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Welcome back to Techbrarian!  This year we’ll continue to blog, use Scratch, and learn to master a program called SketchUp.  Before we get started, though, I wanted to have a quick talk with you.  Here are the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS that you should know about my class (and maybe life!):

1.  Choose your own way to solve problems- Don’t like how my assignment has you answering a question? Sell me a better idea!  Say I ask you to make an XtraNormal animation about life as a child laborer.  Feel free to meet with me and say, “Mr. L, I’d rather make a Scratch game where children band together and escape the clutches of factory owners.”  or “Lahana, I want to make a movie where I tell other kids about the stores that use child labor and check out their reactions.”  or “Dude, it would be way cooler to design a 3D model of a clothing factory with little kids working in it.”

2. Take Risks- Not stupid risks like hacking into Papa Jon’s computer system and ordering 115 pizzas.  Smart risks like designing a September 11th memorial building shaped as a peace sign when everybody else is making boring rectangles.

3. Overcome obstacles- The difference between being o.k. at something and being AMAZING at it.  Everybody does well when things are going easily.  But what happens when they get hard?  Your heart beats fast.  Your face get hot. You get that small sick feeling in your stomach.  Will you give up or will you find a friend, teacher, or website to break through the obstacle?

4. Find what you love- Ever zoned out on a video game or phone conversation for hours at a time? When you find something you’re passionate about time flies and it stops feeling like work.  Let’s find that same passion in something you can do during the time we have together, o.k.?