Hour of Code - Kindergarten activity - FREE lesson plans!

One of the largest road blocks to having K-5 teachers implement computer programming skills is TIME! I have often heard my teachers saying "I just can't add more more thing to the day."

That's why I think that the success of incorporating computer science skills INTO the curriculum is essential! Currently, I am looking at the CCSS and the learning progressions. Using Scratch (www.scratch.mit.edu) - a FREE website, I am working on creating lessons that are aligned to the CCSS in ELA and math.

Please feel free to use the FREE resources and worksheets for the Hour Of code week - December 9th thru December 15th!  The worksheets take the Kindergarten student through the process of creating a holiday card through various screen shots.

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/14804494/#player

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!

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10462361/

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!

ISTE 2013 - Augmented Reality Game Post #3

Hung out with John Martin yesterday and he gave me some great feedback for the ISTE 2013 Technology Games!

John is from UW-Madison and part of the team that works with and created the ARIS app! I'm really excited about the changes I am making and what the final product will look like. Like most authors - my final project looks nothing like the 1st draft of the game.

In hindsight...I wish I would have documented the revision process to show my students. Oh well...I guess I know what to do next year!

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!

Kinesthetic Learning with Kinect

Gearing up for ISTE 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!

ISTE 2013 - Augmented Reality Game Post #2

Trying to figure out the waypoints...landmarks!

Got up early this morning to head to the Convention Center. There is a rather large parking structure that cost $11 for the day...right across the street from the center. Just an FYI - we parked at about 8am and the lot was full by 9:30.

Went in search of photos and learning the "lay of the land..." In order to create the Aris game for everyone, I will be dividing the game into QUESTS that teams can participate in.

I thought Henry B. Gonzalez should be a part of one of the QUESTS, as the convention center is named after him. I took a pic and then used iPhoto to make it black and white and "older..." Thought this might bring authenticity to the video clip I am planning on bringing into the game.

Lots of walking around to find the Map points and the images I would need. I then headed back to the convention center to play around with ARIS. Finding the convention center on the map was not too difficult; however, figuring out if I needed a character, plaque, or an object was a bit tricky.

Luckily my husband was a good sport, because I would create some of the programming pieces and then send him out to test and see if it showed up on his ARIS app. We spent a total of six hours gathering our resources and testing and trying the various ARIS programming options.

Headed back to hotel and will pick up again tomorrow!