Our Third Guest Speaker!

We were so lucky to have a third guest speaker this week! Yesterday we were visited by Tomás Berkovich and he shared his story of how he has used technology to become a business owner that creates "win-win" situations for everyone.

His talk included information about how he and his classmates first came up with some of their ideas by noticing situations that needed solutions in their daily lives.  After a few discussions around his kitchen table, they soon created their business called ZethaPricing.  Using technology and some creative problem solving, they found a way to encourage people to buy tickets for less money and earlier for movies which brought more business to the cinemas in Santiago.  Bascially a "win-win" for everyone!

Another of his businesses that he shared with us is called Cuponatic.  In this business solution he and his friends created a company that offers various products and goods at discounts when people agree to use the coupons on their site as a group.  The more people that use the coupon, the more discounts you can get.  Companies have been using his business because they can pay less money for advertising since the coupon discounts are spreading by people sharing the coupons with one another in their social networks.  Again, another "win-win" for everyone!

Here are a few of the catchy commercials that he shared with us that all the students liked!

It was a great talk and inspiring to see an alumni from our school be active in making his dreams and goals a reality!  All of the students were inspired to think big and follow their dreams!

What was the most important piece of information that you heard in this talk?  Which of the businesses do you think are the most useful to you as a grade five student?  How do you think we should be responsible while using businesses like these with our social networks?

I look forward to hearing your ideas!
Miss Jessica

Our Second Guest Speaker!

We had our second guest speaker for the exhibition on Monday and WOW did we learn a lot! Mr Claudio Cabrera visited us and give us an informative talk on the ALMA project in San Pedro de Atacama.  He began by giving us a little information about telescopes and we learned that there are two kinds: optical and radio.  We then watched a few slides explaining the number of systems that must work together to make the telescopes all work and function together.  From computer engineers and city planning engineers to transportation engineers all of the systems must work together to make all 66 telescopes work at the same time to produce pictures for studying outer space.  It was an amazing talk full of information that we are still talking about!

What was your favorite part of the presentation?  What was something new that you learned from this talk?  What do you think is our responsibility in thinking about the way technology is used in the ALMA project?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Miss Jessica  :)

Our First Guest Speaker!

Wow! On Friday we had our first guest speaker of the year and what a great way to start! Mr Cristian Mujica came and presented an interactive discussion on Telecommunications and the history of mobile phones.  We learned about the development of 1G, 2G, and 3G networks as well as some important points about telecommunications and how we use them.  He showed examples such as downloading music, playing games, medical information for doctors, and accessing the internet.  He reminded us of some important issues especially our responsibility in using telecommunications and transportation and how we should insist that people use hands-free sets while driving and talking.

Along with the history, he also showed some new developments for telecommunications in the future.  He showed a product called Gorrilla Glass and wowed us when he banged it on the wall and the floor and it didn't crack or scratch the glass!  He also showed us a new type of phone that could be put completely into water and still work!  Our favorite part of the talk was when he showed us a glimpse into our close future using phones with NFC or Near Field Communication abilities.  Take a look at the video he showed us:

Wow! Amazing ideas, no?!  We loved the presentation and are looking forwar to many more discussions to help us think about all the areas we could investigate for our exhibition projects!

What was your favorite part of this guest speaker discussion?  What was the most important point that you learned?  What did you learn about your responsibility in using mobile phones and technology?

Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Miss Jessica :)

Is this the future of Education?

Miss Cata found a great video that shows how some teachers and students are looking at technology as a way to enhance their learning at school.  Take a look at the video below about a robot who visited a school for a day:

What do you think?  Is this the future of education?  What are some positive things that could happen if robots started helping teachers in class?  What are some negative things that could happen?  Would you like it?

I look forward to hearing what you think!
Miss Jessica :)

We Got it Started!

