Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#211

Post by tsumnia » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 2:45 AM UTC

Depending on your interests and timeframe, here are some ideas:

- Teach them about color theory with three flashlights and a red, green, and blue gel taped over each one. Then, kill the lights and show them how additive color turns things white. For added fun, bring a water bottle and red, green, and blue food dye. Dye the water black with the dyes to show subtractive color... then chug the water and "die on stage".

- You mentioned drones... literally just bring a drone.

- Buy a some piece of wood from AC Moore and hot gun some components and a battery pack to simulate how electricity flows (battery to switch to led to battery). Add some permanent marker to point out the components

- I once bought an LED foam sword from Wal-Mart and took it apart in class to show the same thing as the LED board suggestion

- In a similar vein, any kids Arduino/Raspberry Pi project

- You also mentioned photography, so if you're willing to have kids touch your camera equipment, you could show them different ISO/aperture/exposure settings

- There are also Scratch/Snap!/CodeCombat exercises out there

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#212

Post by jjguy » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 2:49 AM UTC

http://www.mathmaniacs.org/lessons/01-binary/socratic.html

That exercise is excellent to teach kids how to count in binary and why computers are based on it.

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#213

Post by solotronics » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:11 AM UTC

Maybe I'm old school but I think it would be neat to bring an old rotary phone and pull out your cellphone and explain how modern phones would be magic to someone 50 years ago!

edit: this is probably boring and would not be age appropriate

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#214

Post by bigiain » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:12 AM UTC

payne92 wrote: post #38

I've done an interactive "do you know how many types of engineers there are?" for this age group that's worked really well. Timeframe: 5-15 minutes "Can anyone name a type of engineer?" and for each shoutout, talk a little about what each does. The guessing keeps everyone's attention. Types: software/computer, electrical, mechanical, chemical, environmental, civil, nuclear, aeronautical, etc. Bonus: bring 2-3 props (…

Speaking of

> Tell bad jokes

...

> I've done an interactive "do you know how many types of engineers there are?"

Two. Civil Engineers and Mechanical Engineers.

Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#215

Post by eggsome » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:12 AM UTC

twothamendment wrote: post #172

tetha wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There's an unspoken dogma that without a $1000 phone and pricey Mac, you can't be a creator. You just made me realize an interesting cultural shift. I distinctly recall how an old 386 or 486 wasn't good enough to run the cool games anymore. But it was good enough for QBASIC and turbo pascal. So I spent time tinkering on that system.

I could create on my 486, but since it didn't have a math co-processor I could only create a Doom level, I couldn't build them. I spent hours blindly building and checking it over and hoping that when I put it on a floppy and took it to my friend's house that all the doors would work, the elevations were correct, etc. Good times.

Doom did not require a maths co-processor. It ran just fine on my 486SX-33. Perhaps you're thinking of Quake?

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#216

Post by toptoppler » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:22 AM UTC

garrettr_ wrote: post #66

I was recently asked by a friend who teaches 5th graders to do something similar for their school's "career month." I tried a few different things, and found the most successful was showing them how to use a web browser's built-in developer tools to inspect the source of and make live modifications to web pages. My reasoning behind this exercise was: - I checked in with their teacher ahead of time and confirmed that…

If you really wanted to take this next level, you could export some of the changes to a browser plugin called So-and-so elementary school Expperiment (you don't have to show them this) and say they can load the plugin on their home computers. Voila, their parents now have a tricked out NYT home page.

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#217

Post by nurettin » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:35 AM UTC

If you pick up a virtual orange or type on a virtual keyboard, they will be impressed.

If you move a robot arm, they will be inspired. Future is certainly augmented.

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#218

Post by test6554 » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:55 AM UTC

Just explain all the anti-counterfeit measures found in a modern $20 bill

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#219

Post by test6554 » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 3:55 AM UTC

Just explain all the anti-counterfeit measures found in a modern $20 bill.

Re: Ask HN: I need ideas to impress fifth graders with technology

#220

Post by geomark » Tue, Jun 04, 2019, 4:43 AM UTC

Moru wrote: post #162

the_watcher wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such a good idea. Messing with a website is absolutely something I'd have done instead of the typing practice I was supposed to be doing in my (small town public) middle school "Computers" class.

Make sure they didn't do this in school already before you do, my 5'th grader was trying to show this to me yesterday :-)

Yeah. My kid in Year 4 (Grade 3) has been doing this with his classmates. They fake their on-screen scores on TT Rockstars (a times tables game) and other shenanigans. So they might not be impressed if they have already discovered it.