Information Technology Education

Now that my students have had some great experiences with Scratch through debugging, creating debug-its and games, I thought it was time for them to have some authentic experiences connected to what computer programmers may do in the 'real-world.'  I immediately thought of how in any design field, be it architecture or software, the designer must create with the client's needs in mind.  These are the constraints, so to speak.  In other words, a house in the Philippines will have different features than a house in Seattle, Washington even though similar tools may be used to build and design both homes.  The same thing with programming.  The finished product will be very different, depending on the what the client or use wants and needs.  I had my students design something for a kindergarten teacher in my district.  She requested that they create an animation of a popular children's book in time for Halloween (note: real-world = timeframes and real deadl...

I was searching for resources to teach computer science just over a month ago and came across this site - Google CSFirst.  Not really knowing what it was, I went ahead and registered my school and myself...as an advocate, volunteer and guru...all at the same time.  All I know is that I will do anything to inspire my students to grow and learn in all areas, but in particular, those with a STEM focus.  It turns out that Google CSFirst, with its club framework as a way to introduce 4th -8th grade students to coding and computer science, is a fantastic way to do just this. I then go ahead and order a loaner set of headphones along with the peripheral materials offered on the site.  Within a week or two, my materials arrived and I was so impressed!  The support that Google CSFirst has provided along the way to implementation has been tremendous. There were student passports, sticker-badges, detailed scripted directions, certificates of completion and even post-it not...

This school year has brought new and interesting experiences.  I have been piloting new initiatives such as Google CS-First and ASU's STEAM Machines Club, both made possible due to generous support and a grant.  More on the STEAM Machines Club later. As a recent assignment, I asked my middle school students to work on a debug-it challenge: Scratch Debug-it Checklist: ___/3_ I have completed at least 3 Scratch Debug-its from 'Scratch,' ‘Superwhy’ and/or ‘Mak’s Debuggers’ studios. ___/1__  I have created one debug-it challenge. ____/1_  At least one other student has solved my debug-it. _____  I have posted my debug-it challenge to ‘Mak’s Debuggers.’ ____/10_ I have completed a reflection on my Scratch debugging experience that includes: -what was challenging about debugging -what was interesting about debugging -lessons you learned about debugging -how debugging relates to coding -any additional ideas or inspiration What made this experience interesting...