I sit here two weeks before the school year officially starts surrounded by my Micro:Bits trying to process last week's learning. Two years ago, I knew only Code.org as a way to access computer science for my learners. Last summer I stumbled on CodeJoy as part of the Pathfinder's Summer PD learning for teachers. I know this sounds cliche but my life has never quite been the same.
This summer I spent many hours with the CodeJoy team learning new ideas and revisiting last year's learnings to strengthen my own teaching.
Python with BBC Micro:bit Overview
Realistically there is no way to capture the impact of the 9 hours of learning that took place. I am going to only share the highlights of my own personal learning journey. Text based language coding is not my comfort area. Personally I will avoid it if possible. Many of my students talk about wanting to learn Python and I always steer them to other resources but have chosen to avoid learning it until this summer. When I say "learn it", everyone who learns anything knows that it is a journey into realizing that part of the journey is just getting started and pushing through your own personal barriers. I will continue to "learn" Python with my designers this school year but now I am not the barrier. |
Session A Highlights
Animation: Making a GIF
My favorite part of Session A was making a looping GIF. Mike shared a resource that he developed to create Python custom images and generate the code - https://codepen.io/mcotterman/full/BaGMJeN | |
Partner Name Tag Design Challenge
Session A ended with a design challenge that I quickly replicated for the first week of my technology class. I design my Introduction to Technology course for 6th grade around a STEM structure. The Partner Name Challenge was a perfect integration into the first week. Though I won't be using Python because our class is iPad based on the Micro:Bit app is easier to start with block based coding, the project is a perfect fit. | |