Final Reflection EDU 777 99

     Going through the steps of the Proposal Process has been helpful in my current role of Instructional Technology Specialist: Brainstorming, Assessing the Need, Research, Strategic Plan, and Pilot and Peer Review. I realize that for the purpose and time span of this class the pilot could not truly go in depth, but its important for me to remember that the information generated in the piloting and peer review phases are instrumental in the process of successful technology adoption. A positive aspect of the journey through the Proposal Process was discussing this idea with a variety of colleagues and also hearing their thoughts about what kinds of technology they would like our school to invest in. Yes, I am still excited at the thought of 3rd and 4th grade students having access to laptops for more advanced coding projects!

     Understanding the roles of Learning Specialist and Instructional Designer are key to being an effective Technology Specialist.  Reading and watching videos about learning theories, SAMR, learning styles and differentiation is always a good review. It was useful for me to consider models such as SAMR, TPAK, or ADDIE while planning professional development. And although the Socratic Seminar model was not new to me, I had never before looked at the elements of this model and thought about how technology could enhance certain aspects. It’s also stimulating when we are given choices as students to use any technology tool we want, I invariably learn about new tools like Adobe Spark and Emaze and how teachers and specialists are using them. I appreciate choice being modeled like this! 

Stay Frosty, Coders!

             Coding 774 has been a rich experience. First, I absolutely love how our instructor Pat Kelly (fond of saying, "Stay Frosty Coders!") introduces a new coding project with a short, explanatory video. Seeing an example of the end result of the program, and watching him code the start of the project, explaining pertinent loops, functions, etc.,  has been invaluable. It also was so helpful to have a good chunk of the code provided as a starting off point. In the case of Python it took the pressure off to have a generous portion of code already started in the editor when diving into a new project. I plan to use this technique going forward. 

              I’m also thrilled to have learned some beginning Python. I would like to continue learning how to code in Python. I might take a Khan Academy class on this topic. I would have liked it if we could have done a few projects in Swift, too! 

             Finally, I also am walking away with many more ideas about how to integrate coding into the curriculum. Scratch for Educators is a wonderful resource for ideas and support. I’m also happy to know that our class will be sharing coding experiences with the hashtag #domcode774 on Twitter.  There are countless, dynamic ways for students to creatively share what they have learned with coding. Looking ahead, so many teachers worked along side their class during Computer Science Week’s hour of code. It might be worthwhile to offer a forum to both kids and teachers who want to work on coding during lunch or after school periodically. 

Midway Reflections: Learning Theories & Instructional Designs

     I welcome the opportunity to reflect at the mid-point journey through Dominican University’s EDU 777/LIS 734 Learning Theories and Instructional Designs. I was most looking forward to engaging in the process of the technology proposal. Since we are a small district, we don’t always have formal or elaborate structures in place for making large tech purchases. In an effort to solicit more input from faculty, we created the Technology Committee which meets monthly. But its been helpful thus far to experience a thoughtful process for technology adoption; brainstorming, conducting a needs assessment, and looking for current research regarding the proposal topic. I have encountered a number of people in my district who would love to see my hypothetical proposal, a cart of laptops for each K-4 building for coding purposes, come to fruition. I am still enthusiastic about my proposal! It has been a rich experience to take this course simultaneously with Coding for Educators. 

     It’s also been a good review to read through learning theories once again and consider them through the lens of technology integration. Being a knowledgeable instructional designer is at the core of successful technology integration. Some feel that in the future there will not be a technology specialist role, but rather instructional specialists will be adept at implementing technology where needed to enhance student growth and learning. 

                             
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Adventures in Tech Integration: Coding in Kindergarten

     A big thank you to the ISTE Coaches Group, who have been encouraging Technology Integration Specialists not only to blog regularly, but also to read and comment on our fellow colleagues’ blogs. 

    Today I am writing about combining Sight Words and Coding in Kindergarten. Both of our Kindergarten teachers taught in 1st grade last year. They are familiar with Bee-bots and wanted to use them in their Kindergarten classrooms. Bee-bots are small, user friendly robots that can be programmed using arrow keys. We talked  about possibly using math problems with the Beebots, but decided to begin with sight words for this first session.

     Our ever helpful  building engineer cut display boards in half for us (yes, it takes a village!). I drew a grid on each board with a black marker and cut and pasted enlarged sight words on random squares. We also provided an audio option for those needing or wanting the challenge of only hearing the word and then finding it on the board. We linked a Chatter Pix, see sample below, to a QR code. This could be a fun buddy activity if you are paired with an older classroom and then the teacher would have a ChatterPix for each vocabulary or sight word made already.  

However, for this first time, we decided scanning QR codes with an iPad to hear the word was a bit much in conjunction with the coding steps. Later in the school year we can incorporate this for differentiation. At the start of the year, just  writing the sight words down on index cards for K students to select is fine. 

    After a brief whole class overview, students work in groups of four or five and take turns with jobs—one student selecting a word from the pile of cards, one finding the word on the board, another laying out the directional arrows next to board to get to the designated word, one who programs the robot to move, and if you do have five in a group, one can be the “fixer.” If the sequence isn’t working, then the fixer adjusts the steps and tries it again. If time permits, a whole class wrap-up is helpful for allowing children to share and synthesize what they have learned. Besides reinforcing sight words and learning the basics of coding, students are also learning how to work together. 

     In first grade last year teachers used the Bee-bots in social studies, navigating to places in the community using pictures of the post office, hospital, train station, etc. on the board as well as using prepositions like over, under, between, next to in the direction cards. There are many curricular possibilities. Go to Twitter and do a search for Bee-bot for further inspiration! I would love to hear what other Coding activities you do for primary students as well. Thanks so much for stopping by. 😁