Monday, February 15, 2021

Black History Month Virtual Gallery

 

February is Black History Month and to support and celebrate it, I decided to create a virtual museum using CoSpaces.  Staff at my school need to, who opted in, create a short video on their role model, in which it was and will be shared with the students on the school channel each morning.  The information was saved in a Google Sheet.

So, I decided to take the role models that were submitted and make a virtual museum, showcasing each person with their picture and facts about their contribution, accomplishment or milestone to the African American community.  Additionally, I created a 20 question Google Forms quiz to make students accountable while viewing the virtual gallery.  

As I mentioned, I used CoSpaces to create a 360°  virtual reality tour that mimics a museum.  I used a building template that was available in the CoSpaces library.  First, I found pictures and facts of each role model that was in the Google Sheet.  I uploaded the pictures into the project then placed them into the building.  I resized them and the text to fit proportionally on the wall.  

Next, I changed the appearance of the walls in each room by adding color and texture. I also added wall art to fill in the empty spaces.  On the outside of the virtual museum, I changed the texture of the wall to bricks and added more wall art. I included my school symbol, the paw print, and a sign for the building.  Then, I added some characters into each room, some were animated, and some were not, to make the experience more authentic.  

Finally, the placement of the camera was a bit challenging.  I did not know where to place the camera.  Every time I played the scene, the camera was not in a place where it would allow me to easily see the entire tour.  Also,  at first, I was not able to pan through the tour.  Then, I discovered the 'orbit' mode on the camera and that solved that issue.  The orbit setting allowed me to move through the virtual museum as if I was walking.  It made all the difference in the world.  Afterwards, I found placing the camera high above the building was the best placement for the students to be able to view the entire building.

So far, I received a lot of positive feedback.  I am so glad I was able to created a resource that both the teachers and students enjoyed.  I can't wait to create my next project. 

Check out my virtual museum.  Click the link or view it within the blog post. 




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The CoderZ Tech Bytes Event


If you are teaching STEM, robotics or coding and need a new resource to use with your students, give CoderZ a try.  CoderZ is an online application that will allow your students to program a virtual robot.  The application targets all level of expertise from grades 4-12 and offers block base programming or Python programming.  You can learn more about their courses by visiting their website, www.gocoderz.com and click on learn.  Additionally, I would recommend signing up for a 14 day free trial to see how your students respond to it. 

I just completed a debut live stream event of CoderZ called, CoderZ Tech Bytes for teachers by a teacher. In the session, I spoke about using CoderZ in the classroom, provided an overview of the courses, and how teachers can check and monitor student progress.  Additionally, I demonstrated the outline of each course, the supporting materials and resources for teachers, and coding platform that includes the solutions.  

I also demonstrated how you can differentiate for students by creating your own project using the My Projects option.  This provides you with the flexibility to define your own mission, or even have students create their own mission.  

If you missed the live episode and would like to catch up on the recording, jump over to my YouTube channel or click here to access it.

You can check out my CoderZ Tech Bytes Wakelet collection on the event to view what I covered and any additional links that I mentioned in the event. 

Don't forget to join the CoderZ Facebook Group

I plan on offering my Tech Byte events for teachers in the future. In the meantime, if you watched the recording, please leave any feedback or questions in the Facebook group.  This will help me plan for the next event.  

Thank you and I hope you found the event helpful.



Check out my show The Suite Talk and for the latest episode on using technology in the classroom.

Do you want to share and #PayitForward? Fill out the Guest Inquiry Form and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Do you want to sponsor my show? Fill out the Sponsorship Form.

Subscribe on YouTube and Listen on your favorite podcast platform, SpotifyPodbeanApple PodcastGoogle Podcast, Amazon Music. 

Get it delivered to your inbox. Subscribe for the newsletter.