Hour of Code

Guest Post by Tracy Hall (@hallmathcoach), K-6 Math & Science Coordinator

Computers are everywhere! They are in our cars, our thermostats, our coffee makers, and our phones. Computers are as big as an entire room or small enough to fit on your wrist. Computers are a part of our everyday life, and of our workforce. All of these devices have something in common. Behind every device is code. Code is the set of instructions that makes machines work. It may sound big and complicated, but really it’s so simple a child can begin to write codes.  

December 7-13 is Computer Science Education Week. It is a time to bring awareness to Computer Science, one of the most needed skills in the workforce, and to build curiosity in our students through activities such as Hour of Code.

What is Hour of Code?
According to Code.org, "the Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics."

Why learn to code?

• learning to code teaches you that persistence pays off
• helps you not to fear mistakes, but to learn from them
• learning computer science teaches you about learning and teaching
• teaches you how to think and problem solve
• expands creativity

Interested?
Visit Code.org, a non-profit group that aims to encourage people, especially students, to learn computer science. The site offers free activities and planning guides to learn coding for all age groups, along with facts and information about computer science education around the country. There are also videos from some leading voices encouraging students to get involved with computer science. Students can even learn to code with some of their favorite characters:

Will your students be participating in the Hour of Code? Let us know in the comments below, and tweet about it using #DragonsCode!

Resources:
Code.org
CsedWeek.org

Free Agent Learners, EdTech 50 Best Blogs, Google Education Online and Dallas Makerspace

Posted by Dr. Faustina DuVall 

Free Agent Learners - Students creating opportunities to learn for themselves
Project Tomorrow, SpeakUP 2015

Does this sound like the students in your class or your children at home?

“I have many apps on my phone that help me at school a lot. I have a homework app that organizes all of my homework and reminds me when something is due. Also, I have another app where it is like an online note card and it’s easier for me to test myself on a subject outside of school instead of bringing my papers where I go. On my tablet, there are applications that have almost every subject and teach you lessons for instance, a lesson in algebra 2 or how to balance an equation for chemistry. I find all of these apps very helpful because of technology.” Female student, Kennedy HS, Guam (SpeakUp2015). 

Understanding technology and the effect it has on teaching and learning in the lives of today's students is on the minds of every teacher, principal and parent.

Julie Evans, is the CEO at Project Tomorrow, a national educational organization, which has surveyed 4 million parents, students and teachers since 2003 about STEM education and digital learning.  (jevans@tomorrow.org).

Evans points to the key trends and data from the 2014 Speak Up data:

• Increased urgency around digital learning
• Interest in new models - mobile, blended and flipped learning
• Usage of digital content in classroom on the rise
• Recognition that teachers are pivotal to adoption
• New approaches to measuring impact
• Focus on using technology to personalize learning

The Project Tomorrow survey data shows that students are using a wide range of technology tools outside of the classroom and school to:

• Reinforce learning concepts at their own pace best suited to individual learning styles
• Explore related academic topics and ideas to a deeper level and challenge the learner with new ideas and different perspectives
• Develop college and career 21st century skills (critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration). 

As educators implement blended, virtual, STEM and mobile learning environments for digital natives, Evans and the Project Tomorrow SpeakUp challenges us to address two big questions:

1. Are we ready to support a new kind of educational ecosystem that acknowledges learning as 24/7 enterprise?

2. What do we need to do today to enable and empower these kinds of student-centric digital learning experiences for all students?

Educator Learning Opportunities and Resources: 

1. Blogs: One way educators can get ready for the 24-7 learning enterprise and and provide student-centric digital learning experiences is to follow EdTech's 50 Must Read Blogs for 2015. This year's list highlights blogs from innovative teachers, technology directors and educational technology experts.

These expert blogs cover STEM classroom resources, student engagement and digital leadership, new channels of communication, student led education resources, Google education solutions, video and learning platforms and empowering teachers to transform traditional teaching with technology and thousands of other educational technology topics.

2. Google Education on Air - a free, interactive online conference that will take place Friday, May 8 from 10am-3pm EDT and throughout the day Saturday May 9.
Topics include inspirinig learners with the power of storytelling, the skills of the future, tools for creative problem solving and 100 other topics and sessions.
To register go to: https://educationonair.withgoogle.com/live/2015-may

3.The Dallas Makerspace is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, shared community workshop and laboratory. An organized group of local artists, engineers, makers and thinkers work together to provide tools and learning resources to the public. These resources promote science, technology and art and encourage learning within the community.


Resources:

http://www.tomorrow.org/about/about_PT.html

http://www.slideshare.net/ProjectTomorrow/ten-things-mobile-learning-speak-up-j-evans-april-2015?related=1

http://www.portical.org/blog/say-hello-to-the-free-agent-learner-that-is-a-typical-middle-school-student/2164.htm

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2015/04/50-must-read-it-blogs-2015

https://educationonair.withgoogle.com/live/2015-may

http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU14StudentReport.pdf

http://dallasmakerspace.org

Favorite Finds from TCEA

Guest post by Randy Stuart, Executive Director of Technology

Favorite Ideas:
I think there is always a struggle to either do things the way that they have always been done or to move toward a new, lesser known path. One of the presenters, Kristen Swanson (@kristenswanson), shared with campus leaders three points that I think are essential in moving education forward toward continuous improvement. (More info)

1. Education is fundamentally different in a networked world. If you have spent much time in education you know that it can be a trendy group, and changes fly in and out regularly. Sometimes we are prone to just say “this too shall pass.” However, technology in education is not a passing fad, and it will affect all of what we do. With the availability of apps that solve math equations and show the answer, we must focus more on the learning than on the answer. With the ease of accessing information, we must shift from teachers being the source of all knowledge, to teachers being the facilitator, helping students wrestle and learn from the abundance of information that is available and to do so safely.
2. Effective professional development in a networked world is about relationships. Learning in the classroom is more about relationships than information, and this is even more important in working with adult learners. Adult learners are busy and need to have learning more tailored to their practice for it to be most effective. Those who are stepping out into the tech unknown need to share their experiences with others. Improving our instructional technology practices will happen best as the cloud of relationships we have works together to learn and grow.
3. Learning is messy, but it has a pattern. Gone are the days of silent students in rows reading, and a teacher with a ruler at the ready waiting to strike the student that makes a peep. Learning is best when we are engaged and excited about the material. The framework Mrs. Swanson presented was:
1. Curation - Where we group and organize information.
2. Contribution - Where we share and collaborate our learning.
3. Reflection - Where we synthesize and make connections with prior learning. 

Click here to englarge.

Favorite Tool

Learning Management Systems (LMS) – The vendor area was full of LMS, and many of the sessions at TCEA this year were dealing with LMS. While LMS have been around for a long time, it seems like this latest generation has finally gotten its act together and is ready for the mainstream classroom. Today’s LMS makes it so easy for students to collaborate, receive assignments, and turn in projects from any device. It also makes it super easy for teachers to grade materials and to provide video or audio comments about the student’s work. This is going to make a huge impact on education.

Favorite Tech Gadgetry 
Microprocessors - Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, Arduino…Though these have crazy names, the opportunity for learning with these powerful little devices is amazing. Combine the influx of microprocessors along with a mixture of great programming environments like M.I.T.’s Scratch (simple enough for even early elementary programmers), and you get awesome STEM learning in real world ways. Robotics was also a big part of this year’s conference, with Lego’s latest Microprocessor, the EV3, which gives students the ability to program and test their program on real life animated robots (which can also be programmed by Scratch!). Not to mention the interworking of MakerBot’s 3D printing of Minecraft objects, my mind is exploding with creative ideas!