Thursday Thoughts December 8

Today was a mentally tough day for me. The state CCRPI scores were released during the middle of our district principals' meeting. Talk about a double whammy. While the slight decline in our score did not surprise me, the realization of the pressure that comes with standardized testing and state rankings weighed heavily on my mind. I began to speculate about the reasons why our scores have seen a decrease in the past couple of years. I began to second guess the way that we are teaching kids, our focus on integrating technology, our promotion of inquiry and problem based learning and our insistence that students must be prepared for a 21st Century world by communicating and collaborating with each other. I mean, let's face it, our kids have to take a 20th Century test and the success of our school (in the eyes of the public) is based on a 20th Century evaluation system. Why not go back to the times when students got their knowledge from the textbooks, we used worksheets for skill and drill and we expected them to work quietly and turn in mounds of work?

But then I realized that we are doing the right work. We are preparing students for the world in which they will have to think critically and collaborate with others who may have different ideas. Our students are digital natives so the use of technology is not optional. We have diverse learners who may not be on grade level yet or may speak different languages, but they are making progress. Yes we will have to go back to the basics in some regards to make sure that the foundation is solid for all, but we have come a long way in our expectations of what students can do independently and the ways in which they demonstrate what they have learned. We have given students choice in how they learn and the level of student engagement is very high.

Do we have a responsibility to analyze our scores and make adjustments to our instruction? Absolutely! But we also need to celebrate that fact that we are giving our very best to EVERY student and no matter how slow their progress may be, every child should be encouraged to keep going. Students should be judged against themselves and not each other and we as educators must remember to do the same. You are an AMAZING staff and you give unselfishly to the students everyday. I am so proud of the work that takes place at Medlock and I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it.

Staff Spotlight
This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Cara Vollberg. This year Cara is leading a team where two of the teachers are new to first grade. Cara advocates for her team and works together with them to ensure that the lessons and assignments planned for first graders are appropriately challenging. The academic level of first graders range from non readers to students who are reading two grade levels above. She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of this wide range of learners. Recently the parent of one of Mrs.Vollberg's students expressed her sincere appreciation of what Cara has done for her child. Much of the highlights from the letter are paraphrased below:

As a parent, I feel truly blessed that my child was placed in Cara's class. She is so kind and patient, and my child absolutely adores her. She has my child in, not only in RTI for reading, but she also started one for handwriting and fine motor.......... She has reached out to the OT for strategies and activities she can do to help my child and others with their fine motor development and I have seen a dramatic improvement already this semester.

She put my child in EIP at the beginning of the year............ and she continues to provide extra reading support and practice within her classroom and has periodically re-assessed my child using BAS and STAR to monitor progress and provide her own remediation when needed.

Once a week Cara sends out a very thorough email to the parents in her class, telling in detail, what the kids will be learning about this week in each subject area. She gives plenty of notice to when they will be assessed on the material, and she even provides examples in case a parent may be unfamiliar with a skill/ topic. Her progress reports are thick packets of multiple graded work samples for each subject. (Including Science/SS and health) She takes the time to, not only grade, but write comments on each paper/test. It is evident that much time and thought goes into each child's progress report.

From a parent's perspective, the love of her students is evident. Not a day goes by that my child doesn't come home and tell me something new that was learned in class. I have been especially impressed with how she is not only teaching the standards, but from what my child is telling me, she goes into great detail and really gives the students a much better grasp on WHY these things are important to know, instead of just having them memorize things for a test. I could go on and on with how impressed I am with Mrs. Vollberg. I always knew she was a good teacher and a great person, but getting to know her as a parent has made me realize how extraordinary she truly is.

I know my child will encounter many different types of teachers.... I am just so grateful my child was placed with Cara at such a critical stage in development. She is really been such a gift to my child.

Cara we thank you for the impact that you are making on the lives of your students and the leadership that you are providing to your team. We truly appreciate ALL that you do.

15+ Ways of Teaching Every Student to Code (Even Without a Computer)

With this collection of resources, you can teach your students to code—even if you’re still learning yourself.

Edutopia By Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher

December 4, 2013 Updated November 18, 2016

According to Code.org, 90 percent of parents in the U.S. want their children to learn computer science—it will be crucial for many jobs in the near future—but only 40 percent of schools teach it. Critics claim that it is mainly the more affluent schools that offer computer science courses, thus denying those who attend poorer schools the chance to learn necessary skills. A focus on STEM is not enough: Code.org also reports that while 70 percent of new STEM jobs are in computing, only 7 percent of STEM graduates are in computer science. It is imperative that savvy schools begin to focus some STEM resources on computer science and programming.

In my opinion, parents of every student in every school at every level should demand that all students be taught how to code. They need this skill not because they’ll all go into it as a career—that isn’t realistic—but because it impacts every career in the 21st-century world. Any country recognizing that will benefit in the long term.

With the following resources, you can teach programming to every student and every age.

Teaching Coding to the Youngest Students

Tynker Games: Use these age-appropriate games to teach your elementary students coding concepts. From Puppy Adventures to Math Art and Maze Craze, you’ll find games that students in grades 1–8 will enjoy. Tynker also has a curriculum and STEM product library that you may want to peruse if you’re interested in combining programming with social studies, English, math, and science.
Kodable started as an app targeted to students as young as kindergarten age, but it’s now a complete curriculum. The first 30 levels are free, more than enough for an hour of code. Kodable is recommended for ages 5 and up, but there are stories of kids even younger using the app with great success. Students don’t need to know how to read in order to program using this game.
ScratchJr is a version of Scratch intended for ages 5–7 and available as a free iPad or Android app.
A favorite of some programmers, LightbotJr targets children ages 4–8.
Robot Turtles is a board game that teaches children the basics of programming without having to use any technology.

