I will be presenting at iPad U which is an iPad professional development session hosted at the Grant Wood AEA in Iowa. This PD session will be keynoted by Kathy Schrock. This will be a two day session over integration of the iPad into the classroom. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to share how I utilized QR Codes and to assist in implementing a blended learning model in my daily math instruction. QR Codes were scanned to quickly direct students to videos. Upon completing the video, students took a quiz. After the quiz I used the Flubaroo script in Google Drive to instantly grade the results. This quickly highlighted which students would need some more support or extension. Furthermore, using this model I was able to free up more time to work one-on-one and in small groups more consistently and effectively.
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I was going through my blog list using Feedly and came across a post on Kevin's Meandering Mind. It was titled The Coding Video. I have embedded it below. I couldn't help but think how much of a connection there is between being literate in today's society as well as being literate with coding. Take a look at the graphic below that is from Gary's Social Media Count. I am not sure how much validity there is to the numbers but I think it paints a good picture for how digitally driven society is today. I also only let it run for 60 seconds. I am not trying to underscore teaching my first graders how to read but the coding video really made me think about the future. If society is dependent on computers should learning to code really be an overlooked skill in education. Teaching first grade, I know how much effort students and teachers must exhort to begin mastering the artful skill of reading our English language. The language where you have their, there and they're as well as a multitude of words that are nowhere near close to being phonetically spelled. I wonder if the logic and reasoning of learning to code would assist in a student's ability to decipher unknown words? Would their comprehension of text improve? I feel that inferring, cause/effect, and synthesizing to name a few would benefit from the critical thinking challenges encountered in learning to code. What do you think? Take the poll below to share your opinion on coding in elementary school. Resources for Learning to Code---iPad Resources for Learning to Code---Web Based Google Blockly A simple design to learn to program. Drag commands into order to build your application. Much like a puzzle where the commands will only fit where they will work. Snap Users put their jigsaw piece commands in order to build their application. Test your application at anytime to see the progress and then return to add or delete more commands. Very visual for assisting younger kids in learning to program. |
Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |