Computer Science Education Week starts on Monday, December 4, and with that comes the Hour of Code! I am excited that our schools will once again be participating in this world wide event.
What is the Hour of Code?
“The 'Hour of Code™' is a nationwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week [csedweek.org] and Code.org [code.org] to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.” The Hour of Code Challenge started in 2013 and since then millions of people have participated.
Why is Coding Important?
Our world is increasingly influenced by computers and technology. In almost any career, using technology is an essential skill. Beyond that, the ability to create something new or improve upon existing technology, is a skill that employers are looking for. Coding skills are valuable in almost any profession, not just in technology fields. Learning to code is really learning to problem solve. We all want our students to be problem solvers, so why not give them a little extra practice?
What will Teachers Do?
The most challenging thing for teachers will be to carve time out of their already busy day to include some time for kids to code. The goal is to have kids spend an hour TOTAL throughout the week, NOT an hour per day! This works out to about 12 minutes per day, so coding could be morning work or part of morning meeting. It could also be part of choice time or a center for the week. Teachers will need to choose which program they want their students to use there are several great options. There are many great options for every grade level. In the presentation below, I have linked several resources to help guide you through the week.
What will Students Do?
Students will work through the different levels of whatever program you decide to have them use. They will work with each other to problem solve, share their strategies and most importantly they will get the opportunity to learn some coding!
What will your students create using their coding skills?
If your students have Google accounts you should be using Google Classroom to help simplify how you create assignments, provide feedback and communicate with your students. Google Classroom is simple, user friendly, and can make your digital organization a breeze.
Five Reasons To Love Google Classroom
1. Organization
When you create an assignment in Classroom it creates a folder in your Google Drive with the same title as your assignment. Within that folder you will find all of your students' work for that assignment, and the best part is their name is in title! No more "no name" papers! As the teacher you can access their work either by going through Google Classroom or in your Drive. Students will also see a folder for your class, and all of their assignments will automatically be saved to this folder.
2. Templates
It is often challenging to get students to format a Doc or Slides Presentation exactly how you want them to. When students are not proficient in their keyboarding skills, and they are just learning how to navigate Google Apps, it is nice to be able to give them a template to work on. You can create Doc, Slide, Drawing or Sheet with the formatting set how you want it, and Google Classroom can make a copy for each student. No more "share, make a copy, share back"! This way students can focus on the content of their work rather than spending time adjusting margins.
3. Differentiation
Earlier this fall, Google Classroom added the option to send assignments to specific students. This is a huge step forward in the ability to differentiate! Since students do not see each other's assignments or work, you can now easily give assignments with different directions, expectations, or content while preserving student privacy.
4. Reusing Posts
The creators of Google Classroom understand that teachers spend lots of time creating assignments for their students, so they built in the Reuse Post option. This allows you to reuse an assignment from a previous year or from a different class. You can make necessary tweaks to the assignment and change the due date.
5. Planning Ahead
Another fairly new feature is the ability to save drafts of posts, and to schedule when things are posted for students to see. This is nice for projects or assessments that you know you will use throughout the year. You can set them up ahead of time and push them out to students when you are ready.
If you are looking to get started with Google Classroom, check out the tutorials below or contact me to help you get started!
Seesaw released a major update a few weeks ago adding "Activities" to their platform.
Seesaw is always thinking about young students and the ability to differentiate. The activities feature allows teachers to assign tasks to their whole class, small groups, or individual students. They have included the option to add icons in the student directions, as well as a tool to record audio directions for students to follow.
Teachers can provide students with an example of the work that is expected and a template to work on. They can also tag the activity with a certain skill, and place it in a specific folder to help keep things organized. Finally, there are some activities already built in the Seesaw library which can easily be shared with students or customized.
This new feature can help with workflow for teachers and students, and gives families more information about the context of their student's work.
Interested in learning more about activities? Check out the resources below!
As always feel free to comment or contact me for more information!
