Steve Keinath

Teaching Tech with Badges (virtual and iron-on)!

2012-11-19T13:59:00.003-05:00

Do you teach technology (arduino, raspberry pi, mobile dev, 3dprinting, making, hacking, etc.)?

I have been looking at the idea of using gamification in my classroom for some time now. I really like the idea of quest-based learning and inquiry-based learning. -- Give the students a quest or topic, and they learn what is needed to complete it. This is how many of us learn in the "real world." When I looked for gamification ideas, I happened upon Boy Scouts. I love the idea of earning merit badges. Merit badges have specific requirements -- see Boy Scouts Computers merit badge for example.

Of course, most all of us already know about Edmodo's badge system. The cool thing is that teachers can create their own badges with their own (unattached) requirements. The problem is that the teacher has to create their own badges with their own requirements! :)

The two examples below are badges with pre-defined requirements. Why reinvent the wheel? :)

DIY.org has taken the idea of merit badges and ran with it. "DIY is a club for Makers to earn Skills. DIY Makers do challenges, share their work with the community, and earn patches for the Skills they accomplish." Each badge skill consists of multiple (7-17) challenges. Completing 3 challenges of any skill earns a badge/patch.

DIY.org skills are anything from Animator to Zoologist. I focus mainly on the tech ones like: n00b, Gamer (the making, not the playing), Circuit Bender, Hardware Hacker, Rapid Prototyper, etc.

Are these "patches" real? -- not yet. Currently, the patches/badges are only virtual. Users display their earned patches on their profile. Soon, they will have sew-on/iron-on patches for their skills. DIY.org is mainly for kids aged 7+. The site is very secure with no personal info displayed. And yes, teachers can use the site with their students.

Pros:

Pre-made categories of skills, all dealing with making
Easy to join
Even though some challenges seem to "easy" or "childish," older students can take the gist of the challenge and make them more advanced.

Cons:

Skills Challenges are too generic.
You only need to complete 3 challenges to earn the skills badge
Does not integrate with Edmodo -- could do it manually, though.
Challenges only ask for a photo of the completed challenge. - no explanation needed.

Info: Website: http://diy.org | Twitter: http://twitter.com/diy

Adafruit's Academy is their place for their skill badge requirements. The cool thing is that Adafruit offers their skill badges as iron-ons. Of course, these requirements are NOT required to buy the badges; they are just there to give teachers help with what it "should" take to earn that specific skill badge. Since the Requirements Sheets are Google Docs, teachers are able to save a copy to their Google Docs and edit as needed.

Adafruit is a site devoted to "learning electronics and offering custom products for makers of all ages and skill levels."

Pros:

Very detailed
Skills are very techie -- this could be a con, also :)
Requirement Sheets are Google Docs, so teachers are able to edit as needed
Requirements ask for understanding in a traditional sense -- "Identify and describe THREE types of rotary actuators and how they used for achieving robotic motion" from Robotics Requirements Sheet
Requirements also ask for students to build something. Example action verbs include: construct, produce, design, etc.

Cons:

May seem too detailed and long for the traditional understanding sections. "Identify and describe..." Students like assignments in smaller chunks and more hands-on.

Info: Website: http://www.adafruit.com | Twitter: http://twitter.com/adafruit

CONCLUSION

I really do like DIY.org and Adafruit's Academy. However, for my class, I think I will make more of a medium fit solution -- hands-on skills with specific requirements but not too detailed in the traditional understanding sections. Yet, I do not want them to be a one-sentence description with all of the rest to be filled in by the students, either.

I would also like to make levels for the badges. Another good source is CoderDojo (@CoderDojo) (great concept but poor execution of info on website). They model their "belts" after belts earned in Karate. I like their basic info on their belt ranking system and an example of their belts.

By the end of the school year, I will have created a handful of badges related to technology either directly taught in my class or or least available in my class as side projects. Maybe the badges/skills/ranks will be solely for the exploratory learning and NOT the nuts and bolts (like Java and C++).

