All things EdTech, how to use EdTech, etc.
Summer is here…. and with it, I am teaching a few summer STEM camps for the University of Mississippi. Some of the camps have more of a maker focus, which makes for some fun projects. One of the projects my campers were working on was a Rube Goldberg machine.
Everyone wants a 3D printer. Let’s face it, the ‘cool’ factor is strong with kids on this one. In the process of building our makerspace, I really wanted to get a 3D printer for the classroom. The issue was going to come down to money.
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Ok, so since I have started making the move to teaching computer science all day from teaching English most of the day and computer science for one period… I have been slightly more than pumped. If you’ve read the last couple of posts, you’ve likely figured that out. I’m on a quest to learn one of the ‘new’ programming languages. With my last coding experience being Pascal, it’s been a while. Well, CS Dojo on YouTube is another great option. Continue reading
Resistance is futile. The day of the computer program has come. Now, you have a couple of choices. You can choose to ignore that computer science should be a required course, or you can embrace it and head over to www.code.org to see how to get your kids started. Continue reading
The end has come. The week has been a long, arduous at times, and completely filled with fun. I know, some of you are probably wondering how those descriptions can go together. Well, with TeacherCon, they go together perfectly. Continue reading
Day Four
The end is near, or is it? Is it really ending, or just the beginning of something much longer?
For those who have read about the first three days, you understand that this has been a high energy experience. The folks at code.org manage to keep things running at full steam, all the time. So, how did day four look for those of us going through the CS Discoveries program here at TeacherCon Atlanta?
Wednesday… Hump Day. The day that folks at professional development or teacher conferences SHOULD really feel the drain of being out of their element… out of their own beds… their normal routines. Energy is usually down. As you can see below, that is certainly not the case at TeacherCon! Continue reading
Day Two:
So today we started day two of our weeklong TeacherCon. I’ve gotta say, the energy of day one would have been hard to beat. I’ve also got to say, the Code.org team did it. Today was a phenomenal day of learning. Continue reading
So, today was the first FULL day of TeacherCon in Atlanta. The long term goal… to get computer science to impact as many students as possible. The short term goal… to get the 500 or so teachers here on the same page and running with the CS Discoveries curriculum. The steady flow of coffee certainly helped keep us fueled and learning.
CommonLit.org… let’s be real. If you teach upper grade level ELA, you know about them. They have always been a great resource for teachers to utilize in their classrooms. For the basics on what CommonLit can do to revolutionize learning in your classroom, check out THIS post. I currently teach 7th grade English. I have been blessed with great content from them for quite some time. I used to teach 3rd grade… I was not so blessed. Great news! Teachers in 3rd and 4th grades now have great resources on www.commonlit.org. Continue reading