The idea of coding can be intimidating to teachers and students a like. It seems like a complicated language that takes a fancy degree and a high end computer to be successful at. However, the reality is that coding is accessible and simple for students to use. Coding can be an engaging learning experiences for students in the classroom. An Hour of Code is an initiative designed to engage students in the realm of computer science. Students take one hour to experience and learn about computer coding. The goal is to debunk many of the myths about the complexity of computer coding. Understanding computers is soon becoming a life skill that students need to possess. A variety of programs exist to host an Hour of Code. Personally, I tried code.org/. This website incorporated student's interests such as: Angry Birds, Frozen, Minecraft, and many others. Students walk through a series of puzzles where they put together pieces of computer code to accomplish a goal. With these fun and engaging programs, students interests quickly spike. Not only are these programs fun, but they are an effective way to support problem solving and critical thinking skills. Students must try to find the best way to solve problems, do them more efficiently or find the pattern. Programs are available for students of all ages and varying complexities. All students need to grow problem solving skills and computer programing challenges are a meaningful way to cultivate this skill and others like it. Suggestions for Hour of Code projects: scratched.gse.harvard.edu/ https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/hour-of-code/hour-of-drawing-code/v/welcome-hour-of-code https://www.kodable.com/ Here is an example of a coding puzzle using code org:
0 Comments
Educators can often feel isolated in a contained classrooms with few adults to speak with discussing new ideas, challenges, or anything in between. Being a connected educator can remedy this isolation. Being a connected educator means to be part of a learning community with other teachers in similar situations where regular communication takes place. These communities are created and communicate online. Like any community it can take place in many forms. The teachers in your building, the teachers in the other school in town, or teachers met online can all be learning communities. In these communities ideas can be discussed and share as teachers support each other and their students. While the benefits are clear, the process to becoming a connected educator may not be. However, being a connected educator is only a few clicks and a conversation away. Connected educators primary use social media to meet and chat with each other. Twitter is one of the most popular platforms for teachers to connect with each other. Simply search a hashtag on a certain topic to see what teachers are talking about. Follow other users to connect with individuals and continue the conversation in more than 140 characters. Organizations, such as LEA, (Lutheran Educators Association) are other good places to start. LEA utilizes an email system to share ideas and start conversations. Other teachers are hungry to make connects and the benefits are clear. Teachers can learn new ideas as they discuss with others. Maybe a conversation online with another teacher will lead to a support for a difficult student. Maybe a new resource sent by email after a tweet will support your students' learning. Having conversations using social media as a platform can open up a whole world of new possibilities. Most importantly it provides teachers with support to encourage students daily. Below are some helpful tips and articles for becoming a connected educator: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/10-tips-become-connected-educator-elana-leoni https://www.edutopia.org/blog/new-teachers-becoming-connected-educators-lisa-dabbs Stories have been told since the beginning of time. People gathering to tell and exchange tales of life or adventure. Spoken stories turned to books and books to movies and now digital story telling is the newest means through which stories are told. Digital story telling is a method that utilizes apps to tell a story combining audio, pictures, video, music, sound effects, etc. This method combines a multitude of elements to create a story experience. Digital story telling is a valuable tool in the classroom. It can be most useful as students learn how to create sequence, telling a story step by step. Students can work on retelling stories, practice writing skills, identify parts of a story, use and apply academic vocabulary and much more. Literacy is a critical skill that all students must learn in the classroom. Digital story telling is an engaging and authentic way to support student's skills. Students have an almost limitless potential to create using digital story telling methods. For example, the website storybird.com allows to students to select pictures, arrange them, and write the text to a story. Students build and practice writing skills, work on sequencing, and are able to share their work. Again students can utilize the app Chatterpix Kids. This app allows students to select a picture, draw a line for a mouth, record audio, and the mouth will speak it. This could be especially useful for giving an oral report. Students can use this app and many other digital story telling apps to practice the four areas of language learning: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Here is an example of an innovative use of digital story telling:
More and more classrooms now have a wealth of technology available to them. While this is exciting and opens numerous possibilities, it leaves teachers wondering: How can it be used in the classroom effectively and authentically? The TPACK model poses a structure for integrating technology into the classroom. TPACK stands for Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge. Teachers should have knowledge in all of these areas separately, but effective teaching is found when the three areas overlap. This area is referred to as the sweet spot, where all three knowledge areas work together.
Pedagogy works to communicate content knowledge as technology acts as a partner or tool to make the content knowledge more accessible to students. This is all done with in the content of the specific class of students. In action, this first begins with teacher collaboration or speaking with an expert to determine what kind of technology tools are appropriate and which pedagogy method will be used to teach the content. Students then use the resources given to them to build knowledge. Students then communicate that knowledge through technology. In my classroom, this will look like using a computer to research a topic then presenting it through a presentation outlet such as Prezi or Poplet. This could also look like taking a content area such as science and the pedagogy of a lab assessment and using technology as a tool. Often, it is not possible to have all of the tools needed to run certain science experiments in the classroom. To learn the same content through the same pedagogy, students can use technology to complete a lab. I would use the TPACK model in my classroom to make technology meaningful in my classroom. Technology should not just be something extra or used as a reward. However, it offers an abundance of possibilities to allow students to be creative and explore new ideas. The TPACK model is an effective way to use technology in a meaningful way while also ensuring proper pedagogy and communication of content.
Click the picture to access more information about TPACK:
Also check out this informational video:
Assessment is a key piece in any successful classroom. It is used to not only gage student understanding but guide further instruction. Quality assessment is a necessity in the classroom. Digital assessment can provide a an efficient and authentic way to determine student understanding. |
AuthorMolly Goltl Archives
April 2017
Categories |