Mr. Casal has left the building…

To the PS 10 community,

It is with a heavy heart I am posting this blog entry. I will no longer be working at PS 10, effective immediately. I have been presented with an opportunity outside of New York City and have chosen to pursue it.

I realize this is sudden, and brings about unforeseen difficulties as the school year begins, and for this I sincerely apologize. This was in no way my intention. I was not looking to leave 10, but I was approached out of the blue and offered an opportunity in Westchester, in the Scarsdale school district, that I needed to accept.

In the last 5 years I have immensely enjoyed my time at 10. Even if I may not be the touchy-feely smiley type, I was always having fun. Thank you to everyone for the wealth of experiences and all that I have learned. This was not an easy decision and I leave PS 10, and all my students, with a heavy heart but a need to pursue this opportunity beyond the DOE.

I hope I have imparted some skills and knowledge that my students, and the parents of my students, find valuable. My hope is for my students to pick up where we have left off and begin to use the Google Apps platform we have implemented to drive their own learning. We’ve researched, created presentations, built websites, have tweeted, and have blogged. Just because I am not here does not mean this has to end.

I truly hope my students continue to pursue the interests and projects we have begun, and take this opportunity to pursue others we haven’t thought about yet.

Keep blogging, tweeting, building portfolio webpages, Skyping, and pushing the limits of Google Apps. Please reach out to me at any point for any technical assistance and I will do my best to support the students of PS 10 as best I can from afar.

Students of PS 10, you have done amazing things and you have the skills and knowledge to continue to do amazing things. Push the limits, expand the boundaries. Have a vision. Be demanding. Create. Plant a positive digital footprint. Be awesome.

Thank you for a great 5 years. See you on teh interwebs…

• Email: mrcasal.lab@gmail.com
• Twitter: @mr_casal
• Google+: +ChrisCasal
• Facebook: MrCasal.lab
• LinkedIn: Christopher Casal
• Graphite: MrCasal
• Personal blog: thecasalos.blogspot.com 

5th Graders - Take your @ps10.org data with you

5th graders,

Over the last few years you have created quite a lot content here at PS 10. Between your classroom and the computer lab you have produced a lot of great work.

In the last year everyone has been using Google Drive to create and store projects.

Here is how you take it all with you:

3rd Grade Google Presentations

3rd graders have been working on creating Google Presentations in Drive.

The theme, and title, is "What History Means to Me" which is essentially an extension of a previously written essay created as a Google Document.

The original Document was an introduction to using Google Drive; comparing and contrasting to Microsoft Word, and so forth. The actual writing was fairly self directed. I gave students a prompt: "to me history means..." and then it was up to them to define "history." For some students history is all about family. For others it is all about learning in school. History is the past, but the aspects of the past that stand out for each student vary child to child.

Once the essay was finished I introduced them to Presentations. We talked about slides as opposed to paragraphs, bullet points as opposed to sentences, the different style and voice used to convey the same content. They then began to turn their "History" documents into Presentations, able to edit, update, and alter in any way they saw fit.

The overall project is a few months in the making because we cover:

Class 460's PowerPoint movies

Ms. Smith-Thomas's class has been working on creating PowerPoint presentations.

We started with the basics of Powerpoint such as adding slides and text. WE discussed what a bullet point is, how to edit and revise bullets to make them clear and concise, and how to add create appropriate and relevant content.

Once the slides were done students looked to relevant and appropriate pictures using Google to add to their presentations.

Once all the elements were in (titles, bullets, pictures) students added Animations to all the elements.

After animations students added Transitions to all the slides, set with timings, so the slides would advance automatically after the viewer read the information.

Once everything was complete, students would watch each other's presentations to provide feedback and help each other with any final editing and revising.

When they were ready to turn in, students did a "Save as Movie" to turn the presentations into .mov files.
(side note - unfortunately when saving out as a movie the animations, transitions, and timings don't carry over, so not all elements are readily available via YouTube - we'll be addeing PowerPoint shows to this page shortly to showcase the full compliment of student work)

They they used the class DropItTo.me site to upload it to Mr. Casal's Dropbox. From there Mr. Casal added them to his ps10.org YouTube channel and embedded them here...

Enjoy!
(4 students are finished and currently posted. these 4 studies are in the process of assisting the other 7 in completing, exporting, and uploading their movies)

Adobe Voice - a quick iPad app review

Adobe recently released a new app, Adobe Voice.

It's subtitle is "Show your story."

And it's just that simple. Choose your photos. Record your audio story to match. Save. Publish. Share. Very simple, but very elegant and powerful at the same time.

Here is my first attempt at using the app...

Why Blogger with students?

I use Blogger with my students. I have two classes currently running fully independent blogs. One 3rd grade class and one 5th grade class.

I often get asked why I chose Blogger over some of the other blogging platforms, namely Kidblog, EduBlogs, or even WordPress.

My choice was based on the following thoughts:

Email spam - sniffing out the bad, even from trusted sources

This post is a follow-up, of sorts, to the previous "Twitter spam" and "Phishing" posts. In making the slide deck about Twitter spam I realized there were a few different variations of spam in general, especially within emails.