Some ideas of skills areas. Of course, each area would have levels/ranks:

Arduino
Robotics
Raspberry Pi
Android
iOS
Java
C++
HTML
PHP/MySQL
Mobile
Game Dev
Design - Photoshop
Design - 3D Modeling

For the future, should I give points to the skills/ranks and their grade will based only on the points earned from their skills/ranks? -- I am sure I will do a portion of their grade this way, not the whole thing! :)

Teach Programming in a 1:1 iPad Classroom

2012-03-28T11:06:00.000-04:00

So, you've heard that programming is the new language to learn. You want to teach it to your students but don't have a laptop cart or classroom computer. You do have a class full of iPads (or only one), though. There is a solution!

Teaching Programming Logic

In an elementary class or middle school class... or a basic computer high school class, I suggest teaching programming logic. Many people are familiar with Scratch (or other tools like: Alice, Android App Inventor or Stencyl) to learn/teach computer programming logic. For the iPad, there is a cool app by the crew from hopscotch called Daisy the Dinosaur.

In Daisy the Dinosaur, users can add "commands" to the "program" and play them to watch Daisy move, jump, etc. It includes "advanced" concepts as: loops ("repeat 5") and when functions (based on touch or when the user shakes the device). It's not as advanced as something like Scratch or App Inventor, but it is a good start to learn programming logic. It comes with two modes: 1) Free-Play and 2) Challenge Mode. The Challenge Mode is the place to start; it steps the user through the basics of the functions in a logical, sequential path.

Teaching Programming Code

For actual programming using code, I like the app Codea by Two Lives Left. Codea uses LUA as its language. This worked well for me, because I use Corona SDK (which also uses LUA) in my class to make mobile apps and games.

Codea goes on sale every so often, so make sure to put it in your App Shopper wish list to be notified when it does.

The only bad thing with something like Codea is that there aren't many resources out there to teach introductory programming using Codea. There are some tutorials for Codea. Linked from that site is another Codea "Hello World" program tutorial and a LUA crash course that are worth checking out.

If the above tutorial sites are NOT enough to get started in programming, I would suggest using an online tool to learn how to code like Codecademy.

A cool thing that I did find is that you can make games that work with the iCade using Codea.

a brief video I made about using the iCade with Codea

Once I get my Avertv HD Video Capture Card, I'm going to make some intro to programming using Codea tutorials... or better yet, have my students make them. :)

Students Creating Mobile Apps in ANY Class*

2011-06-30T00:32:00.002-04:00

*must have a computer with internet :)

I am a computer programming teacher. The first nine years of my teaching career... Enough about me! :)

Actually, let me give a little background on why I wrote this post...

A local university contacted me about helping create a PD class for teachers on App Development. As I was writing him back about my interest and history, I thought... "what does he mean 'App Development'? Will the teachers already know how to program? Uh, oh, this will be like the not-so-old 'Build a Class Website' PD (see e-portfolio example in next paragraph)." I decided to turn my replies into a blog post for others to benefit from.

There are two ways to look at app development in education. Is your goal for the students to be users or producers? Do you want students to be able to create apps showing their competency of a specific content area, or do you want students to learn how to program via app development? Are the students creating an app or developing an app? Think of it like this: you want your students to create e-portfolios. Do you want to teach kids how to code in HTML and use Dreamweaver to create the site, or do you simply use a tool like Google Sites or Weebly to easily create the site? -- is the content more important or the tool/software?

Either way, I have your answer.

First, I am going to list the tools and a brief description of each. Afterwards, I will give examples of which teacher would use which tool.

Tools for Academic/Content Teachers:

Free web tools to build apps: Appmakr (easy), Appsbar (easy) and Buzztouch (medium - must install native SDK to compile)
Kwik: this is an add-on tool for CoronaSDK. It is a plugin for Photoshop that allows the easy creation of eBooks and comic books for iOS (iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone) and Android devices while using NO coding. Affordable license. CoronaSDK is free to test and affordable for publishing (only need to license one computer).
Android App Inventor: This is very easy to use. It uses block coding instead of traditional written code like other tools. It is good for teaching programming concepts. 100% free.
Stencyl: This is a game-creation software. Right now, this is only for Flash games, but it is adding iOS functionality this summer. It is block coding similar to Android App Inventor. It has an awesome feature for collaboration.

