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carlos villalobos

http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/guide/files/CreativeComputing20141015.pdf - 9 views

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    CREATIVE COMPUTING Karen Brennan | Christan Balch | Michelle Chung Harvard Graduate School of Education
Vicki Davis

How To Make Your Own Educational Video Games - Edudemic - 6 views

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    Many options for "making" video games (or simple animations) have emerged. In this short piece, Edudemic shares how one can use GameStar mechanic to make games along with a video. It is well worth a try although, depending on the type of game, Microsoft Kodu or Scratch may also work. There are also some very cool games with the Xbox Kinect SDK app that let you capture a person's body movements much like they do to create characters like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.
Martin Burrett

GameSalad - 7 views

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    A great downloadable programme for making computer games for a variety of platforms and devices. Drag and drop items to make your creations. It's provides a more mature environment than tools like Scratch and there are many more options and advance settings for talented students. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools
Kathy Benson

Rounding Numbers - 3 views

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    Practice rounding whole numbers to the thousands. This quiz was difficult for fourth graders. Students needed to have scratch paper / mini-whiteboard on hand to work out the problems.
Martin Burrett

Tynker - 13 views

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    This is an online programming suite for kids. It closely resembles MIT's Scratch, but it has improved on a few features and striped away some others. One great feature is that students can sign on with a Google Apps for Education account. Plus, because it is made with HTML5 you can use it on most modern devices, including on Android tablets and iPads. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools
Martin Burrett

Looking Glass - 10 views

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    This is a superb site and download where you can make 3D animated cartoons by selecting your props, characters and locations and then use blocks to programme how things move and interact in a similar way to MIT's Scratch. You can upload your creations to the website to share. There are a set of challenges to try and you can even remix animations designed by other users. Discovered via @mberry http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Video%2C+animation%2C+film+%26+Webcams
Vicki Davis

OPINION: We Need Coding in Schools, but Where are the Teachers? | EdSurge News - 5 views

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    This is very true. Online tutorials can only get us so far. This is why I'm learning Scratch and brushing up on Java. I may even have to learn Python before I'm done. We need Computer Science but who will teach it? If we only rely on videos, it would be like asking kids to teach themselves math using Khan Academy without a teacher who knew how to work the problems. "The vast majority of my students do very well on their first hour or two of coding using structured lessons, but when they start to write code for a new problem, or hit the first set of bugs, they get frustrated and need help. Sometimes, all they need is a hint, a pointer to a similar problem, or my assurance that they can solve it. In some cases, they need someone to just re-explain it a little differently."
Gary Bertoia

learnscratch.org - About Us - 0 views

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    Great Scratch resource
John Evans

Field Guide to Firefox 3 - 0 views

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    We're done. Firefox 3 is going to be launched very soon. In anticipation of this long-awaited event, the folks in the Mozilla community have been writing extensively about the new and improved features you'll see in the browser. The new features cover the full range from huge and game-changing to ones so subtle you may not notice them until you realize that using Firefox is just somehow easier and better. The range of improved features is similar - whole back-end systems have been rebuilt from scratch, while other features have been tweaked slightly or redesigned in small ways. Overall the result is the fastest, safest, slimmest, and easiest to use version of Firefox yet. We hope you like it.
Vicki Davis

Computer Science Teachers Association - CSTA Research - 1 views

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    The new Computer Science survey is out from US high schools - the findings do not bode well for computer science: "the number of schools offering Advanced Placement Computer Science (AP CS) has declined significantly in the last six years. In 2005, 40 percent of respondents indicated AP CS was offered at their school. This number decreased to 32 percent in 2007 and to 27 percent in the 2009 survey. AP CS is in many cases the most rigorous course offered by schools. " I wonder how many programs are introducing programming concepts at other levels or using something like Scratch. Should Computer science just be defined as AP computer science?
Ben Rimes

Psykopaint - Create and paint amazing art from photos - 0 views

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    manupulate images sample using paints
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    Upload pictures or start from scratch and "paint" in the style of a famous artist. A fun way to spruce up your images, but also an interesting way for art educators to let students explore different styles using digital photographs.
Bill Campbell

RoboRally - 4 views

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    This might be good for introducing programming without needing to touch a computer. I've students who aren't initially engaged by jumping into programming with a computer even with something like Scratch. Maybe this is a way to get them in the correct mindset first. When I first found this, I hoped there might be program cards that required using loops or variables but from looking at the game rule book that does not appear to be the case.  It appears that movement is the only command types, which can result in automatic laser firing or bumping another robot. Still seems like a good game though.
Martin Burrett

WW1 Coding Project ideas - 1 views

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    8 Child-friendly coding projects with examples on Scratch
Martin Burrett

Looking Glass - 2 views

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    "This is a superb site and download where you can make 3D animated cartoons by selecting your props, characters and locations and then use blocks to programme how things move and interact in a similar way to MIT's Scratch. You can upload your creations to the website to share. There are a set of challenges to try and you can even remix animations designed by other users."
Martin Burrett

