I just returned from the ISTE Conference (International Society for Technology and Education) in San Antonio where I had the privilege of sharing my edtech craft with 15,000 other educators. I am coming back with a fire like never before. I learned so much is such a short amount of time... my bucket is overflowing. There is one thing, for sure, that I feel I can really impact after my exposure to so many amazing Ed Tech Educators in one place. I am ready to add more differentiation to my coding curriculum and "spice things up" in my efforts to bring more consistent exposure to students across my district. It hit me when I was sharing a table side Guacamole with some techy friends at Boudro's.
I am going to make some analogies to my experiences in San Antonio and how they motivated me to make some changes to my latest planned approach to coding this year.
Attitude - They were quite a lively bunch which is similar to the students in the upper primary grades. Guaranteed to have a good time if you go in with the right attitude.
Differentiation - There was an extensive menu of food and beverages. Everyone could choose the way they "nurtured" their body and got what they need. I will do the same for students this year... offering them more choices to meet their "needs".
Ingredients - As the server prepared our guac, he told us all the ingredients he was using. Everything we would need (and get this... I found the recipe online just like I have found resources I need, many of which were shared to me at ISTE.) Similar to Creative Computing and numerous resources provided by Code.org on Computational Thinking.
What a great idea... Share with the teacher and students, all the "ingredients" they need to make a great experience.
Recipe - Did you look at the recipe? Did things work out for you? If things didn't work out, you may want to double check the recipe. I've decided to take this approach this year. Giving students a recipe (digital agenda similar to this) to follow and allow them to do the heavy lifting and learn through the experience.
Secret ingredients - In this video they mention one of the secrets to their amazing guac is fresh ingredients. Maybe we need to take a fresh look at what we are doing when sharing coding and ensure that we are getting the "recipe" right.
Surprise ingredient - Have you ever put orange juice in yours? I haven't but trying this new thing made a world of difference. By far the best Guacamole I have ever have. I am not sure what the surprise ingredient will be just yet but I have certainly opened up to trying new things and I am looking forward to identifying my surprise ingredient as we use formative assessment and reflection.
Rain & Birds - While we were at Bourdos it did begin to rain but we didn't let that spoil our time enjoying the experience. We also had moments where birds came very close to our table attempting to pick at our food and the other good stuff on our table. Just as we did that night, we swatted them away and we will continue to do so as we move forward with our efforts to have a good time no matter what we do and where we go.
This is just the beginning of the items I plan to address and change in my approach to coding this year. I am super excited to see how it goes with teachers who are new to coding I look forward to the opportunity to work with more students in that effort to bring consistent exposure to students across the district as well as their families. Students will be asked to share what they have learned in a creative, engaging way to their families in an effort to create more of a community outreach to bring more awareness to families about coding and ultimately, computational thinking. Wish us luck. I was just in Texas and I was inspired to make some changes and "Go Big or Go Home"!
I am going to make some analogies to my experiences in San Antonio and how they motivated me to make some changes to my latest planned approach to coding this year.
Attitude - They were quite a lively bunch which is similar to the students in the upper primary grades. Guaranteed to have a good time if you go in with the right attitude.
Differentiation - There was an extensive menu of food and beverages. Everyone could choose the way they "nurtured" their body and got what they need. I will do the same for students this year... offering them more choices to meet their "needs".
Ingredients - As the server prepared our guac, he told us all the ingredients he was using. Everything we would need (and get this... I found the recipe online just like I have found resources I need, many of which were shared to me at ISTE.) Similar to Creative Computing and numerous resources provided by Code.org on Computational Thinking.
What a great idea... Share with the teacher and students, all the "ingredients" they need to make a great experience.
Recipe - Did you look at the recipe? Did things work out for you? If things didn't work out, you may want to double check the recipe. I've decided to take this approach this year. Giving students a recipe (digital agenda similar to this) to follow and allow them to do the heavy lifting and learn through the experience.
Secret ingredients - In this video they mention one of the secrets to their amazing guac is fresh ingredients. Maybe we need to take a fresh look at what we are doing when sharing coding and ensure that we are getting the "recipe" right.
Surprise ingredient - Have you ever put orange juice in yours? I haven't but trying this new thing made a world of difference. By far the best Guacamole I have ever have. I am not sure what the surprise ingredient will be just yet but I have certainly opened up to trying new things and I am looking forward to identifying my surprise ingredient as we use formative assessment and reflection.
Rain & Birds - While we were at Bourdos it did begin to rain but we didn't let that spoil our time enjoying the experience. We also had moments where birds came very close to our table attempting to pick at our food and the other good stuff on our table. Just as we did that night, we swatted them away and we will continue to do so as we move forward with our efforts to have a good time no matter what we do and where we go.
This is just the beginning of the items I plan to address and change in my approach to coding this year. I am super excited to see how it goes with teachers who are new to coding I look forward to the opportunity to work with more students in that effort to bring consistent exposure to students across the district as well as their families. Students will be asked to share what they have learned in a creative, engaging way to their families in an effort to create more of a community outreach to bring more awareness to families about coding and ultimately, computational thinking. Wish us luck. I was just in Texas and I was inspired to make some changes and "Go Big or Go Home"!
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