Tools for Computer Teachers:

PhoneGap: An HTML5 tool used to author native apps for multiple platforms (iOS, Android and others). Is now integrated in Dreamweaver CS5.5.
CoronaSDK: A tool to make 2D games for iOS and Android. Free to test (only costs money when/if you plan to publish). Uses LUA programming language. Has a great user community with tons of free sample app code, etc.
Unity: This is a game engine that can be used to create 3D games for Windows, Web, iOS and Android. To make games for mobile, it costs money.
UDK: This is similar to Unity, but is easier to use in most aspects. It can build 3D games for Windows and iOS. Free to test. You can deploy onto an iOS device using a PC (no Mac needed).

Examples:
An Art teacher could use Kwik to create comic books or eBooks. They could also use AppMakr or Appsbar to make image gallery portfolio apps for each student.

A Math teacher could use Android App Inventor to make calculators, real-world math-related apps, etc.

Any subject teacher could use Kwik to create student-created eBooks to show knowledge, and they could use AppMakr or Appsbar for content-specific apps, or for student clubs/sports, or their own class app, or... etc.

Web design teachers could use PhoneGap to create apps, because the teachers/students are familiar with PhoneGap's coding (HTML, CSS, Javascript).

Computer programming teachers could teach programming using CoronaSDK to create 2D games for iOS and Android. They could also teach programming using Unity or UDK to create 3D games for iOS devices. They could also use the native SDK's, which I am not a fan. For one, they only make apps/games for their specific devices. I like tools that work for multiple platforms/devices and/or are available for the PC also (as my classroom is a PC lab).

Now about the cost. Many of the tools are free or very affordable. Almost all that cost money come as free unlimited testing (not publishing). - For these, install one license on one machine to compile for publishing, and use the rest for testing/learning/creating. The other bit of cost is being a publisher through iOS and Android. iOS is $99/year, while Android is a one-time $25. Some tools offer free publishing though their name as long as your app is free. Be sure to read all of the tools' terms. For example, UDK requires a percentage of profits instead of upfront cost. - a free app is free through UDK.

As you can see, there are many app creation tools for many different situations. I hope my post helped. Please let me know if I can assist in any other way.

Reflection of Organizing a School-Wide PD Day

2011-06-27T22:00:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, June 14, 2010, I ran a Professional Development Day for staff at the Jackson Area Career Center (JACC). I organized, planned and presented at the PD Day. Below, I will talk about the Process, the Good, the Bad, and the Conclusion.

Resources:

PD Day Intro Video
Schedule
Resources from Presentations (Google Doc)
Flipping the Classroom Presentation (Google Doc)

THE PROCESS
The idea originated while I was at edCampDetroit back on May 7th. This unconference was an awesome learning tool (the sessions and the format). The format basically showed me the staff at JACC could run their own conference! I just had to organize it! :)

I went to my Principal, Patty Horning. She loved the idea! Patty said she really wants me to start taking a leadership role, and this PD Day is just the idea she was hoping for. After talking with her, I decided to predetermine the sessions, instead of creating the schedule the morning of (as edCamps do). Once the idea of "us helping us" sinks in, and maybe having a PD Day on a larger scale (we only have 33 classroom teachers at JACC), we could follow the edCamp scheduling system, etc.

With my Principal's blessing, I started to create an informational email. When I was almost done composing the email, I realized a screencast video would be much cooler and appropriate. I used Prezi and Camtasia to create the PD Day intro video I sent to staff. Side note: Prezi is way cool but a little awkward and picky. The Paths feature is quite annoying at times. (just my .02). In the email, I also included a Google Docs Form to survey the staff for their wants/needs and to see what they would be willing to present. - a total of 12 staff members submitted the form (out of 33 teachers).

With the survey info, I started to plan the day. I originally had three sessions per time slot. I wanted to cover so many ideas. However, I could only be in one place a time, and there weren't any other educators either knowledgeable or willing to run a session that already weren't. So, I had to put the schedule to two sessions per time slot. This actually worked out very well, since not all staff were present, and we only have 33 teachers to begin with. I decided to put the schedule on Crocodoc, because I wanted to show the staff a web 2.0 tool where the user can annotate documents online -- another reason for (and a way how) to go green and go paperless. As you can see from the schedule on Crocodoc, there were changes, and the annotation ability of Crocodoc made it easy to change the schedule. -- FYI: I still printed them off for those that like paper in their hands -- paperless isn't for everyone, I guess.

