I felt pressed for time in order to complete this PD – especially since it’s the beginning of the school year; however, I’m glad we had to do this so that I could review what we learned over the summer and try to keep everything fresh in my head as well as being able to really try to implement.
I will need to take the time to become comfortable with the modules that I am planning to implement.
I agree! It would help me to look at something and decompose it. I am still confused on logic and sliders as well. Wasn’t abel to implement them into my project. The idea of having them create a game is a GREAT hook for them that I think would really get them excited to move on to more project related items in the classroom.
I still need time time time to work on this. I am excited to use this with other teachers, but don’t feel confident enough in my own knowledge to be able to assist. The summer PD was really good, but since leaving the session and starting the school year, I have not been as diligent in keeping up with this as needed and have lost much of what I learned this summer. I really need to master the drawers. I have been to staff developments in the past where the facilitator fumbles with the content and that is very frustrating to me as a learner. I will remember the fumbling, but not remember what the proper procedure was that was to be demonstrated. I feel I am at this stage right now and need more time to confidently assist teachers/students so as not to confuse them and derail their progress in completing modules. I understand that we are not to be seen as the “sage on the stage”, but at this point, although I feel relatively confident in the very beginning stages of this program, I would need much more time to work through situations to be totally confident in implementing this with teachers. I know it will come, it is “simply” a matter of time.
I feel like I’ve learned so much and yet still have so much left to learn. I was a true coding newbie, never even having attempted any sort of coding before this program. I consider myself pretty facile with computers but this was really new and different and I am completely hooked! I find when I sit down to work on it, an hour or two pass by without me realizing it. However, that couples with the frustration when slnova seems to be not working or my code is missing something and I’m not sure what. All that aside, I’m excited to use this with my classes, especially just introducing some of the theory behind what coding is and why it works (or doesn’t work). In terms of the upcoming PD, the most beneficial thing would be additional practice with a model I did not work with during previous PD. Both some direction instruction in set-up and guidance towards things that are already set and can be manipulated, or programs that we can view that work as they are supposed to. The ability to actually work on slnova.org is critical. My partner and I experienced a lot of frustration the second day because of difficulties with the program working on the PC. I didn’t encounter similar difficulties with my Mac, but every once in a while slnova seems to just reset. Time during PD to work on the implementation plan might also be useful.
I have learned that building computers models does help with understanding the science content.
I’ve learned so much this summer and I am excited for implementation in January!
I think what I said in the last forum post I made still applies to this one. I think this course was a great experience, but it’s really just a matter of putting in the time to become great at the coding, in order to be a master teacher of it. I’ve spent years, and thus thousands of hours, to become a decent science teacher, and master of the content I teach. I think it’s a bit naïve to think that a whiz-bang course in computer science is somehow going to make anyone a master teacher of computer programming. From some of the comments I’ve read, there seems to be some general frustration about the coding. Well, what everyone needs to realize is that this is only the beginning. Everything takes time and work, especially something as complex as computer programming. So, at least for me, I know that I’m going to need more practice to become great at coding, but it is a challenge that I’ll be willing to put in the time and effort to achieve.
I feel that I’ve learned a lot in a short period of time. I am confident that I will be able to create an engaging experience in an after school program with the goal of developing an in school curriculum. Right now I just need to get more practice and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues and my students to explore the possibilities of this program.
I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I have been able to remember from the in-person training. I’m still nervous about being able to help students figure out the problems they encounter, but am comforted by the fact that my 15-year old daughter, who just happened to be sitting next to me, was immediately able to spot a problem in my code that I couldn’t find. Hopefully my students will be as observant. In terms of PD, I’m sure I’ll have suggestions once I start working wit
At this moment I am trying to figure out a way to provide my students with the curriculum the state wants them to know and to add the CODE curriculum on top of that.
I enjoyed the summer training and was really impressed at all I was able to do by the end of the three day training.
I agree. You should know that the more you use it, the easier it will get. You will gain more confidence. Play with it and enjoy it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
I agree with this too! The online portion was the most challenging due to lack of assistance when stuck with a question or problem with loading, etc.
This second online part of Phase 2 was a nice review of what we learned during the In-person Workshop. I am still not confident with coding as I think I should be to teach it. So, what I need to do is practice and experiment with StarLogo Nova more. I am excited to teach it, to see how the students will react to the program. I think the students will have fun and enjoy learning to code.
I’m excited to use this as another tool to excite students about science. I think they are going to love it. I need to work on my own competence and practice so hopefully I can answer their questions as they work through the module.
I am still trying to figure this out, Sometimes the blocks I put together don’t work the way I want them to. I need to find the time to work on this and find a place in my lesson plans to implement this. I am very excited about this program and I’m sure that my students will understand it faster than I.
I agree with many of the above posts in that I have found the explanations in the manual rather vague. Also, I find the manual difficult to navigate. I would like an index or table of contents to help me find help about specific blocks. Also, if the list of drawers was color coded like the pieces, that would be great. Overall, I have really enjoyed this opportunity and look forward to introducing it to my students. I have a few students who code already with either a parent’s help or on their own and I’m looking forward to exposing all students to this. And most of all, I need TIME to practice.
I’m really excited to integrate coding into my content class. I’m not completely sure how I will present this to my kids because even for me it is quite overwhelming. Plus, it’s been awhile since the in person PD and since I’ve really practiced the coding, so I need to set aside time to work through the coding experience again.
I’m really excited to continue learning about SLNova and exploring with what can be done. I’m also excited to see what my students come up with in their projects. I am a bit nervous that my students will run into problems that I cannot fix, but it will be a good challenge. Working with code.org has really gotten me fired up about learning to code in my free time outside of school as well.
I really enjoyed the PD presenters and the tidbits of how they implement in the classroom. I will use their knowledge to guide my preparation. However, the best way to learn is to practice and thus until I actually work with the students then I will know where my real weaknesses lie… Sure hope that the students help by teaching each other…
I am not going to try to memorize the drawers or anything, but I will need to make note of how to use each code block. From the CS team I will like to get information on ALL the possible ways to use each block for later use.
Ditto. I think it will just take a lot of practice/experimentation.