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Learn today, build a brighter tomorrow. Celebrate Computer Science Education Week with an Hour of Code!

11/23/2020

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Young boy with shocked expression wearing glasses with HTML code on lenses
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.
2020 hour of code landing page includes many info buttons and young female students wearing glasses with HTML code on lenses
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
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Empowering Students: Utilizing Portfolios as a Self-Assessment

11/17/2020

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Self-assessment may be one of the most overlooked super powers our students need to succeed.  When students understand the learning objectives and the standards and are able to produce artifacts to demonstrate their learning of those standards -  magic happens.  One barrier hindering self-assessment is the student belief that “only the teacher can tell me what is correct.”  Portfolios are a powerful tool to help knock down this barrier by providing the student with a view of their own learning over time.

Portfolios provide space for goal setting and room for reflection throughout the learning  process.  Because portfolios are built slowly, throughout the learning, this allows students to see their growth over time, rather than a grade at the end of an assignment. This can also be accomplished by asking students to reflect on the process as well as the product.  Portfolios can act as a personal learning diary - showing artifacts of each stage of the learning process, as John Spencer suggests, “their best work, their favorite work and the work that demonstrated the most growth.”  The versatility of a portfolio also allows many different types of artifacts from work samples to ‘models of mastery’ and provides an outlet for students to create a repository of their own design reflecting their voice and choice through images, audio or video feedback. 

Google Slides offers a flexible tool and space for students to build their portfolio. Many students are familiar with Google Slides, but may not have used it in quite this way to showcase their own work. Consider using our Google Slides template as a way to get students started with adding in their work as evidence of learning.

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  • Images to allow students to add in photos of physical work as evidence of learning. They can upload their own image or take a picture right from the webcam on the computer.
  • Audio to add in the student’s voice and background to provide prospective and offer the opportunity for elaboration on the students part to help link their voice to their work.
  • Video for students who are comfortable with creating screencasts. This provides students the opportunity to highlight and explain specific work.
It’s important to note that audio and video are not native within the Google Slides, meaning a student would need to use an outside tool to help with this process. However any audio or video file that is in your Google Drive can be added into the slide deck. 123Apps is a great free website that offers tools without requiring logins or accounts to use the tools. 123Apps includes audio and video recorders and editors. Have students create their recordings there and then upload them to their Google Drive. Or if your district allows students to have access to Screencastify as an extension, students can create their own screencasts to highlight their work. Screencastify automatically saves within a folder on Google Drive.  Once students have their photos, audio, or video clips in their Google Drive, all students need to do is go to Insert, and choose their file from Drive. A quick tip for our math and science teachers: Math Pix Snip converts handwritten complex math work into a digital format!

The single-point rubric clearly defines success in the learning progression and helps students more effectively choose evidence to add to their portfolio. It requires students to reflect on areas of improvement and areas of success. Adding a single-point rubric to each piece of evidence, or as a more overarching guide, helps students and teachers know and understand exactly where each student is on the learning path. This is especially important if students are working in asynchronous environments.

Our Google Slides student portfolio template has the single-point rubric template built-in. Using the gray space surrounding the portfolio page, students can add their reflections to each piece of evidence, helping to make the learning more visible. Students can also add a rating to show where they feel they are in the learning with a simple scale.
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At a time when our students may be learning from a distance, it has become even more challenging to grasp where students are in their learning. Using portfolios places the responsibility on the student to reflect and communicate their understanding. Using a single-point rubric keeps the focus on specific parts of the learning and makes the process less overwhelming.

We would love to hear how you use portfolios with your students! Make sure to leave us a message in the comments

​~Amber, Beth, and Mindy


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Empowering Students: Self-assessment with a Single Point Rubric

11/10/2020

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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
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