Code.org introduced Computer Science for Good in 2019 to show students that computer science can be a powerful tool for positive change, but that it’s equally important to wield this tool responsibly

The events of this year have further shown this to be true, illuminating both the great promises and perils of technology. We rely on technology to keep us connected, but we’ve also seen how biased algorithms can divide us on the basis of race or gender. We rely on our technology to keep us informed, but we’ve also seen how easy it is to spread misinformation. We rely on our technology to stay productive, but we’ve left behind those who don’t have access to the internet.

In a year full of unexpected events, one thing is certain: it is more important than ever for students to learn computer science and technologies like artificial intelligence to help build the society we envision. (Read full article here.)

​Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries during Computer Science Education Week December 7 - 13, 2020. Help us celebrate by hosting an hour of code this year! We’ve put together resources to help teachers, coaches, and administrators from PreK to high school host events in their classrooms and buildings. Visit our team’s Hour of Code resource page for everything you need to build a brighter tomorrow!

Step 1: Register
ALL PreK-12 GWAEA Educators: Don't forget to REGISTER with us at bit.ly/GWAEAHoC20 and at the Hour of Code website. We'll send you stickers and posters when you register.

4th Grade Teachers: This year, we are collaborating with NewBoCo & the IT Sector board to ensure that every 4th grade classroom in GWAEA can host an Hour of Code event with an Industry Partner! Industry partners will briefly share about their jobs in Information Technology and then assist 4th grade teachers with hosting an Hour of Code with your students. You can host your Hour of Code face to face or virtually, depending on your needs. 4th grade teachers can sign up here to request an industry partner.

Step 2: Plan Your Event
Need help planning an Hour of Code? The Digital Learning Team has an Hour of Code Event Planning Template and an example you can use to get started.

Code.org has wonderful resources for you at https://hourofcode.com/us/how-to as well as their own planning guide.

Step 3: Select Activities from our Resources
This year we have created resource collections to help you quickly and easily host an hour or code no matter the current instruction model in your district.

Grab & Go resources you can use immediately:

• CodeBytes! - Live 20 minute lessons at 10a & 3:30p hosted daily December 7 - 11
• Take a Code Break! - 12 recorded episodes with inspirational guests & activities for all kids

Variety of resources to meet your unique classroom model & needs:

• Activities for Social Distanced Classrooms
• Activities for Hybrid Classrooms
• Activities for Virtual Classrooms

Resources to use CS for Change:

• Activities for #CSforGood & #CSforSocialJustice

Check out our Hour of Code resources from 2018 & 2019 that include our favorite online and unplugged activities at the Grant Wood AEA Digital Learning Team's website. You'll find resources organized by grade bands and by content areas.

Do you have Sphero? Dash? Hummingbird Bit? Ozobot? Micro:bit? Littlebits? LEGO Mindstorms?

Check out these Hour of Code activities designed specifically for your robots and physical computing kits: https://hourofcode.com/us/learn/robotics

Step 4: Share Your Event on Social Media
Use the hashtags #CSforGood, #CSforGWAEA, #CSforIA, #CSEdWeek, and #HourOfCode on social media to spread the word before your event and to celebrate afterword!

Let us know how you're planning to celebrate CS Ed Week this year in the comments. You can connect with us on Twitter with your plan @DLGWAEA. We can't wait to see how you and your students build a better tomorrow!

​- Corey Rogers
Digital Learning Consultant

Why self-assessment?
Self-assessment provides students the opportunity to build awareness and reflect on what they understand and do not understand. Self-assessment provides students the opportunity to empower themselves through:

• Promoting the skills of reflective practice and self-monitoring. 
• Promoting academic integrity through student self-reporting of learning progress. 
• Developing self-directed learning. 
• Increasing student motivation. 
• Helping students develop a range of personal, transferable skills.
• Learn more about self-assessment from Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation

What is a single point rubric?
The first step is making sure students are able to identify where they are in the learning through self-assessment. This means providing them with a tool like a single point rubric. We first learned about single point rubrics from the amazing Jennifer Gonzales at the Cult of Pedagogy blog. With a single point rubric, you, as the teacher, provide students with one column of a traditional rubric and the students reflect and decide on whether they match it, or are below or above that place. Learn more about single-point rubrics from Jennifer Gonzalez.

• Know Your Terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics
• Meet the Single Point Rubric

Why would we want to share a single point rubric with students?
By focusing on one criteria, it narrows and simplifies the learning path for students. This self-reflection through the single point rubric helps to determine if the student is on the path, off the path and needs reteaching, or ahead of the pack. Students will step up to the responsibility of identifying where they are at on this path and share their reflection and evidence back.

