PPS Instructional Technology

As many of you know, this is a special week in the edTech realm.  It is  Computer Science education week , which is often highlighted by the " Hour of Code ".  In order to cap off this special week, below are some great activities to engage your students in coding and build their love of computer science.   You may be saying, "I don't know anything about coding. Can I still participate?" Of course you can! For the most part, Hour of Code activities are self-guided. All you need to do is choose an activity and let your students create and learn. They have options for every age and experience-level, from kindergarten and up. Check out the wealth of resources on the  Hour of Code  website. Some of Jessica's top picks: Made w/ Code : This great site, brought to us by Google, was created to encourage young women to step into the world of computer science and coding.  Check out some amazing coding mentor videos and code some great beginne...

Computers are everywhere, changing every industry on the planet. It is up to us as educators to help prepare our students to meet the technology challenges of the future. If you've heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code. The Hour of Code 2017  is happening again this year, during Computer Science Education Week, December 4-10. What will your class do? You may be saying to yourself...I don't know anything about computer science, how can I teach my kids this? Good news? There are so many wonderful opportunities out there that are student directed, that you do not need to know ANYTHING about computer science in order to give your students this opportunity. Below are some excellent resources for getting your kids excited about CS! Hour of Code : The Hour of Code site from Code.org has many wonderful projects to get student started, including Minecraft , Star Wars , ​and Muana ! My current fa...

Computers are everywhere, changing every industry on the planet. It is up to us as educators to help prepare our students to meet the technology challenges of the future. If you've heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code. The Hour of Code 2016 is happening again this year, during Computer Science Education Week, December 5-11 .  What will your class do? You may be saying to yourself...I don't know anything about computer science, how can I teach my kids this?  Good news?  There are so many wonderful opportunities out there that are student directed, that you do not need to know ANYTHING about computer science in order to give your students this opportunity.  Below are some excellent resources for getting your kids excited about CS! Hour of Code : The Hour of Code site from Code.org has many wonderful projects to get student started, including Minecraft ! Code.org : Approp...

As many of you know , this week is  National Computer Science Week  which aligns with the  Hour of Code .  Students all over the country are joining together to learn, explore, and grow with code.  This is a fun opportunity to get our kids excited about a field that will have over 1 million job openings by 2022.  Some of our kiddos and teachers in PPS have already begun their hour of code experience! You may be saying to yourself...I don't know anything about computer science, how can I teach my kids this?  Good news?  There are so many wonderful opportunities out there that are student directed, that you do not need to know ANYTHING about computer science in order to give your students this opportunity.  Below are some excellent resources for getting your kids excited about CS! Code.org : Appropriate for Y5 through Middle School students.  Provides four self directed courses, along with many other outstanding activities inclu...

The Hour of Code 2015 is almost here! Last year several of our schools/classrooms participated...and I would love to see even more participate this year! Computers are everywhere, but fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago. Good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you've heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code. With the Hour of Code, computer science has been on homepages of Google, MSN, Yahoo! and Disney. Over 100 partners joined together to support this movement. Last year, every Apple Store in the world hosted an Hour of Code and even President Obama wrote his first line of code as part of the campaign. This year, let's make it even bigger. I’m asking you to join in for the Hour of Code 2015. Please get involved with an Hour of Code event during Computer Science Education Week, December 7-13. Get the word out. Host an event. Ask your school to sign up. You don...

Are you a Michigan educator looking for a way to engage your students with computer science, but not sure you have the computer know-how to lead a club?  Never fear...Google is here! The Michigan Film and Digital Media Office is partnering with Google to facilitate the Google Computer Science First Program for 4th -8th graders.  Any interested parties can fill out an application to be involved in this free program.  The program is scripted and laid out in a way that ANYONE can facilitate.  Computer Science First provides all the materials (except the computers/chromebooks). There are multiple paths/interest areas/clubs to choose from. According to the CS First Website, "Each CS First club is based on a real-world theme and offers about 10 hours worth of lessons and activities. The different club themes aim to attract and engage students of varying backgrounds and interests. All materials are targeted at students in 4th - 8th grades (or between the ages of 9...

In this PBS Cyberchase video , the CyberSquad must program a robot to rescue their friend and complete their mission. In order to get the robot to do what they want, they must program the robot so that it can follow their step-by-step directions.  This video really illustrates well the concept of needing to provide directions in the exact order you want the computer to do them.

Looking for a fun, simple project for Hour of Code week next week?  Why not get festive and code the lights on the Christmas Trees in Washington, D.C.  Check it out at: https://holidays.madewithcode.com/project/lights

Mark your calendars for the hour of code week!  Computer science is foundational for all students today. Yet 90% of schools don't teach it. Last December, 15 million students tried computer science in one week, thanks to educators like you! Since then, over 40 million students have tried the  Hour of Code . Please help this grassroots, teacher-driven campaign reach 100 million students by the end of the year.  Sign up  to participate in Hour of Code 2014 during December 8-14, Computer Science Education Week. I participated last year with my elementary students at St. Michael's.  I knew absolutely nothing about coding before we began.  Let's just say that my mind was blown!  The kids absolutely LOVE this stuff.  They learn to think critically, problem solve creatively, and provide exact step-by-step directions in order to accomplish a task.  The first day of class this year, the #1 question I got from my 2nd-5th graders was "Are we goin...

New K-5 Curriculum! Looking for a fun, engaging way to teach problem solving, collaboration, and STEM skills?  Check out the new Code.org K-5 curriculum.  From pre-readers to 5th grade, this free curriculum takes students through off line and online activities that are fun and engaging in order for them to learn the real world skill of basic coding.  The best part - as a teacher, you do not need to know ANYTHING about coding! Check it out at  http://code.org/educate/k5 They also offer an introduction course for K-8th grade and many other curriculum resources. Mark your calendars for the hour of code week!  Computer science is foundational for all students today. Yet 90% of schools don't teach it. Last December, 15 million students tried computer science in one week, thanks to educators like you! Since then, over 40 million students have tried the Hour of Code . Please help this grassroots, teacher-driven campaign reach 100 million students by th...