Do You Know the Code?

By Kris Walsh

"I think everyone should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think. I view computer science as a liberal art, something everyone should learn to do."   

- Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple

“Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains.“ 

-Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft

“If you can program a computer, you can achieve your dreams. A computer doesn't care about your family background, your gender, just that you know how to code. But we're only teaching it in a small handful of schools, why?“ 

-Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter

“Code has become the 4th literacy. Everyone needs to know how our digital world works, not just engineers.“

-Mark Surman, Executive Director of Mozilla

As we continue to progress into the 21st century and the digital age, it becomes more and more important for people to be digitally literate. This idea covers a broad range of topics from digital citizenship to knowing how to operate hardware and software to understanding the code that makes it all work. We are all making great strides in teaching kids about most of these topics, but we are only starting to introduce the concept of coding to them.

While many of us may never need the ability to do our own programming, it is still a good idea to have a base level of knowledge about the skill. In addition, writing code offers students many opportunities to work on logical thinking and problem-solving skills. These skills are useful to our students no matter what their chosen profession or field of study will be.

While many of our students may not become professional programmers, students do not know what coding is all about and if it interests them unless they are exposed to it in some way.

This year, Perry Central participated in code.org’s “Hour of Code” on a somewhat limited basis. I know that Sean Risse is leading some students in his Careers class in learning how to code and possibly designing their own app. I have been working with a few 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders learning about what coding is and how it works. I recently heard that Josh Wilson has been exploring code with some of his classes as well. Students in Gary Hanan’s class have been programming their robots using Robot-C for a few years now. This is a great beginning, but my goal is that we are able to expand students’ access to code so that ALL students get exposed to coding at some level so that they can learn and explore interests with it.

That said, there are a wide range of tools out there that students can use to learn more about coding. Many of the tools are free and/or offer some expanded access with some cost involved. I am going to list a few of my favorites here and try to break them out by grade level.

Kindergarten/1st grade-

Many of the coding apps out there require a fair amount of reading, and make it tough for students at this age to access the curriculum. At this age I recommend more hands on activities. I like computer dissections to talk about what is inside a computer and what the parts do, and some activities like the “robot obstacle course”, where students have to instruct a teacher or another student how to perform a task and the teacher can only do what they tell them to do, or a similar activity making a sandwich but only following directions. (if you are interested, contact me and I will explain this more)

2nd-4th-

This year, I have been using tynker.com with this age group. This is a free website that allows younger students to drag and drop “bubbles” with commands in them to have the character complete a puzzle. Students have really enjoyed this and it really forces them to think logically. There are only a few lessons available for free, but it is enough for a few mini lessons. I was able to get through most of the free lessons with my 3rd and 4th graders in 8 30 minute sessions. It is taking longer with the 2nd graders, but they are able to do it and see success!

4th-6th (and higher)

MIT has a free tool that they have created called Scratch (scratch.mit.edu). It is more complex than Tynker, and gives kids a bit more tools and freedom in creating their own programs. Upper elementary students should have no problems in accessing and using some of the easier tools, while older students can use Scratch to create pretty in-depth games using more advanced tools.

7th grade and up

I like codecademy.com though there are some other sites out there. This site provides free lessons to people who want to make the next step to learning real programming languages. Students can use this site to learn HTML, JavaScript, Python and Ruby. The lessons start at the very beginning and walk you through the programming step by step. You get to see the results of your coding fairly quickly and this motivates students to keep going.

As with any of our posts, we would be glad to help you get this started in your class or learn more about it. Please let us know if you are interested!

Other coding resources

code.org - learn.code.org - Angry birds coding game!

gamestarmechanic.com

codeavengers.com

codecombat.com - A really engaging way to learn JavaScript through playing a game.

The Teaching Channel

By: Phil Zellers

 

Last week Jamie wrote about learning from our students, which can be very beneficial to us as teachers and empowering for students.  In keeping with the theme of learning from others, I want to introduce you to the Teaching Channel.  It’s a great way to learn from other teachers.    

 

The Teaching Channel (www.teachingchannel.org) is an online library with videos of teachers in the classroom.  There are videos from all content areas and grade levels.  You can type in your own search or search through a number of categories including English/Language Arts, Math, literacy skills, and Common Core lessons.  Most of these videos are not very long, around 10 minutes for most of the ones I’ve watched.  The videos are current, relevant, and get to the point.  In other words, they aren’t boring and  don't drag on forever. 

I have visited the site a lot lately to get ideas about improving my own literacy instruction in my classroom.  I have found videos on how to conduct whole class discussions, group discussions, and improving students’ literacy skills.  There have been several that I really liked and then tried my own classroom and they worked very well.

