Hour of Code in Coloma Community Schools

This past week has been #CSEdWeek! The goal of the week is to bring awareness to schools across the country and the world that Computer Science is a field of study that our students can get into, learn, and easily land in a career. There are a bunch of resources and stats that support that statement. Including the current 600,000 unoccupied Computer Science jobs that are available in the United States with an average starting salary of $75,000. Check out the infographic below to learn more about the stats.

Needless to say, Tonya and I tried to get in as many classrooms as we could to talk to the students about Computer Science and allow them to try it out through Hour of Code. The discussion was that this is more than fun and games, but we are working on skills like computational thinking, problem-solving, and critical thinking. The students loved it. We hit all of CIS and parts of CES. We also had a Family Code Night for our K-5 families on Wednesday. We invited students to come in and show off what they could do to their parents. It was great.

The moral of this all is that, while it was computer science education week, we cannot limit this type of learning and action to one week a year. We need to explore ways that we can continue to raise awareness and inform our students that they can easily make a career in computer science that makes a decent living. If you want to do something with Computer Science in your class, let me know and we can set it up!

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Chromebook Shortcut of the Week - 10/14/2016

This weeks shortcut of the week is to help you project your Chromebook. Due to resolutions, your Chromebook will likely default to the “Extended Screen” mode. If they happens, you will see your desktop background on the screen upon plugging in your Chromebook (your Chromebook needs an HDMI connection, if you need a cable, I can get you one!). In order to change this, you will use the “Ctrl + Full Screen” button. This will quickly switch between the two modes, allowing you to switch back and forth. A quick word to the wise, the extended screen is usually to the right!

#GoOpen Michigan Reflection

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a REMC and MDE event on Open Educational Resources (OERs). This event was the launch of a new #GoOpen push within Michigan schools. While OERs have been a part of our school and an option, little has been done to truly push these into the classrooms. The #GoOpen Summit was put on to launch a new initiative in Michigan. Michigan will be launching a database of OERs created by and used by Michigan teachers. This is incredibly powerful. The beginnings of the site can be viewed on this MDE page . The biggest part of the website, something that has been missing from so many OER databases is the fact that these resources will be evaluated before publishing to ensure their openness and their quality. Some of the biggest takeaways from the event is the reminder that there is a significant difference between an Open Educational Resource and something that is free on the internet. The difference comes in the restrictions on use. Some resources, su...

App Highlight - Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a relatively new app from Google's Area 120. It is available on both the Android and iOS operating systems. In this app, you complete challenges through writing bits of JavaScript. I like to compare it to Duolingo, the popular language learning app. It is free and allows you to work on the puzzles at your own pace. This is a step up from the Blockly coding that has been popularized by Hour of Code and Code.org. The best part is, you get nearly instant feedback and multiple tries to master the material. While this will not get you a Silicon Valley coding job by itself, it will definitely start you down a path that allows you to start growing your coding skills. It is really worth checking out. Learn more at here .

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