Thunkable - 1 views

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    "There are many mobile app creators out there. This one stands out because most features are free and it uses coding blocks to build the app you want without prior coding knowledge. Great for pupils to use who have been introduced to coding on Scratch."
Martin Burrett

UKEdTech Live Stream - Episode 02 - hosted by @ICTmagic - 1 views

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    This week's Recorded EdTech Live Stream, with interviews, reviews, resources, Scratch coding guide and more.
Vicki Davis

Girls Who Code - 6 views

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    As a mother of a daughter who is applying to Georgia Tech in Computer Science, this is important. My daughter's life was changed when I had her use Kodu in class, write a program and win an NCWIT award. She was on a panel with Sylvia Martinez at ISTE about encouraging more girls into STEM and really realized that she liked Computer Science and would at least try it as a major. She said until she saw people talk about it and realized she could code, she had no idea that it was something she could do and like. Girls who code is a group that works to encourage girls to enter computing fields.
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    Hi Vicki. It's been my experience that students (boys and girls) who are exposed to programming in elementary school and then have it as part of the school IT curriculum are far more likely to stay the course through to high school and beyond. Some of my best programmers at Middle School have been Gr. 6 girls, a few of whom continued on to complete AP level programming, undergrad and graduate work in Comp Sci. Papert's work with LOGO pointed the way, ALICE and Scratch are there to play. Just need to keep programming in the curriculum so that students (boys and girls) know that it's a valued academic skill and not just a preserve for hobbiests and tinkerers.
Bill Montana

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Lately, Coding - NYTimes.com - 4 views

  • Since December, 20,000 teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade have introduced coding lessons, according to Code.org, a group backed by the tech industry that offers free curriculums. In addition, some 30 school districts, including New York City and Chicago, have agreed to add coding classes in the fall, mainly in high schools but in lower grades, too. And policy makers in nine states have begun awarding the same credits for computer science classes that they do for basic math and science courses, rather than treating them as electives.
  • coding looks less like an extracurricular activity and more like a basic life skill, one that might someday lead to a great job or even instant riches.
  • But the momentum for early coding comes with caveats, too. It is not clear that teaching basic computer science in grade school will beget future jobs or foster broader creativity and logical thinking, as some champions of the movement are projecting. And particularly for younger children, Dr. Soloway said, the activity is more like a video game — better than simulated gunplay, but not likely to impart actual programming skills.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • “There’s a big demand for these skills in both the tech sector and across all sectors,” said Britt Neuhaus, the director of special projects at the office of innovation for New York City schools.
  • Then, in 2013, came Code.org, which borrowed basic Scratch ideas and aimed to spread the concept among schools and policy makers. Computer programming should be taught in every school, said Hadi Partovi, the founder of Code.org and a former executive at Microsoft. He called it as essential as “learning about gravity or molecules, electricity or photosynthesis.”
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    NYT article on coding movement, focusing on Mill Valley, CA. Coding should be taught in all schools.
Vicki Davis

ASCD - 0 views

  • first 60 seconds of your presentation is
    • Vicki Davis
       
      How many of us emphasize the first 60 seconds of a presentation students give?
  • Summers and other leaders from various companies were not necessarily complaining about young people's poor grammar, punctuation, or spelling—the things we spend so much time teaching and testing in our schools
  • the complaints I heard most frequently were about fuzzy thinking and young people not knowing how to write with a real voice.
  • ...35 more annotations...
  • Employees in the 21st century have to manage an astronomical amount of information daily.
  • There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren't prepared to process the information effectively it almost freezes them in their steps.”
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Buidling a PLN using an RSS Reader is ESSENTIAL to managing information. THis is part of what I teach and do and so important!
  • rapidly the information is changing.
  • half-life of knowledge in the humanities is 10 years, and in math and science, it's only two or three years
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Personal learning networks and RSS readers ARE a HUGE issue here. We need to be customing portals and helping students manage information.
  • “People who've learned to ask great questions and have learned to be inquisitive are the ones who move the fastest in our environment because they solve the biggest problems in ways that have the most impact on innovation.”
    • Vicki Davis
       