Yeah! Yesterday we had our Opening Ceremony for the official start of the Exhibition! The highlight of the assembly was a visit from three sixth grade students who came to share their knowledge and advice of the exhibition from their experience last year.  Here is a summary of some of what they said:

• Be sure to stay organised and use your binder
• Assign your group members jobs that are in areas that they do well
• Be open minded and listen to your group members
• Be balanced in the work in your group
• Don't be nervous
• Practice speaking clearly and slowly for the presentation night
• Have fun!

Was there any other advice that you heard?  What was the most important part of their advice for you?  Was there anything they said that helped you?

I can't wait to hear from you and get the exhibition officially started!

Miss Jessica :)

We have a Central Idea!

Student volunteers for Central Idea Writing Committee

Whew, after three hard days of work, we did it!  With input from the student writing committee, the grade five teachers, the PYP coordinator, and other PYP trainers in the school, we created the following central idea for our exhibition this year:

Ongoing changes in technology impact our society and environment requiring us to use it appropriately and with responsibility while maintaining balance in our lives.

Los continuos cambios tecnológicos impactan nuestra sociedad y el medio ambiente,requiriendo que usemos la tecnología en forma apropiada y con responsabilidad manteniendo al mismo tiempo el equilibrio en nuestras vidas. 

We also picked the Transdisciplinary Theme of How the World Works to frame our exhibition inquiries this year.  The definition for this Theme is the following:

An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment

I am really looking forward to all the wonderful inquiries that are going to come out of this central idea and this theme.  This is the first time we are working in this theme for one of our exhibitions so I am even more excited!


What do you think of the central idea? What types of inquiries do you think we could do under this theme and this central idea?


I look forward to reading your ideas!
Miss Jessica

We have a topic! The grade five students voted on Friday and they agreed that the topic for this year's exhibition should be centered around technology! Great job working together and voting on what you are interested in inquiring about!

Now, we are going to start looking into exactly what that means. Watch the video above to see how technology is changing our world. Then, I would love to hear what your thoughts are on our new topic!

What types of technology might be interesting for an inquiry? What issues about technology are concerning students around the world today? In what ways does technology impact your life and your future?

I've posted a poll for you to take and some new sites on the left for you to explore and I look forward to your comments as well!

Miss Jessica

Wow, Great Graffiti!

From Movies

(Click on the picture to view the video in Picasaweb)

As you can see from the video, it's day two of the Graffiti Wall and we now have some comments on the wall!  A few of the classes have started walking by and writing their thoughts about the three exhibition topics.

The questions for the graffiti wall are: 
1. What is the exhibition?
2. What local or global topic should we investigate for exhibition?
3. How do you feel about doing the exhibition this year?

Although it's still too early to tell yet, some of the repeated suggestions for the exhibition topic this year are impact of technology, bullying, and contamination.  Wow!  What a diverse group of topics we are starting with!  I'm really looking forward to seeing what gets chosen!

As a student in the exhibition, why do you like/not like writing your ideas on the graffiti wall? How does seeing the ideas of the other students help you think more deeply about exhibition?

As always, I look forward to reading your comments!  Keep up the great graffiti-ing!
Miss Jessica :)

References: Photos by J Allen, Music by http://www.danosongs.com 

Guest Speaker: Dental Health

On Wednesday we had our third guest speaker for the exhibition this year.  A BIG thank you goes to Ms. Carolina Cabrera for coming to speak to us about dental health.  All of the students loved the presentation and especially liked learning what to do in case of a dental emergency.  Every student was affected by the information on how much bacteria was in our mouths and how important it is to brush three times a day.  The students were fortunate enough to receive toothbrushes and toothpaste from Ms. Cabrera and were so motivated by the talk that they are even brushing their teeth after lunch at school!

Was there any information from this presentation that was new to you?  What really affected you from this talk?  Are you going to change any behaviors since hearing about dental health?  How does this fit with our topic on health and children?

I look forward to hearing your comments!
Miss Jessica