Showing posts with label CSTA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSTA. Show all posts

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Exposing K5'ers to Computer Programming

Working on creating more projects aligned to CCSS in math! This one is for K.CC.1 and allows students to count along from 1-100!


Click on the 'See inside' button and show the K5'ers what programming looks like.

Once inside you can select the sun ...


Then click on the middle pannel and 'Costumes' and 'Clear.'

Look at the blue highlighted sun above and just above it is an icon of the character to the left of the paint brush. This will allow your class to pick their own character or object to stamp on the page!

You can also change the sound if you want. 

Just select the middle number (highlighted in blue) and click on the 'Sound' scripts and replace the drum with another sound.

The K5'ers will love customizing their counting game and begin their exposure to computer programming and Coding for ALL!




Thursday, May 9, 2013

Scratch 2.0

I'm so excited...


but keep seeing this screen! I've been checking like every 1/2 hour or so! Have a web-based version will be a HUGE benefit to teachers everywhere! No more fighting with the IT guys and downloading the program onto the server!

Stay tuned to the blog as I continually update with more K-8 Coding challenges aligned to the CCSS in math!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Gamification - Jesse Schell video series

So...I am taking the Penn state Coursera course called "Gamification." Below is an outstanding video that was referenced in the class!

This is a must view!!



Feel free to share comments below!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

What Most Schools Don't Teach...

So...how do we take the intimidation of coding (computer programming) out of the equation? "In the next ten years, there will be about 1.4 million jobs in computer science and only 400,000 qualified graduates to fill those jobs."

Please see the following video that stresses the importance of computational thinking and learning how to code (program). If you attended my classroom 2.0 live webinar yesterday, this video is a more detailed version of the one we previewed at the beginning before the session started. It REALLY is a powerful message and includes Bill Gates and a quote from Steve Jobs.



Stay tuned for my first instructional video geared toward my vision of K-8 computational thinking (programming) for all! I will be posting a video for the "newbies" that uses only three of the programming blocks and is easy enough for even the K-2'ers!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Magnetism & Electricity Video Game

Video games can bring engagement through mastery of content. Bailey, a fourth grader who scored above an 80% on her pre-test for an up-coming unit on electricity and magnetism, decided to create a video game review for her classmates to use in preparation for their unit test.

Not only did Bailey increase her computational thinking skills, but she also scored a 100% on the post-test, as she had to know the content forward and backwards in order to create her game. Her classmates also found success in studying for their unit test, but evaluating and providing feedback to Bailey on the game she created.

When all was said and done, over 90% of the students received grades of 90% and above on their unit final. The lowest score was a 73%! Take a look at an up-close and personal interview with Bailey, as she shares her project and insights with you!


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A website that is "GOLDEN!"

Came across a "GOLDEN" website full of resources!


A lot of great resources and has a curriculum that you can download. Please pass this one along!