I have read several books and been to several conferences which have given me a lot of great resources and helped me in my classroom instruction.  However, sometimes it is helpful to actually see it in the classroom.  Aside from going into classrooms and seeing it, this is the next best thing.  It’s a great way to reflect on your own teaching strategies and incorporate new ones.  So, if you’re thinking about trying a new strategy or looking for a new idea, give the Teaching Channel a try.  It’s a quick and easy way to see lessons in action before you give them a try. 

Learning through Students

By Jamie Guillaume

Recently our eLearn team has been focusing on gathering Jr.-Sr. High students to form a technology team.  The idea behind this is to give a group of students the opportunity to further explore their technological interests and also present their discoveries and ideas to teachers and students.  During this process I have found myself pleasantly humbled and educated by these students.  As teachers we tend to be nervous about a student knowing more about a topic than what we do; however we shouldn’t.  We should instead learn to recognize the opportunity and be willing to learn from these students. 

My first experience with this idea of learning through students occurred when I acquired my first iPad in 2010. My oldest son was 2 years old at the time.  He was playing the iPad and began putting apps into folders.  When I got the iPad back, I had no idea what he had done, and when I asked him, he showed me; a two-year-taught me a skill using technology!  Examples such as this, explain why this generation of children have been labeled, “Digital Natives.”  Using technological tools comes naturally to them. 

As teachers we of course strive to be lifelong learners but sometimes forget or do not consider that we can learn from our students too. When using technology in the classroom, teachers always need to consider the concept first and then go to the technology to enhance the learning.  We also need to be careful not to disregard a webtool or device a student can use to present his/her knowledge of the material just because we are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the tool.  It could be a learning experience for us too. 

Give learning through students a try.  Let them show you something your phone can do, shortcuts using your laptop, or special settings on your iPad.  The options and learning opportunities are endless! 

Finding Good Apps

By Kris Walsh

Hello Everyone, I hope that you have been able to stay warm during our most recent blast of cold! I have had this idea for a post for awhile, but I thought I would share it after the holidays for those who may have gotten a new ipad or other device for or as a gift. I have played around with other devices, but I am most familiar with Apple i-devices. This post will admittedly be slanted in that direction. That said, many of the apps and websites shared in this posting are available on multiple platforms. Hopefully, this post can be a good starting point for someone looking for apps on any device. Enjoy!

A common question that I hear or see is, “What are some good apps?” That is a tough question to answer.

There are almost 1,000,000 apps on the Apple app store alone. (It would cost $1,384,156.52 to buy a copy of each app and game on the app store! source: forbes.com)

Everyone has different interests, ability levels, needs, subjects, ages… So there are many different variables for selecting apps. It is a VERY difficult question to answer. I am going to outline some favorite apps in general, and then share some tools that you can use to aid you in your hunt for good apps.

 

Suggested Apps

Twitter- self-explanatory, but a great way to connect with professionals and learn with others. I really think it is worth your time.

Flipboard- assembles all of your social media content into one location. You can also use it to subscribe to news feeds about subjects that you are interested in. Very user friendly. It creates a magazine that you can flip through to see all of your content.

Overdrive- This is the media portal for the Perry County Library. This app is what you need to check-out e books from our public library

Follett Enlight- This is the portal to our school e-book access. Use this to check out and read e-books from our library. More on that coming in another blog :)

Self-Control- limits your access to specified websites for a set time. A good way to help you stick to a task instead of checking Facebook or other sites- free

For young users- Endless Alphabet, Endless Reader, and the Monkey Preschool series are great apps that even preschool students can enjoy

Quizlet- Create flash cards on your phone or ipad in seconds using a combination of images and text

Algebra Touch- a free app to use as a reference when working on algebra skills

 Reviews and suggestions

Fun Educational Apps- Apps for iOS. This site has tons of reviews of apps from multiple content areas and age ranges. Plus you can sign up for free app alerts.

Smart Apps for Kids-  Another website that is searchable by age and subject-area. Sign up for email updates in multiple categories.

Edshelf- A great community of educators sharing their favorite digital tools, including apps. A super-useful space for discovering and sharing your favorite apps.

 APPitic- Awesome site with curated lists of apps in many categories including apps for flipped learning, Challenge-Based Learning, and the ISTE NETS. Also includes supporting resources. (** My favorite of these sites!!)

I Education Apps Review (IEAR)- Another community effort, IEAR includes tons of app reviews, but even more resources around using tablets and apps in the classroom.

Appolearning- A great site for finding both iOS and Android apps. The resources are organized by operating system, grade level, subject area, and task.

Check out this article for the Top 100 apps for 2013:  http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=6842