TMST: More Hour of Code FUN!

-


The countdown is on...Hour of Code starts on Monday!  Yes, I am a little obsessed.  In my blog here, I broke down some ways to participate and get yourself started in designing. This week, I have had so much fun talking to educators about plans and helping them work on designs that I couldn't resist blogging about it again.  
Technology Ted loves to code at code.org
The refreshing thing to me is that Hour of Code is what you make of it.  

For example, one of the houses of K-5 learners I work with is hosting their Hour Of Code playdate style - with experiences set up in each classroom each day of the week that learners of all ages can choose from. Since they do Challenge Based Learning and are actively involved in the big idea of Discovery,  their challenge for the week's activities will be  based around the challenge, "Discover how programmers think".  They are including robotics like Code-a-pillar and BlueBots, unplugged activities, and a variety of apps and sites.  Throughout the week, they'll have learners documenting the experiences so that a reflection video can be constructed and shared.
At my other campus, educators are diving into the Hour of Code in different ways.  For example, one educator is setting up a more guided experience for her learners.  They'll be introduced to the concept of coding and its role in the real world.  Then, the learners will sign up at code.org and track their process in one of the pre-made courses.  They will figure out how many lines of code they can complete as a class over the course of several days.  Once they have learned from the unplugged and plugged activities, they will have an opportunity to apply what they have learned in other apps and programs.  They too, will document in a video.


I'm excited to see what other amazing things will happen - these are just 2 ideas.  For more ideas on how you can structure your Hour of Code, check out these resources and events:
  • Read over ideas shared during the Hour of Code #cisdchat from Tuesday Nov. 29  
  • Participate in the #cisdchat "slow chat" throughout the week of Dec. 5-9.
  • Review more ideas in the DLC's Hour of Code Smore
  • Get with your DLC or other amazing educators on campus - we have ideas!


So I hope sharing these ideas helps to remind YOU that we are better when we share ideas together.  I hope some of these ideas for implementing the Hour of Code inspire you!  
Happy Coding!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All About Me with Keynote

-
Image
Hi Readers! After being in Everyone Can Code training for the last few days, you could say I am in an Apple state of mind.  Last night, I came across a tweet from Apple in Education about a new lesson experience/template available at appleteacher.apple.com  Check out the video on the tweet to see the lesson in action:   https://twitter.com/AppleEDU/status/912804768057143296  Using Keynote in a project like this would be a great way to kick off Genius Hour, help learners get to know each other at the beginning of the year, or as a visual cue for learners to use during learner led conferences. It was so easy to try - all I did was login to appleteacher.apple.com, download the Keynote template and follow the instructions to customize the slide of my choice using shapes.  Can you guess what I am passionate about? Sometimes the best way to learn is to play and try it out so my challenge to you on this fun Friday is to create your own, take a screenshot and share it w
Read more

TMST: An Apple A Day

-
Image
I was once told that it is important for us as educators to remember what learning feels like .  To do this, we must actively involve ourselves in learning new things.   Last week, Apple released its Apple Teacher program , which is a professional learning challenge to help educators learn more about using iPads and Macs in an educational setting.   This self-paced challenge provides educators several modes  (Multi-touch book, help site, or from the Apple store)   in which to learn about using Mac and iPad in education.  Upon successful completion of a quick 5 question assessment for different skills, educators earn electronic badges.   To me, this was a perfect way for me to remember what learning feels like.   I immediately went into NERD mode and began the program.  On a Friday night.   Yep, I'm super cool.  But the neat part was that a few of my awesome CISD friends were also doing it too.  Back and forth we went on Twitter and I was reminded how fun learning can be when
Read more

Jamming out with Jamboard

-
Image
This post originally appeared on megankozar.weebly.com and was written by my teammate,    Megan Kozar   I am so excited to share a new creative collaboration tool from Google called Jamboard! The Jamboard app works like a digital whiteboard BUT it allows multiple people to work on the same "Jam" at one time and gives you the ability to insert content from the web and/or Google Drive.  You can create a new jam or join an existing one to take collaborative notes, share project ideas, or teach a new idea live. Users do not have to be in the same room together to work inside of a Jam! https://jamboard.google.com/   Note: Google has made a physical board called a Jamboard that works with the Jamboard app. The Jamboard app can be used as a stand alone tool without the physical board.      Learn how to use some of the features in the Jamboard app by watching the quick 5 minute video! If you need more support, visit the Jam
Read more