This post deals specifically with email, and more to the point emails you receive from trusted sources that contain questionable material and links.

When a user gets hacked or compromised as a result of a phishing scheme, the people involved will use the users contacts list to send out emails in hopes of getting more users to give up their usernames and passwords.

Phishing: not the hook you're looking for

This post is a follow-up, of sorts, to the previous "Twitter spam" post. In making the slide deck about Twitter spam I realized there were a few different variations of spam in general, especially within emails.

This post deals specifically with "phishing"

Another post will address email arriving from trusted sources but smelling particularly spammy due to phishing...

If Twitter has it's moments of Costco-sized spam deliveries than email is the place where Costco shops. 

A lot of email spam originates as "phishing" scams. These are emails designed to get the user to voluntarily offer up their username and password. These emails convince the recipient they need to pride details, or log in, to prevent something bad from happening. Once the user replies or logs in the scammers have their passwords and can use their accounts to send out spam to a users address book.

I created this quick tutorial for my colleagues to help them recognize and identify phishing scams:

Know your Twitter spam

Periodically I try to create & post resources that I hope the entire PS 10 community; students, staff, and parents alike, find valuable. This is one of those posts. Spam comes in many forms but since we use Twitter so extensively here at PS 10 I wanted to create a Twitter-specific resources for recognizing and protecting yourself from Twitter-related spam.

Twitter has it's moments of Costco-sized spam deliveries.

We've all seen it. Or more to the point you got a Direct Message (DM) saying "wow, have you seen this post about you?" with a on-so-not-suspicious link attached. Or the ego enhancing "I've lost weight with this, and you could too!"

When this spam comes through I immediately delete it and let the sender know they most likely have been compromised. It's not always the users fault, though. Recently Pinterest was compromised and was sending out tweets to those users who had connected their Pinterest and Twitter accounts.

I created this quick tutorial for the PS 10 community to help everyone recognize and identify suspicious DMs and tweets:

3rd Grade - Spring Break 4/2014 - Building the biggest

Have you ever seen a very large boat? How about a big cruise ship? Often, out in New York harbor you can see very large ships carrying containers. They are shipping goods throughout the world.

Have you ever seen one of those giant container ships being built....?

4th Grade - Spring Break 2014 - Pinokio

We live in interesting times. Technology is all around us. Some technology is passive, meaning it only does what we make it do. Other technology works on it's own...



Can technology talk to you? Can technology play along? The robots of the movies, are they possible in today's technology filled world?



Watch this video and answer the questions below:

5th Grade - Spring Break 4/2014 - We are technology

Technology is everywhere. Often, we think all things are created with things like computers. We also tend to think computers are what make everything better. But that is not always the case. Sometimes the greatest technology is the human mind and it's creative potential...

Where we are...

Here is a quick update as to where all classes are in the Computer lab...

2nd grade

• finishing their work on their History documents
• writing
• editing & revising
• formatting
• searching for relevant & appropriate pictures
• downloading & inserting pictures into their documents

3rd grade

• beginning Google Presentations
• taking History document and converting essay content to bullet format
• adding slides
• discussing the difference between conveying information on slides versus an essay

4th grade

• building personal portfolio websites (using Google Sites)
• used Microsoft Word to begin building a site map
• creating pages within Sites
• beginning to add content to pages
• discussing he importance of safety and security of personal details and information
• discussing the importance of creating a positive digital footprint

5th grade

• building personal portfolio websites (using Google Sites)
• used Microsoft Word to begin building a site map
• creating pages within Sites
• beginning to add content to pages
• discussing he importance of safety and security of personal details and information
• discussing the importance of creating a positive digital footprint

As always, feel free to contact me at any time with any and all questions.

Thank you!

Mr. Casal

Grade 5 - Yosemite

5th graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will watch the video below and answer the questions. When you are finished, and have successfully posted a comment you may continue to work on your "Me2013" Google Presentations.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

The United States has many National Parks. Yosemite is one of them.

First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

The video:

Yosemite HD II from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Some informations about the video:

A 200+ mile backpacking experience through Yosemite National Park captured by Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill. This project was filmed over the course of 10 months. We spent a combined 45 days in the park capturing the images in this video.

If you want to read more about the makers of the video, click here

Your questions:

• Have you ever been to a National Park?
• Have you ever been to Yosemite?
• When you watched the video, what stood out to you the most?
• What did the video make you think about?
• After watching the video, would you want to go to Yosemite?
• What are your overall impressions of Yosemite after watching the video?

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL). Please respond in full and complete sentences. Double check your work before posting your comment.

When you are finished, and have successfully posted a comment you may continue to work on your "Me2013" Google Presentations.

Grade 4 - Panorama

4th graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will do the following assignment, answering the questions as comments.

Once you have successfully posted a comment you can finish work on your "Me2013" Google Presentation.

Have you ever wanted to look at something from above? Have you ever wanted to look at a monument of city from every angle?