Another thing I remembered from edCampDetroit was the sponsors. There were general sponsors that gave away door prizes, and there was the breakfast sponsor. So, I headed out to the big city of Jackson to see who I could get to sponsor this PD Day. I initially stopped at a bakery (chain) to ask them, and they gave me their regional manager's contact info. I then went to a consumer electronics store (chain) and they had me fill out a form and they said they would contact me later. side note: I hit the pavement WAY too close the PD Day date. Many of my "no"s probably resulted because of that. I went to a local restaurant, and their manager was gone for the day. My first actual "YES" came from Buffalo Barbeque Wings!!! I went to another local restaurant, and their manager/owner was gone, too. side note: don't try to get stuff from restaurants on a Monday - apparently, that is the manager's their day off!!! I tried another consumer electronics store (local), and they said "no." Later that night, I went to dinner at an awesome, locally owned restaurant Steaks Eatery, and I asked for donations there... and they said "YES." I still had to find some breakfast food. I didn't want to go to the (chain) place that turned me down earlier. So, I (actually, my wife) went to Meijer (local supermart) to pick up bagels, cream cheese, fruit, water and juice. I also contacted Ric Wiltse with MACUL, and they gave me two complementary memberships.

The day before the PD Day, some workers came into my room to set a new audio/visual projection system. The bad news is that they weren't going to be done until the middle of the following day, as in, PD Day!!! So, I had to move my sessions to another computer lab room.

The day of the Professional Development, I went to school real early to set up the food and drinks. I had to stop off at a gas station for a couple bags of ice for the drinks, etc. When I arrived at school, I scrambled around, trying to find dishes for the fruit in our culinary arts kitchen. Finally, the room was all set and ready to go.

The Opening Session was on Flipping the Classroom Presentation (Google Doc). I know this is a somewhat-controversial topic, but I presented it in a way that made sense for the Career Center. At the Career Center, we teach hands-on skills geared for being job-ready or career-ready. We already teach labs (majority). I thought flipping the class could be used for all of the "stuff" that had added to our curriculums over the past few years (by the state or our administration).

Now for the concurrent sessions. Between the schedule and the resource doc, you can pretty much see what the sessions were all about. They all went well. I talked with people throughout the day, and they said they liked them and learned a lot. One thing I do want to say, and I said to the attendees in my sessions, is that I presented a TON of stuff. It was more of a quick overview as opposed to how-to's. I did this, because I wanted to share as much as possible, but I also knew my audience was people I worked with. Therefore, if they wanted more help/insight/etc, they know where to find me... and it's easy to find me.

Over the next few days, I was approached by many staff members (the principal, main secretary, other teachers, etc.) telling me that they either heard great things about the day or experienced it. It felt great to be thanked and praised by so many of my peers.

THE GOOD (what I would do again)

The JACC PD DAY concept (us helping us) - I would totally organize another PD Day at our school. I think now that I did this one, staff knows what to expect and might participate even more, etc.
Format - I think the format of asking for input yet creating the schedule ahead of time best fit our needs.
Food - The staff really appreciated the bagels, etc. I just wish a bakery would have donated them.
Timing - The PD Day was on the third-to-last day of school (which was also the third day without students). Many staff either already took personal days or needed to work in their classrooms. In the future, I would like the PD Day to held on a day that teachers are required to be there. - Actually, our county has set aside two days this upcoming school year for county-wide PD (not necessarily all together in the same place, but at least at the same time). - If I have my way, we will run a PD Day at JACC again with it open to the whole county.
Sessions - All of the sessions were a big hit (minus my afternoon ones - see below).

