I am looking forward to the October PD session. Although I remember a lot of what I did over the summer, I do not feel as confident as I did in July.
I have learned a great deal since I am brand new to coding. I am certain that this will teach my students how to slow down and think logically. I am hoping to implement Module 1, and the ecosystem module. I would also love to play in my spare time to develop a DNA model.
In teaching Technology Education the students apply a lot of Physical Science principals (Aerodynamics, Newtonās Laws of Motion). I am looking for ways to use Star Nova to simulate the affects of Aerodynamics on the different shapes of a co2 dragster. Anyone who have any suggestions please reply to this post. I would love to see your ideas. Thanks!
I would like to see more the modules, even in a brief overview. It would be helpful to see the scope of the possibilities available using the software.
I feel that I have learned a lot in my PD, and that I have developed confidence. I gave up on the hour of code when the code became difficult last year because I didnāt feel that I could think though the difficulties. Now, I am thinking through problems and trying to āthink like the computerā to work my way through coding the agents in my simulations. YaY!
I am excited that coding is not as difficult as I thought it would be. I was expecting to have to learn almost a foreign language. The drag and drop boxes make coding easy to do. Iām looking forward to spending more time playing around and getting to better understand what the commands do and which drawer they are in.
It excites me to use this program, which is so tailored to middle school. I think my students will be really engaged with it, and love the idea of introducing them to coding early on in their education. I believe id like to implement module 1 in the beginning of the year, and need to review the module to adapt it to my timing and studentās needs. After that, Iād like to be able to provide opportunities for students to work with slnova on their on until I complete Module 2, later on in the year. I need to read through the water pump module, and learn it myself before attempting to teach it.
I have learned the basics to introducing my students to the slnova.org interface and the basics of programming logic. I would still like to understand more about how to develop CAS models with large data sets, especially large data sets that are publicly available.
I am so excited to use this in my classroom because it is so radically different from what my students will be expecting English class to be. Moreover, it will practice critical areas in which students often need remediation, like sequencing and syntax, in ways that are student driven (and thus far more effective).
An element of teaching CS that I would like to further develop is really simply confidence. I am certain this will come as I practice on my own, and break the ice on these modules with the kids!
I am still learning the blocks but am getting better with practice. I am looking forward to the in-person professional developments to work on some of the other activities. I would like to see more examples of code with an explanation. I am looking forward to doing this with my students.
I am also brand new to coding. The in-person PDs were incredibly helpful. I am looking forward to doing this with my students. I like your idea of the DNA model.
Thank you, Leann. I recently completed my first āhour of codeā by doing the āclassic mazeā. This is designed for students, but I found it enjoyable and informative. The remediation helped me solidify what we had learned in Project GUTs in -person PD. Iāmm playing around at this point to gain confidence before diving into creating my DNA model. I hope youāll keep in touch.
At this point, I feel comfortable guiding students through the tutorial, and through the ecology model lesson. I will need to be careful to ensure that all of my blocks of code are in order and filled in properly. Obviously I will need to go back through each lesson several times to make sure that I fully understand how to complete each coding exercise properly, and to figure out the most common mistakes that can be made, as well as how to fix them. I am excited to allow students to create their own simulations and models. As long as things go well in the aforementioned lessons, I would like to allow students to follow the scientific method to create an investigation that they model using coding. I am still struggling with some of the coding blocksāthe detection blocks were difficult for me at the training sessions. I was able to complete the lesson, but with much help from my colleague. I still feel like I leaned heavily on looking at other elements of the code from different agents in order to ācreateā code for a new breed. This strategy will work for the lesson where students modify, but if I am going to be able to move ahead to create your own code part of my plan, I will need to understand how to create code without looking at other agentsā codes.
I agree as well. I have learned much but I have alot to still review and master.
I am excited to try coding in my classes. I think the student will think itās a ton of fun to work with; and being able use coding with module 3 by creating an ecosystem simulation that the students can observe, manipulate, and use to come up with their own conclusions is a fantastic way to supplement what we will learn in classā¦ Coding makes this an extension to the curriculum that is relevant and it is important to demonstrate the way science is being studied in the 21st century through the use of technology.
Although I feel like I need a LOT more practice to feel comfortable with coding, I think the students will pick up on the process pretty quickly. My son, who has been exposed to coding through his Lego robotics class, has even offered to help me when I get stuck. While that is an offer I will probably take him up on, I still want to better understand the coding steps we have been working on in starlogonova so that I am better prepared when I begin introducing coding to my classes.
I have a good general understanding of Star Logo and tools, however it will take time for me to master them. I think improvement at code.org can be achieved through improved clear communication. I am excited about implementing this in my classroom as I believe students will enjoy and learn from it.
That is a great idea!!
I totally agree with you!
A lot was learned regarding the program and feel comfortable with the simple items. I can duplicate tasks but creating a vaccine was like āyeah, right.ā It was helpful to be told to read the code created like a sentence to see if it made sense. When you did it became evident where the holes were in your code. It was great to have a simulation to show the students perhaps after having actually done a model of rabbits and coyotes in the āfieldā to show them what they just did otherwise they think they just played tag in the parking lot.
I found StarLogo to be extremely confusing the first day I tried it, even though we started with Module 1 and worked our way through. I turned to code.orgās student courses and worked my way through those. It really, really helped me! I find the games really fun and engaging. Iām going to allow my students to do course 2 as enrichment (when theyāre done with their work, homework, etc) so that theyāre learning and having fun simultaneously! Iām going to try Module 3 on ecosystems once we are done with ecology at the end of the school year, when I can try it out on a large scale and allowing the kids time to play around with coding on their own. Once we are all comfortable, Iāll try incorporating the module into my actual ecology unit next year.