Grade 3 - New York Day

3rd graders.
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will be watching a short video and answering a few questions related to it as comments. You must answer all of the questions.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

Grade 2 - History of Typography

2nd graders,
Since Mr. Casal is absent you will watch this video and then answer the questions below. After you have posted your comment you can open up Word and continue on your History document.

Remember, you will not be watching the video on your computer, only on the Smartboard. Mr. Waisome will play the video a few times as you read the questions and post your answers to the questions.

5th Grade - February 2/2014 - The Science of the Winter Olympics

The Olympic Winter Games are currently happening. They started on February 7th and go until the closing ceremony on February 23rd.

Below are a few videos about how some Olympians compete in their sports...

4th Grade - February 2/2014 - New Winter Olympic events

The Olympic Winter Games are currently happening. They started on February 7th and go until the closing ceremony on February 23rd.

Below is a video describing the new events at these Olympic Games. These are events that have never before been Olympic events.


Watch the video and answer the questions below...

3rd Grade - February 2/2014 - Which Olympic sport is for you?

The Olympic Winter Games are currently happening. They started on February 7th and go until the closing ceremony on February 23rd.

Below is a video of celebrities and athletes (not Winter Olympic athletes) answering the question: "In which Winter Olympic Sport would you want to compete?" 

We tweet @P10Brooklyn. A lot

Tweeting @PS10Brooklyn has become a core component of many classrooms. It has been great to see teachers, students, and parents alike embrace the power of Twitter as a communication, collaboration, and connection tool.

For example, @MsKertesz in the 4th grade has used Twitter to connect with a class in Liverpool, England. They do weekly Skype sessions and our 4th graders have developed a great working partnership with their English counterparts. Without Twitter these two classes, separated by an ocean, would never have connected.

Twitter has also gotten PS10 recognition outside of New York City...

Class 5-404 blogs...

Class 5-404 blogs...

These blogs were originally created in the computer lab under the direction of Mr. Casal using their PS 10 Google Apps for Education accounts. Since their initial creation the students have taken 100% control of the direction and content that appears on their blogs (while meeting the guidelines of the PS 10 acceptable use policy)

These blogs were started in 2012 when the students were in the 4th grade. It was the first foray of any class into the world of student-driven blogging. Prior to this students comment on teacher-written posts. This was an opportunity to give students control of their digital publishing.
(roughly 10 students are new to the class this year, so their blogs are not as robust and populate yet)

Some posts are on specific topics with specific guidelines set forth by Mr. Casal. Some posts are entirely independent free writes, completely inspired by the students alone. The layout and design of the blogs is similarly guided, some layout elements are required, but for the most part the students are free to design as they see fit.

When they leave PS 10 if they would like to keep their blogs they will be able to change ownership to a personal Google account.

These blogs are intended to be student directed & controlled creative outlets to showcase their talents...

Grade 2 - New Year's Eve in 2 Minutes

2nd graders,

I am out of school at an educational technology conference. I am being a student, learning from other teachers about new tools, ideas, and how I can be a better computer teacher. Learning never stops, even if you're a teacher.

Today you will watch a short video and then comment on it.

Grade 3 - History of Typography

3rd Graders,
I am out of school at an educational technology conference. I am being a student, learning from other teachers about new tools, ideas, and how I can be a better computer teacher. Learning never stops, even if you're a teacher.

When we are typing we are entering our text using a particular font, or style of writing. But fonts aren't just fonts, they are "typography" or the art or technique of arranging type in order to make language visible.

Before computers there were typewriters and before that, handwriting. In order to make writing universally legible there needed to be typography.

Watch the video below and answer the questions as comments...

Grade 4 - Time Lapse: Earth

4th graders,

I am out of school at an educational technology conference. I am being a student, learning from other teachers new tools, ideas, and how I can be a better computer teacher. Learning never stops, even if you're a teacher.

You will watch the video below and answer a few questions...

Grade 5 - People of New York

Grade 5,

I am out of school at an educational technology conference. I am being a student, learning from other teachers new tools, ideas, and how I can be a better computer teacher. Learning never stops, even if you're a teacher.

You will watch the video below and answer a few questions...

Class 3-311 blogs

Class 3-311 blogs...

These blogs have been created in the computer lab under the direction of Mr. Casal.

The purpose of these blogs is to lay the foundation of a living portfolio, a place where students can post their work and publishing their writing, ongoing, during their time here at PS 10. The hope is as the begin the middle school application process in two years they will be able to show their blogs as timelines of their life as students, examples of the writing, and authentic demonstrations of their growth as students and people over the years.

Some posts are on specific topics with specific guidelines set forth by Mr. Casal. Some posts are entirely independent free writes, completely inspired by the students alone. The layout and design of the blogs is similarly guided, some layout elements are required, but for the most part the students are free to design as they see fit.

These blogs are intended to be student directed & controlled creative outlets to showcase their talents...

Perspective is an intersting thing

This post is not an assignment, just something I found I thought folks might find interesting.

In life we tend to get use to seeing things a certain way. We expect things we see to look & act the same, the way we're use too, all the time. Sometimes, however, it is possible to look at things differently. Looking at things differently, from different angles or with a different mindset, is called perspective.

I found this great video that I think demonstrates the importance of perspective....