Very true. I liked the Use, Modify, Create approach whereby you first create a simulation and have them understand; then they modify one before creating their own. We have to accept some hiccups in the beginning however I think it will get a lot easier over time as code is limited.
After completing the Implementation planning form and having time to reflect on the actual plan, I believe time is the greatest influencing factor to the success of the project at my school site.
I feel as though I am ready, but just nervous about the unknowns that I know will pop up as we navigate through the process.
Our team discussed using the Ecosystems model as a demo on the smart board as testing wraps up. Next year this content will be at the start of the year so time for learning the code may not be available. So a demo will be best. When using sliders, the students to modify the starting numbers and see what happens to the population when the predator/prey numbers are changed and record the data, look for trends in the graph, etc.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15a3sO9Fm1KOLxC4b02sSKaqY11xs6mZfuPK3JT2wbWY/edit
I am confident with my ability to complete the coding myself, but I am nervous about meeting the needs of all of my students. I really want to make the implementation of CS in my classroom meaningful and thoughtful and I am nervous about making sure that I do that. I have a lot of support at school, so I think that it will work out fine!
My school is fortunate to be 1:1 with Chromebooks so thankfully we donāt have to worry about gaining access to technology. However, I worry about the amount of time that it will take to teach my students to code. They are coming to me with no known prior experience. Perhaps the best I could hope for at first is giving them a program and challenging them to āplay with itā and see how they can manipulate it. If our students had a class in programming then we could work cooperatively with that class to create great things and apply the science.
I should be in good shape as far as available laptops and technical support within the building. This is going to take place with about 15 or 16 students for 25 minutes or so per day, 4 days a week. Probably there will be 3 sessions, each session lasting about 9 weeks. This will be one of several classes students can sign up for, so hopefully only interested students will be in the room, which should make things better than if students were randomly assigned. I plan on covering the activities we learned this summer, and that means I have to get back to practicing so I can be a more competent and confident instructor.
Hopefully there will be the occasional student who actually does have some prior experience, or at least picks it up fast. Iām sure hoping that is the case so those savvy students can help out and keep things moving along!
I am feeling a little uncomfortable because I am new to coding. My plan is to work closely with my ITRT. She and i have a good relationship and she also runs the coders club at our school. I think she will be a valuable resource. I also think that all of you in the learning community will be valuable resources as well. I hope that we can all help one another to learn and teach CODE. i do find it very addicting!
I agree with most everyoneās posts that I have read below. I donāt feel confident in the coding program myself, but I know my students will pick it up better than I did. My struggle is where to fit this in our science curriculum. I donāt feel I have the time to give in my limited science period to allow for the type of discovery I would like to happen. I am conflicted because I know the students will LOVE it, but I donāt want to brush over things too quickly so that they donāt have the foundation to complete the modules. At this point I donāt feel completely ready or confident about anything and I am not even sure if I will try to implement this in my classroom this year. I could definitely use more time and experience learning the program and practicing on SL Nova, which is why I wish the PD was longer and more comprehensive. I could use more training.
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I am confident in my ability to convey the content to my students.
I am sure I could use more time and experience to further master the use of starlogo nova, but I feel I have a good enough grasp to be successful in the instructional component.
I canāt think of anywhere I need more help at this time.
I actually felt confident and knowledgeable after taking the summer course.
I feel confident about knowing where to make things happen, like the world, or with whatever breed I am working with. I could use more time truing to learn the function of the drawers. I donāt think Iām an expert, but I do believe with continued use, I will grow.
Are there any areas where you feel completely ready and confident?
I feel like I have been provided an excellent resource and great training, I am really excited to incorporate computer science into my curriculum and I think it will add a lot to the kidsā learning experience.
Are there any areas where you could use more time and experience?
I am just not totally confident that I have the knowledge to help problem solve when students come across issues, not necessarily with the coding, just when star logo nova acts weird or something.Also with all of the changes happening at our site and with our science curriculum this year I am hesitant to try to add more changes or guess where I will have the time to make it fit considering I havenāt run through this content in practice yet.
Is there anywhere that you could use extra help from Code.org? Maybe just videos that help guide the non-computer activities for the teacher? Like things to point out to the students and discuss in the hands on activities. Maybe model the hands on activities in a video and have a link. I think this would be more a request for GUTS than code.org though.
It has been a wonderful experience!
I am very confident delivering the direct instruction and activities for the Water as a Shared Resource module. I am going to have to spend extra practice time of the implementation of the computer science aspect. Many of my students are technological savvy and I am not too proud to learn from my students.
What did you realize while you were completing your implementation document?
That I actually have it more figured out than I thought I did.
Are there any areas where you feel completely ready and confident?
My admin got me a class set of chromebooks, so Iām ready that way and I am not afraid to learn along with my students. I understand that it takes time and practice so I am confident that I can relay and model that message.
Are there any areas where you could use more time and experience?
I could definitely use more time and experience with the program itself.
Is there anywhere that you could use extra help from Code.org?
It would be great to have some sort of regular online PD that will keep me practicing and up to date on all of the techy awesomeness!
What did you realize while you were completing your implementation document?
There are a lot of aspects of the program I had not considered.
Are there any areas where you feel completely ready and confident?
No! My confidence usually comes as I am teaching the lesson and can prove to myself that I actually do know the information!
Are there any areas where you could use more time and experience?
Understanding Star LogoNova and how to critically think through the process of putting together a project.
Is there anywhere that you could use extra help from Code.org?
I would love to know more about how to use Star LogoNova in different contexts to create more projects on diverse subjects.
I do feel the same about confidence. I am hoping to feel more confident as I teach the lessons. Good luck to you.
I too, feel somewhat prepared and anxious to see how students respond to this course. My main concerns are:
- A lack of time to fully prepare myself for what may lie ahead.
- The lack of computer resources at my school. I may only have a cart of 25 computers for one or two days each week. I hope to have the continuity of the lessons from day to day so my students can enjoy progress.
- I would like to have another trained teacher in the classroom with me who has done this before to increase my confidence, student engagement and to assist students.
Iāll hope that soon after September 5th, I can get going with my students. I havenāt told them yet!
As i continued working on some of my modules today i realized that i need a lot more practice to feel comfortable teaching these lessons. maybe it will all start making more sense once i actually start teaching it because we will be going at a much slower pace than we did during our own summer training. I feel confident in the beginning of module 1. as soon as we start talking about the ārandomā function, i feel a little less ready to explaining that section. Iām not sure what type of help i could receive from code.org. maybe if i have questions, it would be nice to have a help desk available to ask questions.
I am doing this as an informal educator, so for me how I will use this will be very different from a formal classroom instructor. I really would like to come up with more bite-sized ways to introduce and do coding because that is the setting that Iām dealing with, but I know that isnāt the main target audience of this training.
Another aspect of my job is doing teacher professional development though, and I wish I could get an idea of how to best support teachers in implementing coding in the classroom.