How will students use a single point rubric?
To introduce students to the use of a single-point rubric, consider the ‘I do, we do, you do’ structure. Providing students with a body of work (with low cognitive load) and working through the single-point rubric to assess gives students the opportunity to practice.
As students move to independently use a single-point rubric, giving them a space and giving them time to work on this within the classroom is essential. Whether you are asking them to physically look at work or giving them a digital space where they can compile their work, you need to make space for this reflection to happen with work that they have already completed. This process will not work overnight and will require modeling, patience, and perseverance.

• Digital Space through Google Slides coming during Part II of our series

What will teachers learn about the students when they go through this process?

• Identify where the gaps are in the instruction.
  
• Learn where instruction is the strongest. 
• Begin to see how students can be learners in the learning community.

What will students learn about themselves when they go through this process?

• Learning is a process.
• Identify personal gaps in the own learning. 
• Make personal connections across content lines.

Be part of the conversation! Share in the comments or reach out to us on Twitter--@DLGWAEA

~Beth, Amber, and Mindy

Coding can be done asynchronously and socially distanced. AND, it provides students an opportunity to be creative and display content knowledge

Scratch is a FREE Coding Platform that has endless opportunities to allow your students to begin creating with Code. We created this Scratch Starting Place Learning Slide Deck to help you get going with wherever your starting place is with Scratch. Learn some of the teacher basics as well as build your Coding skills with simple overviews of the Code Block Families. 

Tip: Check out the Scratch 3.0 Tutorial Cards - Link to all cards

‘Creative constraints’ has been a common phrase heard on Think, Make, Innovate. In our current reality of self-isolation and quarantine, creative constraints has become our anthem.

Recently, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles challenged the community to recreate famous works of art with household items. The community responded with gusto! This seems like the perfect challenge for our students, but with a bit of a twist! Because Grant Wood is our famous local artist, we wanted to challenge our teachers, students, and own Grant Wood staff to recreate famous Grant Wood artwork.

A few suggestions or tips we have to get started:
Get your family involved.
Include your pets!
Household items, toys, and food are great items to create with.
Use lighting to your advantage.

Get inspired by checking out our Wakelet with some examples from the Getty Museum Challenge and see a small collection of Grant Wood Art that is just waiting to be remade.
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We can’t wait to see what you make! Make sure to share your pictures with us by tagging @DLGWAEA or use #HaveFunMaking. You can also email us at makerspace@gwaea.org.

~Amber Bridge and Mindy Cairney
​Digital Learning Consultants

Recently, we wrapped up our last meeting of the Creativity Cohorts with our year 1 and 2 participants.  We asked them on an endnote, how are we taking what we’ve learned during this time to alter our instruction for the future?  What they had to say was so wise, we captured it and are sharing it with you.  

Here are their lessons learned:

• Grateful. We will be grateful for every moment in the future that we will spend with our students.
  
• Technology’s use can no longer be underestimated in its role in the classroom
  
• Flexibility to roll with whatever may come our way needs to be our new way in the classroom
  
• Personalized - we are working to connect with our students where they are at in a whole new way
  
• Our focus needs to be on learning and not compliance
  
• Parental involvement has always been key, but with their current increased involvement there may be a new connection moving forward
  
• Connections that’s what this is all about
  
• This is the ultimate teamwork exercise. We are all collaborating together apart trying to make all of this work
  
• All of this are life skills in practice
  
• Good and bad, we are getting feedback that is shaping what we are doing
  
• Technology is not hard or scary and can be useful in preschool classroom
  
• Kids are learning how to compromise and collaborate while completing creative challenges
  
• We have the gift of time to develop ideas for kids and share them with educators
  
• We are grateful for many types of community - global, school, educators, family
  
• Challenges didn’t always go the way we hoped but both the kids and the teacher learned a lot by giving it a try
  
• Relationships are being built that can be leveraged in the future.
  

Life right now is the ultimate creative challenge.  Teachers, students, and parents are being asked to do things we have never had to navigate with constraints that have never been placed on our lives before. As you connect remotely with your students, consider how you can release control to them and allow them to make some creative choices to help foster their own creative confidence.

What are the current lessons you are learning and how will they impact you when we finally arrive at the doorstep of our classrooms?

~Amber Bridge, Corey Rogers, Mindy Cairney
​Digital Learning Consultants