In this lesson students will create digital graphics using a free software called Gravit. In the activity, students will use Graphic Design principles to visually represent a common word using Gravit.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will learn how to design custom projects in Gravit using paths, shapes, and colors.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will learn how to manipulate images with filters and cropping, then create their own Surrealist image.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will learn how graphic designers make advanced designs using compound shapes and gradients. Then, students will apply their skills by designing a 60s era band logo.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

Students will use critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills to edit photos using the Snapseed digital photo editing app. The app used in this activity is a tool to help students develop a STEM mindset. It is important to allow students to work through the process as independently as possible with the facilitator acting only as a guide.

Estimated time required: 1 class period.

Technology required for this lesson: Laptop/Desktop, Photo Editing Software, Tablet or Smartphone.

This is a google slides presentation that requires students to complete various tasks related to the following topics:
a) web safety
b) website evaluation
c) copyright
d) plagiarism
e) citations

Students then choose one of those topics and produce an artifact that reviews what was learned within the modules. Project choices include a video, podcast or infographic.

During this lesson, students are introduced to the Immersive Media course and meet the course’s narrator: Filos. Filos is from another planet and will introduce students to their first digital storytelling tool: branching narrative stories! Students will explore Filo’s branching narrative story about her home planet, and then create their own story and planet using a free software called Inklewriter.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

During this lesson, students will learn more about the Immersive Media course as a whole (but if they are just completing this lesson or unit, that’s perfectly fine too!). Then, students will learn how to using branching narrative software like inklewriter to create “interactive biographies”. Students will create their own “alien” and add a backstory to their life in interactive biography format.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

During this lesson, students will learn about the types of technology used to create “immersive” experiences such as 360 cameras, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Students will then design their own “alien” technologies and develop those technologies in an interactive story.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will learn how entrepreneurship applies to technology by exploring examples of successful, young entrepreneurs. Then, students will practice the skill on their own in by adding a "spaceship market" to their interactive story.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

In this lesson, students will learn about sustainability and then apply their knowledge by adding sustainable features to a spaceship in an interactive story.

Estimated time required: 1-2 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: Design Software, Laptop/Desktop, Tablet.

Explore apps and online resources that engage writers, young and old, to tell their story digitally. Learn about new tools that inspire creative and collaborative communication with applications in and out of the classroom for both students and teachers!

Students disassemble and analyze retractable pens. Through the process of "reverse engineering," they learn how the ink pens work.

Students discover the mathematical constant phi, the golden ratio, through hands-on activities. They measure dimensions of "natural objects"—a star, a nautilus shell and human hand bones—and calculate ratios of the measured values, which are close to phi. Then students learn a basic definition of a mathematical sequence, specifically the Fibonacci sequence. By taking ratios of successive terms of the sequence, they find numbers close to phi. They solve a squares puzzle that creates an approximate Fibonacci spiral. Finally, the instructor demonstrates the rule of the Fibonacci sequence via a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robot equipped with a pen. The robot (already created as part of the companion activity, The Fibonacci Sequence & Robots) draws a Fibonacci spiral that is similar to the nautilus shape.

This is an investigation where students observe what happens to land after it is mined. Students will create a hypothesis, observe their model, conclude what happens to land after it is mined, and discover the role humans play in land conservation.

Students explore the concept of optical character recognition (OCR) in a problem-solving environment. They research OCR and OCR techniques and then apply those methods to the design challenge by developing algorithms capable of correctly "reading" a number on a typical high school sports scoreboard. Students use the structure of the engineering design process to guide them to develop successful algorithms. In the associated activity, student groups implement, test and revise their algorithms. This software design lesson/activity set is designed to be part of a Java programming class.

In this interactive activity from the Building Big Web site, think like an engineer and use your knowledge of dome design to match the right type of dome to the right location in a fictitious city.

Students practice creating rudimentary detail drawings. They learn how engineers communicate the technical information about their designs using the basic components of detail drawings. They practice creating their own drawings of a three-dimensional block and a special LEGO piece, and then make 3D sketches of an unknown object using only the information provided in its detail drawing.

This article presents thirteen web sites that provide resources for ELL students and their teachers. Reprinted from TeacherMagazine.org with author permission.

A favorite movie, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” provides the backdrop scenario for students to discover how harnessing the sun’s energy provides unlimited power for many purposes, including the operation of thousands of satellites in orbit today and communication over long distances. In the movie, E.T., an alien life form, is stranded on Earth and befriends Elliott, the little boy who rescues him. As E.T. becomes gravely ill, Elliott realizes that E.T. needs to return home in order to survive. To arrange for transport, E.T. must “phone home.” Teams engage in an interactive quest to answer the question: E.T. phone home—fact or fiction? They must discover four clues in order to unlock four padlocks on a box that contains the answer. This requires them to watch a one-minute online video, complete a crossword puzzle, scan three QR codes for articles to read, and put together a cut-apart puzzle with an invisible ink clue. They watch short online movie excerpt videos to kick off and wrap up the activity.