THE BAD (what I would change)

Asking for donations - I waited way too long for this. Also, I am not really into soliciting for free stuff. If I try this part next time, I might try to delegate this duty. :)
Rooms - We have a PD room in our school that was already booked by an outside school. Next time, I want to plan this so far in advance that we get our own room. Overall, the room situations worked out. If anything, it got people around to other people's classroom that they normally don't visit.
Sessions - Beside the "SmartBoard Showdown," the afternoon sessions were poorly attended. I know the other sessions would have been really good for the staff. I just think since it was the end of the year, it wasn't mandatory, it was after lunch, they've already learned so much, etc., many of the staff just wanted to be in their classrooms. I don't know what would make this better. Maybe the set-aside county-wide PD days next year... or, two half-days... or, better door prizes at the end :)

THE CONCLUSIONS
It was a lot of work, and very well worth it! I think it has started a new way of thinking in our building. I have been approached by a couple other JACC teachers about organizing another PD Day for us and possibly for all of Jackson County. This was a great experience. I plan to continue being a teacher-leader in my school... not only for technology but also with respect to our local PLN.

Links/Sources:

edCampDetroit
unconference
Prezi - way better than PowerPoint!!!
Camtasia - best screencasting software out there!
MACUL - if you are a teacher in (or near) Michigan and haven't attended MACUL's conference, you should!

Great Food in the Jackson Michigan Area:

Gamification of the classroom

2011-06-09T15:00:00.002-04:00

I have been thinking about this concept for months now. I have read many posts about why you should do it and why you shouldn't do it. In the end, I concluded that I want to gamify my class.

Leaderboards, leveling up, badges, achievements, virtual goods, points system, coupons, locked stuff, progress bar, etc. I don't want to sugarcoat it so much that the learning is lost; I just want it to be gamified (not just the traditional carrot and stick of grades).

I teach "Game Development," so, it only fits that the class' content is delivered via a gamification system. How do I do that? It would be great if Edmodo (or another awesome LMS) had gamification built in. I wish @Edmodo would have an API, so I could (possibly) create a plugin. Alice Leung's blog talks about using Edmodo's current features (or lack there of) along with OneNote to gamify a science unit lesson. That was a pretty cool read.

What does "gamification of my class" mean? I am not 100% sure.

But, I do know that I have some questions I want to get answered.

Can I have leaderboards? - if so, how? - It would have to be anonymous, because showing grades is illegal! Can I show points or levels or badges???
How could virtual goods be brought in?
Would badges be worthwhile?
etc...

Earlier today, I watched @gzicherm's Google Techtalk "Mastering Gamification" video. During the Q&A period at the end, a audience member asked if gamifying something that already had intrinsic value was a good thing and how? Gabe basically said, "intrinsic is done!" and he basically said that once a user knows there are similar products out there with rewards (besides the product itself), the user demands the same or better rewards from your product. His example was JetBlue that started its business withOUT frequent flier miles. They thought their new, clean plans with great service would be enough to win customers. After a year, they added TrueBlue (their frequent flier program).

I believe gamification does have a place in education. I just want to make sure I do it tastefully and correctly?

So, who else out there is interested in doing this? I would love some ideas and guidance.

Donate Your Used Android/iOS Devices to Education

2011-05-19T14:08:00.003-04:00

I teach programming to high school juniors and seniors. I started teaching game development this year, and found mobile App and game development the direction to take my class this fall.

For my class, I currently have some devices.

I would really like one device per student (each OS would be really nice).
As for the iPod Touches, I need 3rd gen or later to use UDK. The iPad I have works for this, but it would be nice for students to have their own iPod Touch. As for Android devices, some of the stuff I teach requires Android 2.2 or later (@CoronaSDK). Only the Xoom I have qualifies for this.

I understand the SDK's come with emulators, but it means SO much more to see your app/game running on an actual device. I do understand students can share devices, also. However, I would like one per student so they can take it home to do work, etc.

Wishlist:
iOS Devices:

3rd (32 GB or 64 GB) or 4th gen Touch
iPad (1st gen)

Android Devices:

any 2.2+ device/phone
at least one Nook Color to test CoronaSDK on it

What I am willing to accept:
ANY iOS Device
ANY Android Device

I will donate the unneeded ones to another school or charity. If you are a school that wants devices for mobile development, contact me.

