This page gives an overview of professional development sessions which I have been delivering to educators focusing on coding and computational thinking.
Computational Thinking in the Classroom
Coding through Online Games
In this session, participants will be introduced to online initiatives which challenge learners to play games whilst learning programming concepts. Participants will observe how through challenges of varying difficulty, the learner may be immersed in stimulating game play which is fun for students of different age and abilities.
We will explore online initiatives such as Code.org which provides various resources for educators and students to immerse in coding activities.
- Flappy https://studio.code.org/flappy/1
- Angry Birds https://studio.code.org/s/artist/stage/1/puzzle/1
- Puzzle https://studio.code.org/s/20-hour/stage/2/puzzle/1
How would you use such activities in your classroom? http://tinyurl.com/codegames2016
App Inventor
In this session, participants will use the MIT App Inventor where through a simple graphical interface, participants will explore how such a tool may be used in class as an introduction to programming and app creation that transforms the complex language of text-based coding into visual, drag-and-drop building blocks.
http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu
Scratch Junior
With this app, users can design and code their own interactive stories and games. This versatile tool may be used to introduce young learners to basic programming constructs, cross curricular outcomes or specific subject learning outcomes. With the proper technology, the educator may provide a student-centered environment where each student is engaged .
Scratch
Scratch is an intuitive programming language that makes it easy to create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art whilst sharing creations with others in the online community. As learners create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.
Scratch Projects by Subject
- Projects in Science: http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/15003
- Math Projects: http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/6423 and http://scratched.media.mit.edu/sites/default/files/Scratch%20Dissertation%20Complete.pdf
- Science Projects: http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/36449
- Interactive Reading Projects: http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/61659
- Book Reports and Projects: http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/9706
- Learning Languages: http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/60538
- Programming concepts: http://info.scratch.mit.edu/sites/infoscratch.media.mit.edu/files/file/ScratchProgrammingConcepts-v14.pdf or http://voyager.egglescliffe.org.uk/mwc/mukoku/course/view.php?id=7
Robotics
The use of robotics in schools is gaining in popularity. In this session, participants will experience how through a stimulating, hands-on environment, learners will be able to program their own robot. Participants will be provided with kits which will used to construct their own model whilst using an icon based programming language to perform specific tasks.
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