      How do we reward students who question teachers -- not their authority but WHAT They are teaching? Do we reward students who question? Who inquire? Who theorize? Or do we spit them out and punish them? I don't know... I'm questioning.
  • want unique products and services:
  • developing young people's capacities for imagination, creativity, and empathy will be increasingly important for maintaining the United States' competitive advantage in the future.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      IN a typical year, how often are your students asked to invent something from scratch?
  • The three look at one another blankly, and the student who has been doing all the speaking looks at me and shrugs.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      When teachers tell students WHY withouth making them investigate, then we are denying them a learning opportunity. STOP BEING THE SAGE ON THE STAGE!.
  • The test contains 80 multiple-choice questions related to the functions and branches of the federal government.
  • Let me tell you how to answer this one
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Drill and test is what we've made. Mindless robots is what we'll reap. What are we doing?
  • reading from her notes,
  • Each group will try to develop at least two different ways to solve this problem. After all the groups have finished, I'll randomly choose someone from each group who will write one of your proofs on the board, and I'll ask that person to explain the process your group used.”
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Every time I do a team project, the "random selection" is part of it. Randomly select -- classtools.net has a random name generator -- great tool - and it adds randomness to it.
  • a lesson in which students are learning a number of the seven survival skills while also mastering academic content?
  • students are given a complex, multi-step problem that is different from any they've seen in the past
  • how the group solved the problem, each student in every group is held accountable.
  • ncreasingly, there is only one curriculum: test prep. Of the hundreds of classes that I've observed in recent years, fewer than 1 in 20 were engaged in instruction designed to teach students to think instead of merely drilling for the test.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Not in my class, but in many classes - yes. I wonder how I'd teach differently if someone made me have a master "test" for my students at the end of the year. I'd be teaching to the test b/c I"m a type "A" driven to succeed kind of person. Beware what you measure lest that determine how you grow.
  • . It is working with colleagues to ensure that all students master the skills they need to succeed as lifelong learners, workers, and citizens.
  • I have yet to talk to a recent graduate, college teacher, community leader, or business leader who said that not knowing enough academic content was a problem.
  • critical thinking, communication skills, and collaboration.
  • seven survival skills every day, at every grade level, and in every class.
  • College and Work Readiness Assessment (www.cae.org)—that measure students' analytic-reasoning, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and writing skills.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Would like to look more at this test, however, also doing massive global collaborative projects requiring higher order thinking is something that is helpful, I think.
  • 2. Collaboration and Leadership
  • 3. Agility and Adaptability
  • Today's students need to master seven survival skills to thrive in the new world of work.
  • 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
  • 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information
  • 7. Curiosity and Imagination
  • I conducted research beginning with conversations with several hundred business, nonprofit, philanthropic, and education leaders. With a clearer picture of the skills young people need, I then set out to learn whether U.S. schools are teaching and testing the skills that matter most.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Background on the research done by Tony Wagner.
  • “First and foremost, I look for someone who asks good questions,” Parker responded. “We can teach them the technical stuff, but we can't teach them how to ask good questions—how to think.”
    • Vicki Davis
       
      This is a great aspect of project based learning. Although when we allow students to have individual research topics, some teachers are frustrated because they cannot "can" their approach (especially tough if the class sizes are TOO LARGE,) students in this environment CAN and MUST ask individualized questions. This is TOUGH to do as the students who haven't developed critical thinking skills, whether because their parents have done their tough work for them (like writing their papers) or teachers have always given answers because they couldn't stand to see the student struggle -- sometimes tough love means the teacher DOESN'T give the child the answer -- as long as they are encouraged just enough to keep them going.
  • “I want people who can engage in good discussion—who can look me in the eye and have a give and take. All of our work is done in teams. You have to know how to work well with other
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Last Saturday, my son met Bill Curry, a football coach and player that he respects. Just before meeting him, my husband reviewed with my son how to meet people. HE told my son, "Look the man in his eyes and let him know your hand is there!" After shaking his hand, as Mr. Curry was signing my son's book, he said, "That is quite a handshake, son, someone has taught you well." Yes -- shaking hands and looking a person in the eye are important and must be taught. This is an essential thing to come from parents AND teachers -- I teach this with my juniors and seniors when we write resumes.
  • how to engage customers
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Engagi ng customers requires that a person stops thinking about their own selfish needs and looks at things through the eyes of the customer!!! The classic issue in marketing is that people think they are marketing to themselves. This happens over and over. Role playing, virtual worlds, and many other experiences can give people a chance to look at things through the eyes of others. I see this happen on the Ning of our projects all the time.
  • the world of work has changed profoundly.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      Work has changed, school hasn't. In fact, I would argue that schools are more industrial age than ever with testing and manufacturing of common knowledge (which is often outdated by the time the test is given) at an all time high. Let them create!
  • Over and over, executives told me that the heart of critical thinking and problem solving is the ability to ask the right questions. As one senior executive from Dell said, “Yesterday's answers won't solve today's problems.”
    • Vicki Davis
       
      We give students our critical questions -- how often do we let them ask the questions.
  • I say to my employees, if you try five things and get all five of them right, you may be failing. If you try 10 things, and get eight of them right, you're a hero. You'll never be blamed for failing to reach a stretch goal, but you will be blamed for not trying.
    • Vicki Davis
       
      If our students get eight out of 10 right, they are a low "B" student. Do we have projects where students can experiement and fail without "ruining their lives." Can they venture out and try new, risky things?
  • risk aversion
    • Vicki Davis
       
      He says risk aversion is a problem in companies -- YES it is. Although upper management SAYS they want people willing to take risks -- from my experience in the corporate world, what they SAY and what they REWARD are two different things, just ask a wall street broker who took a risky investment and lost money.
Steve Madsen

PicoCricket - Invention kit that integrates art and technology - 0 views

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    Picocricket is aimed at primary schools, age 8 and up. From the same people who created Scratch. Combining Art & Robotics to spark Creative Thinking. Not free.
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    A PicoCricket is a tiny computer that can make things spin, light up, and play music. You can plug lights, motors, sensors, and other devices into a PicoCricket, then program them to react, interact, and communicate.
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