If you would like to donate, please contact me.
steve.keinath@jcisd.org
http://www.btclass.com
http://sites.google.com/site/gamedesignjacc/contact-me
http://jacksoncisd.schoolwires.com//Domain/102

Weebly or Google Sites for Education?

2011-05-18T12:23:00.000-04:00

Which one is best, and why?

I have only used Google Sites, but have found issues (ordering pages, gadgets, etc.)

6 Needed Features in Edmodo

2011-05-13T15:13:00.001-04:00

It's that time again... for me to ask about features in Edmodo.

1. Google Apps Integration: When? When? When? I found an LMS that does this already - http://class.io/ - however, their overall look and feel and user experience is MUCH lower than Edmodo's. Google Apps for Education is NEEDED for Edmodo to just take over the LMS world! I know some schools with Apps for Ed that basically use that as an LMS - turn in assignments, notifications, etc. Why would they need Edmodo on top of that? I know the answer, but it's hard for them to see. Edmodo with Google Apps integration (not just single sign on) is the answer.

2. Analytics: this needs to be greatly improved on Edmodo. It is INVALUABLE when I can (easily) tell parents the last time their student was on the class site, what links they clicked, etc. The parent feature helps, but doesn't tell them when their student has logged in, etc. Time spent (with detailed log/charts) would be cool, too, so the kids don't get hip to just logging in and then out.

3. Edmodo API: As a developer, I would LOVE to be able to add useful Apps to Edmodo with an App Market (or whatever they can legally call it). I see this as a perfect way for Edmodo to monetize. Content providers could also be part of this. Direct purchasing (within Edmodo) would make the user experience seemless.

4. Public Page and RSS: This needs to be a priority, too. The RSS feed needs reorganization with appropriate fields. "Assignment by Me" for all assignments is NOT a title. A "share" feature would be nice on the public page -- embed it, better RSS, etc. It would like to (easily) embed the public page on my Google Sites class website.

5. Facebook and Twitter: One "cool" thing that could be added to the Post Bubble would be options to post it to Facebook and/or Twitter. Or, do #3 (open up the API) and let me create this feature as an add-on. :)

6. I read one of Edmodo's replies their Support Community that they will have a quiz app feature before next school year. Thank you!!! Much appreciated.

I love Edmodo and tell all of the teachers I meet about it -- even non-teachers. I also see room for improvement. What I really do like is that I think Edmodo has many of the same visions.

Thanks for listening,
Steve

>>Double Posted on My Class Site

Business Partnership

2011-04-26T10:04:00.001-04:00

My name is Steve Keinath, and I teach Computer Programming (game and App development) to high school juniors and seniors. I am one of three teachers in the Information Technology cluster at the Jackson Area Career Center (a service of Jackson County Intermediate School District). The two other classes are Computer Systems Tech (A+ certification) and Computer Network Security (Cisco certification).

I have been thinking about how we could connect our students with businesses with also giving to the community. In the past, I might have asked for help from businesses, but didn't include the part where we gave back (to the community or otherwise). For instance: before this school year started, I approached many businesses for free or cheap Android devices. I didn't include the giving back part, and you guessed it, I received little to no response. I've thought about doing community classes before, but didn't really know what the subject would be. Finally, I melded these two ideas together with this business partnership idea.

Business Partnership Proposal:

To work with a technology store (with a local presence, possibly) where the store loans us the newest technology, and our students review it (write articles), learn it, and teach it for free to the community (the business' customers).

Our students will work on their technical writing for the product reviews. They will create and teach lessons for the community classes; this will help their skills of: planning, knowing their audience, knowing the technology, etc.

It will be a win/win/win/win situation. The school will win by having free access to the newest technology. The community will win by having access to free technology classes covering the items they just purchased. The business will win by having affordable, after-the-sale customer services. And, of course, the students will win by demonstrating good writing, planning, and communication skills while learning the latest and greatest technology.

Please contact me for more information.

Steve Keinath

Jackson Area Career Center

steve.keinath@jcisd.org

517-nineninezero-6627

Weebly or Google Sites for Educaiton?
	Weebly
	Google Sites
	other (leave comment)

pollcode.com free polls