Students really enjoy the coding and simulating, but there are only so many lessons where they can create their own coding to modify/manipulate. Wish we were taught more ideas to share with the students.
Many asked about the other project types, which I said I never created with and would love to see what they could do with it. Had about a handle send me their projects they created with 1st person.
m pretty sure that I will be able to implement the program. My students are really up for it.
Since the initial training in July, I have not really looked at my coding until this past week. Much of what I learned has come back to me, but I look forward to the next class in October as a refresher and extended of my knowledge. That will make me a better facilitator to my students. Since I will be using this with my Honors classes this year, they will probably very quickly surpass my knowledge of coding and teach me some things.
I am currently wondering what kind of problems I might run into with the students. I need to practice more on my own-I am thinking of having some students help with the practicing, this way I might have some experts in each class.
Since I am rolling out Algebra as well, I think I am going to Roll out Module 1 in late spring to my 6-8 graders. For my own knowlege and pacing during instruction, I plan to modify the existing PowerPoints to meet my needs. The roll out of Modules 2-4 will occur next fall, which gives me more time in the summer to play with the coding and truly understand the modules. While the online practice has been beneficial, I personally need more time with StarLogo Novo and may actually attend the summer training again as a refresher, if I am allowed to do so.
I implemented this plan this winter. It went well and I look forward to tweaking it and using it next year.
In addition to the suggestions shared here I need to be flexible and remember this is for the student and not for me the teacher. I will take notes on how each assignment and identify any issues that arise. I will also continue to network with other professional.
I believe that I am prepared to share with the science department at my school about this modeling software. From there, I will offer my collaborative services to teachers to see if they would like to partner to prepare their curriculum model and decide what they would like to accomplish and their time line involved.
Are there any areas where you feel completely ready and confident? I am confident with the coding that i have learned so far.
Are there any areas where you could use more time and experience? I am unsure about little hiccups that might occur or questions that I will not be able to answer for my students if they are too advanced.
Is there anywhere that you could use extra help from Code.org? If I have a specific questions I would just e-mail or look on the forums.
I agree with you. My biggest fear is that I will attempt to implement this and discover that I don’t have the skill to address concerns or technological issues as they arise.
I realized that I need a lot more time to work out the time management required both to fit this into my curriculum but also time to develop my own understanding of coding and how to effectively teach this to my students. What am I actually teaching them? What do I need to model? How do I make sure that they are learning the physics concepts, and not just the very basics of coding? How do I get them to move on beyond the basics? How can I make this into a CAS experience?
I am interested to see what my students come up with as well. I think that since they will have ownership over their own project they will quickly see what unique aspects they can develop (especially in an honors class!) without waiting for me to “teach” them.
I feel fairly confident with the coding, and know that I will learn just as quickly as my students. I actually look forward to having them figure things out and teach me! I don’t feel confident on the timing of how I will teach the modules. I’d like to start module 1 early on in the year, but I’d like to break it into mini lessons and have opportunities for students to explore more on their own as part of a choice board I use in my room for students with extra time. I’d really like to see models or debugging challenges that focus on different topics throughout the year. I found a few others by searching for GUTS and I’m excited for open opportunites for students to explore throughout the year.
I feel confident in being able to introduce and guide my students as they learn the coding skills. I have a general idea of how the basic commands work and feel I could explain them to my students. I’m looking forward to having something that my students truly have to figure out on their own because I won’t have all the answers. Unlike some of the information students learn in school, coding is a skill students will be able to immediately use and can see how it will connect to their daily lives both now and in the future.
I feel like I need more experience with debugging programs and figuring out why something is not working. I also feel like I’m not sure how long it will take for my students to complete the modules so I need to really plan when to insert coding into my curriculum.
I feel really good about the basic program navigation and knowing how to recreate the code for one breed to create and operate another. I can make the widgets and graphs fairly easily. I think the students will actually push me into this more than anything I do on my own. They will probably find this much easier than me and detect short cuts and ways to process that I am unable to come up with. I am willing to learn right along with them.
I feel confident in doing the coding for the lessons, however I could use more time to learn the blocks better. I would like to be quicker in completing my programming. I have observed another teacher doing this program and I am looking forward to my students jumping into coding. My other concern is access to student computers and adequate Internet bandwidth.
I am also looking forward to learning with my students. I think they will be engaged and challenged.
I feel confident in teaching students how to use the basic features of SLNova, and in my ability to help them figure out what mistakes they might make. I would like more experience in using many of the blocks of code that we have not covered in the tutorial or at the professional development seminars. I think that I can figure most of them out by using the book and/or by playing around with these features. My fear is that a student will ask me, “What does this code do?”, and I won’t be able to answer or find an answer. One of planned activities is to allow students to create their own model or simulation (after modifying one that has already been created), and I fear that they will not be able to figure out how to “undo” something that they have added to their code.
I also like the idea of allowing students to figure their codes out on their own. However, like you I fear that neither students nor I will be able to debug any issue with their programs. Figuring out where to add a new lesson or activity is always difficult, as time is always short in supply. Sometimes it is best to replace another activity–even that one that you really like, have used for years, and always works–with a new one like this. Remember: Fortune favors the bold.
I am confident that I can get underway introducing the platform to students; lesson planning will take time though and I will need to improve my understanding of all platform features. Quick and simple communication with Code.org would be optimal.