Information Technology Education

My students have been working on a project-based learning module based on Shark Tank.  It's provided an unparalleled opportunity for them to integrate so many skills and concepts that span the academic and interpersonal spheres.  Each company had to sign a group contract and submit individual "applications" for positions within their company - pitch perfecter, CEO, tech guru, designer.  Here are some of the highlights that show integration of purposeful and relevant use of technology alongside standards for teaching and learning: Each company is creating a website for their business that displays their original logo, designed using Google draw or another graphic design tool of their choice. Each company was required to do market research prior to selecting their product to prototype.  How did they do this?  By pitching their top three ideas in a Youtube video which they then put into a Google form.  After this, they shared the link to their video with me an...

Chrome Music Lab is a fun, hands-on way to explore rhythm, music, art and more.  The most fascinating thing to me about it was the story behind its creation - a collaboration of programmers and musicians paired with the unparalleled accessibility of both the actual music lab and code so that more creating can take place. So, here it is, my middle school students exploring and experimenting with the lab. Here's an experimental band... Here's the oscillator feature... Now that they had time to experiment, I began to think about next steps.  The music lab reminded me in many ways of things that I have students do in Scratch, so I created a studio in Scratch where they can put in their own music lab creations...random colors while notes play and so on.  They can create their own Kadinsky or Picasso music lab for that matter! I was also reminded of Ted-Ed Lessons and the many interactive and informative lessons there.  Here are a few that go right along with the music la...

This week's video on America's Greatest Makers available  her e showcased three makers who are revolutionizing basketball, music and art. 1)   ShotTracker  allows basketball players to track their own shot/score stats from anywhere in the court.  Players use the bluetooth and sensor enabled app-integrated innovation to collect valuable real-time data. Before I even played the first part of this week's video to my students, we started with a class talk about how they track their basketball data.  They all said that their coaches or parents do it by tracking their shots and successful shots with paper and pencil on a clipboard. I then asked them to brainstorm answers to the following questions: What could you invent to track your basketball shots?  How could you integrate technology to come up with a way to track your basketball shooting data? It was amazing to hear their responses! As a class, they came up with the same idea as the ShotTracker.  One stu...

Virtual reality (VR) is on the verge of gaining a foothold in schools thanks to affordable viewers like Google Cardboard . And with more VR apps appearing every day, it’s likely that immersive VR expeditions will eventually become an engaging way for students to explore everything from historical landmarks, distant planets, oceanic locations to the human body. But VR can go beyond passive viewing. One way to take VR to the next level is to give students the opportunity to curate, produce and create their own expeditions. By doing so, students create primary source artifacts in the form of 360-degree views they can share with the world. After an amazing day of traveling all over the universe with Google Expeditions , I wanted my students to be able to do more than have these experiences. I wanted them to create these types of expeditions for themselves and others. Now, using the Google Street View app, they can create their own 360-degree panoramas of any location. 5 steps to creating a...

If you are one of the millions who tried the Hour of Code this year,  you know that one of the themes was Star Wars and that by the end of the hour, you could create your own Star Wars-themed game. Every student at my school completed the Hour of Code, but I got to thinking about the final puzzle where they had the opportunity to create their own Star Wars-themed game.  I decided to connect this with the game design and the design process itself with user feedback and all.  Here's how we did our galaxy walk in one class period: 1)  Students were placed in small group of 3 students who were then tasked with creating a Star Wars-themed game using the commands and events in the final stage of the Star Wars Hour of Code. They were given 20 minutes to brainstorm and create their games. 2)  Groups of students then did what I call a "galaxy walk" - really a modification of the gallery walk.  They rotated through all the other games created by their classmates. Dur...

Photo by Maggie Zehring Have you ever taught a science lesson on animal adaptations and wished you could show something more compelling than a photograph or labeled diagram in a textbook? Have you dreamed of teaching about fragile coral reef ecosystems by going for a dive and really looking closely at these amazing creatures? A few years ago, I never could have imagined that I would be able to show students closeup glimpses of Mars in 3D. But all of this and more is  now possible through the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program.   Available at no cost to schools, the program visits schools around the U.S. and provides everything needed to run virtual reality (VR) expeditions for the day, including cellphones and Google Cardboard, which are VR viewers. They also include a short training to guide teachers in leading a virtual trip for their own students. To get started, submit an interest form to find out if the Expeditions Pioneer Program will be coming to your area. Instant en...

As a way to understand how my students view computer scientists, I asked them to draw a picture of a computer scientist or an image to represent computer science.  It was fascinating to see their perceptions and understandings come alive through a drawing. I love how this student addressed misconceptions about what people think of when they think of computer scientists and then addressed those myths by including images of "tech women" and "tech man." I love this drawing with the message that "anyone can do it!" and that computer scientists always have their "thinking cap" on.  Then there is the message that computer scientists are "always using their knowledge to think of new innovations." Last, but not least, computer scientists are today's superheroes! Here's another representation with the message of iteration and perseverance.  "Computer scientists iterate until the achieve what they wanted to achieve!"