This week our story in 6th grade is Trombone Shorty. One of the design challenges was to create your own instrument with recycled materials. ​On the second day, designers programed the Micro:Bits to add music to their instruments. Check out our first creations! |
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This week designers created their own version of the name string tutorial. Here are just a few examples of how designers used Flip to capture their programming and learnings. I love seeing what each designer is doing, thinking, and how they are troubleshooting different ideas that they have.
I am so thankful to CodeJoy and the Infosys Foundation for giving me the opportunity to learn and use this tool with my students. I would never have been able to provide this opportunity for my designers if I hadn't been able to participate in the Summer Institute and receive a class set of Micro:Bits to use. ​
Project Trix
Lesson 6: Virtual PetLesson 7: CommunicatorMicro:Bit PD Courses
Day 1
Day 2
My LED Bunny
Dreams by Langston HughesDay 3
After an afternoon of thinking about my robot poetry and working within the time constraints and knowledge constraints, we stared Day 3 sharing our projects in breakout rooms. Day 3 was learning the next level of both the uses of the Hummingbird as well as the resources on the website. The website has so many resources that provide me the next steps of how to use different devices with bluetooth as well as projects. Honestly I can't determine which resource is my favorite - the step by step tutorials, the projects, or the reading list to connect to stories.
My Reflection
This was an exceptional virtual PD. Kelsey's energy and Matt's support in answering questions really made learning something new seem so much easier and doable for both me and my students. I loved how Kelsey introduced the different components and then it was tied to a project. I not only learned a lot about the components and programming the components but also an effective way to introduce these concepts to my students.
I am lucky enough to have CodeJoy with Micro:Bits in July so I will get to work with Kelsey and Matt again. Thank you Pathfinders for providing these opportunities! CS Problem Solving Unit Mastery CheckStudent MaterialsWeek 1
Week 2
Week 3 and 4TuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridayOur district is lucky to have an Apple Distinguished Educator - Rita Mortenson. This year Rita found a way for my 8th grade students to participate in an experience like no other. Weekly my two groups of 8th graders were mentored by Apple Interns who shared their process of developing an app and helping my students go through the same process. Here is our experience.... Week 1 - BrainstormUsing a keynote presentation created by Apple, my designers started to learn about the importance of brainstorming and researching ideas. Key questions that the mentors highlighted - What problem is your app solving? How is it impacting the community? What will be the user experience? Week 2 - PlanIn week 2, my designers shared their ideas and brainstorms through Zoom to their Apple Mentors - Marian, Alaina, Anjani, Lauryn, Megan, Fayo, and Amarah. Their mentors talked about knowing who their app's top competitor is currently. They shared about user triggers, actions, features, and inclusion. Using Keynote, designers created a mock up for iPhone dimensions. Week 3 - Creating a PrototypeDuring this session designers shared their initial ideas with their Apple Mentors who gave them feedback about color choices, design features, and more. Week 4 - Evaluate and ShareIn this zoom session, designers shared their prototypes and process with an invited audience. It was so impressive to hear each team share what they did and why they did it.
Besides the Summer Institute, there are on demand courses for both teachers and students. Student Reflections and Mastery CheckIn previous posts, I have always started with the beginning of the process but the Modern Classroom Project is really about backwards design. So let me start with where we ended and how we got there for this unit.
Pre-Launch Intro for Younger LearnersGrade 7 Intro VideoCS Intro Video3D Intro VideoCreate a Prototype Unit Introduction (Weeks 1-2)
Introduction to UnitThe third unit that I developed using the Modern Classroom project framework has just wrapped up. In this post, I will share my thought process, the resources that I developed, and student examples. Resources for the UnitBelow are the student slides as well as the station posters for the unit. Student ExamplesMy favorite part of this unit is what the designers create.
Aspire to DesigningTo celebrate the upcoming holiday, designers learned about the history of the Macy's parade.
The sound of laughter and talking infused the room while designers explored the many ideas that they had to create innovative coding sequences. My goal was to enforce the understanding that coding is a collaborative endeavor. This year with so many of our students in virtual learning environments, I tried something different for Hour of Code. Reaching out to our elementary schools, I helped coordinate our SO scholars to be mentors for our K-5 learners. It was so awesome to see so many of our scholars step into the leadership role with the younger learners. Mentor PresentationK-5 Seesaw ActivityMentoring in Action |
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