Teaching Coding to Kids 8 and Up

Hopscotch is a free iPad app for upper elementary and above. Wesley Fryer has curated resources for Hopscotch in the classroom that are full of challenges that you can use with students. He also recommends activating the emoji keyboard (go to Settings > General > Keyboards) for use with the program.
Scratch is a programming game that can be downloaded or used online and is supported by MIT. It has a powerful Hour of Code tutorial in which students can program a holiday card in their web browser. If you want options for other times of the year, use the one-hour Speed Racer activity to teach your students Scratch. Teachers can watch this tutorial, visit ScratchEd’s Hour of Code Ideas forum to ask questions, or search “hour of code” in the forum for lesson plans using everything from coordinate geometry to Latin. Scratch is considered acceptable for beginners. (Some educators use Snap, originally a version of Scratch but now written in JavaScript; it is supported by University of California at Berkeley. There are several alternatives to Scratch with a similar interface. Give this list to your IT department if there are technical reasons why you can’t run Scratch or Snap.)
Lightbot is a puzzle game with a free version that lasts an hour and full versions for sale on iTunes and Google Play. It teaches planning, testing, debugging, procedures, and loops.
Alice is a popular platform with a unique storytelling aspect. You can use it to create a game, tell a story, or make an animated video. Like Scratch, Alice is free and supported by a powerful community of educators. There are two versions of Alice. The newer 3.0 version still has a few bugs but sports many new, very cool animations. This long-standing platform is a rewarding tool that kids will want to keep using past the initial hour. Alice is considered more for the intermediate student, but experienced teachers can use it with beginners.
Kodu is a programming tool that can be easily used on a PC or Xbox to create a simple game. There’s also a math curriculum. Pat Yongpradit, Code.org’s director of education, used this in his computer science classroom. (I’ve used it as well.)
Gamestar Mechanic offers a free version that you might want to use for your Hour of Code, but if you fall in love with it, the educational package allows teachers to track student progress, among other features. The company supports educators with videos and a must-see teacher’s guide.
GameMaker: Studio is an option if you want to make games that can be played in any web browser. The resources aren’t as comprehensive as with some of the other tools here and the community isn’t vibrant, but this one has been around for a while and might be fun for a more tech-savvy teacher.
SpaceChem is an interesting mix of chemistry, reading, and programming for ages 12 and up. As students read the 10,000-word novelette, they have to solve puzzles by assembling molecules. SpaceChem created a helpful guide for educators. This tool is available for download on Steam and installation on Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. (Download a free demo.)
CodeCombat is a multiplayer game that teaches coding. It’s free to play at the basic level, and students don’t have to sign up. It has the advantage that teachers don’t have to know computer science to empower learning in programming. It’s recommended for ages 9 and up. See the teacher guide for the information and standards covered in this game.
Minecraft: Education Edition continues to be popular as the new owner of Minecraft, Microsoft, continues to collect and share best practices from classrooms.
Code Monkey Island is a board game designed for children ages 9 and up. This is a great addition to your game corner.

Additional Resources

Check out the Hour of Code lesson plan tutorial from Khan Academy for ways to teach your students. These lessons are for older students with one computer each, but they can be adapted to a flipped class model.
While the official Hour of Code is in December, see these resources for educators, unplugged lessons (no computer required), and tutorials to help you teach computer science to kids of all ages at any time of the year.

Use Hardware to Make Something Cool

Programming, making, and creating have never been easier. If you’re getting into the maker movement or Genius Hour, these should be staples in your classroom. While they may take longer than an hour to code, they’re definitely something 21st-century schools can use, because students are programming and building with their hands.

The Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive computer. There are many things kids can make with a Raspberry Pi, but after setting one up with my 15-year-old nephew, I recommend that the teacher be a tad more advanced than I am. This is definitely a tool I’d use in my classroom. (A kit costs less than $100.)
I am in love with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit—it makes Arduino easy. An Arduino is basically a motherboard that you can make, plus a programming kit. I have one of these in my classroom, and the students are fixated for hours. (A kit is around $100.)
Lego Mindstorms are part of my curriculum every spring. Students love Legos! I have six older kits that we’ve used for years. The newer NXT kits have cool robots that can be made and programmed. This product has been around for years, so there are many resources for teachers. If you purchase an older kit on eBay, make sure it will work with newer operating systems.
Dash and Dot are two endearing little robots that can be used with ages 5 and up. These robots have apps that can be used to program them, for which children ages 8 and up can use Blockly, the visual programming language created by Google. Older students can use Objective C or Java to program the bots.
Sphero and Ollie are fantastic robots that can go almost anywhere (my students have taken them across water). The SPRK education program gives teachers and parents a curriculum for using the bots and teaching programming even while the adult is still learning.

How Do You Teach Coding in Your Classroom?

Please join the movement to help reach every child by sharing in the comments section your story or a link to your favorite resources for teaching kids to code.

Thursday Thoughts

Thursday, December 15, 2016

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Thursday, December 8, 2016

Week of December 8