audio recording tools could be Online-Voice-Recorder or Audacity.

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Choose a Book Short books requires one recording. Longer chapter books would require more time and files as the entire recording won’t fit in a single file.