The Tech Curve

Coding with Chromebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 16:45:00 +0000

Coding with Chromebooks

The Hour of Code is upon us which reminds me of a question I am ask more often than I would believe,

"Do my students really need to learn to code?"

I think what is really behind this question is, "If I'm not a programmer, is this really useful to me?" To which I respond a resounding "YES!" Here is why I believe it's so important. When a weight lifter goes to the gym, they're not exercising with the expectation that they'll come across a barbell shaped problem, but that their workout will prepare them for whatever obstacle they may come across.

Photo by Cyril Saulnier

This is the same with most education and especially coding. Coding is a mindset that exposes students to critical thinking, troubleshooting, and especially problem solving. Not only do students need to dissect the problem they are motivated to come up with the most efficient solution. And when something inevitably doesn't work as planned, they need to iterate, iterate, iterate because that's how coding works. It's important for student to develop the patience to unpack a problem and make thoughtful adjustments and methodically test the results of their changes. This is a difficult skill that is important for kids to develop.
If you are worried your students may not have the background needed, if your students have basic math skills they're ready to get started. Like anything, it's the application of the knowledge that is important.

Photo by Angelina Litvin

On this point, there's an apocryphal story about mathematician Carl Gauss that relates here. The story goes that when Carl was 8 years old his teacher assigned the class the task of calculating the sum of 1 to 100.
Basically mathematical busywork. Most students dived into the onerous task of 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + 99 + 100 which they certainly could figure out given enough time and pencils. Gauss deduced that when you pair the first and last numbers: 1 + 99 = 100 and 2 + 98 = 100 and 3 + 97 = 100 you get 49 x 100 = 4,900. And throw in the remaining 50 and 100 for a grand sum of 5,050.
So, instead of taking the afternoon to calculate the result, it took him a few minutes. Now, there is some debate if this story is true, but the point is that with a basic skillset, he applied a creative way to address the problem. That's coding at it's finest. There's usually a 'brute force' method like actually added all the numbers 1 to 100 but with practice students begin to uncover techniques they can use.

Photo by Caleb Woods

At the youngest grade levels we start conversations around following directions and giving instructions. A fun activity that the students like is to pair them up, then give each pair a matching set of legos. Each create a model with the legos, then write out step by step instructions on how to recreate their model. We take 'before' photos of the models and students then swap their directions and try to recreate the other students lego figure just with the directions. This is a fun way for students to appreciate the importance of making clear instructions (which is basically what coding is.)

There are numerous sites that offer coding courses and lessons online. Here are some of our favorites that are organized from simpler and straight forward to more complex and open ended. This is not a comprehensive list (for example we do some Minecraft Coding in the middle levels) but the criteria was that they have a free version and can be accessed with a Chromebook.

Code.org includes the Hour of Code projects which is a great place to start, but much more. The site is split up by ability level and has a ton of lessons where kids will recognize the characters they are moving around the screen. These include Star Wars, Minecraft and more.

2) CS-First is from Google and provides a sets of lessons that educators can use with the ability to track lessons, provide certificates of completion and more. The lessons are geared to ages 9 - 14 and as

3) Scratch is the language students were introduced to in CS-First and again uses the block programing metaphor. An important aspect of Scratch is the remix. Students can 'see inside' another coders work and remix it. This furthers the idea of sharing and learning from each other. It also provides a more open ended platform kids can build whatever they'd like.

Tynker is another block based programming language and a great compliment to Scratch. It's designed for mobile input and will work on an Android enabled Chromebook. One of the best aspects of Tynker, is that it easily connects to devices in the real world. These include Sphereo's, Parrot Drones and more. Once students are comfortable coding on a computer, there are substantial benefits for them to see the results of their work in real life. Moving a character across a screen is cool, but very game like, where sending instructions to a physical object and having it react is very rewarding!

Parrot Blockly - This system is specifically for Parrot Drones. The benefit is any laptop with Chrome and bluetooth can connect to the drone. You do not need a tablet or mobile device to fly it.

Code Combat - This site will appeal specifically to students who are interested in a game-like environment of coding. Students can select which language syntax they will learn. It covers a range of topics but if you're not into that style of interface it may not be for you.

MIT App Inventor - If you're looking for mobile app development, this is a great place to start. It is currently for Android only, but looking to crowd source the funds to add iOS. Once you've created an app, it's pretty easy to get the results onto your device and see the results!

Code Academy - Moving away from the blocky or graphic based coding options, this site also has you select your programming language of choice, but has great tutorials that guide you through the process. This is a more realistic development environment that is text based and displays the results of your code as you tweak it.

Google Script - Students can use the scripting option to build tools and see the results already included with their Google Accounts. While there are no tutorials built into the system, there are plenty of tutorials found online.

Here it's worth mentioning the site: Stack Overflow. Not a resource I would use with younger students, but an invaluable online community of other developers willing to help and share tips on coding.

Caret - Finally, if you are looking for a more realistic development environment check out Caret. Totally open ended for students looking to work with the tools of the trade.

One of my favorite experiences in education is introducing students to coding (especially during the the Hour of Code week!) and watch the light bulbs go off and hands raise around the room as they code, play, and learn. So, check these sites out or better yet, have your students check them out and learn by coding!

The Tech Sherpas interviewed on Maine Public Television

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 16:00:00 +0000

How Maine's Laptop Program Turned One District's Students Into 'Tech Sherpas'

Education Report - RSU19 from Maine Public Video Production on Vimeo.

Thanks to Robbie Feinberg and Brian Bechard from the Maine Public Broadcasting Network visiting our students in RSU #19 and talking with us about some of the technology projects our students work on. Find the complete story here:

http://mainepublic.org/post/video-how-maines-laptop-program-turned-one-districts-students-tech-sherpas#stream/0

Google Apps Guide Book- EdTechTeam Live

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 18:33:00 +0000

Google Apps Guide Book- EdTechTeam Live

Get your copy of The Google Apps Guidebook today!

Tech Sherpa Show - Episode #69 We're Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 20:50:00 +0000

This hosts this week are Nick and Brandon.

For the next few weeks, we will be covering the chapters found in our Google Apps Guidebook. We will go chapter by chapter and discuss the highlights and tips from each lesson. We also talk about the Student Summit Grant winners!

The Google Apps Guidebook

We will be back next week!

The Google Apps Guidebook

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 01:32:00 +0000

The Google Apps Guidebook is now available

for purchase in paperback or e-book versions!

GoogleAppsGuidebook.com

The Google Apps Guidebook is a set of student created lessons, activities and projects for educators to use in their classrooms. Each lesson connects with a component from the Google Apps for Education suite of tools. Each chapter introduces an engaging project that applies numerous aspects of each tool. Projects are differentiated for a variety of age ranges and can be adapted for most content areas. Upon completion, students will have a thorough understanding of the tools included with their Google account and a collection of cool projects they created!

All profits are used for students to provide support to more educators.

TechSherpas.org

Thank you for supporting the work for Kern Kelley and his Tech Sherpa students.

Click HERE for information on bulk purchases.

The Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #70 Announcing The Google Apps Guidebook!

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 15:13:00 +0000

With tremendous excitement the Tech Sherpas would like to announce the launch of our book,

The Google Apps Guidebook

The lessons and activities found in this book are designed for educators to teach students about Google Apps for Education. The hope is that these students will then go on to teach others and learn through the process.
Authors: Austin Taylor and Britney Bubar with Kern Kelley
Please fill out this form to Pre-Order the Google Apps Guidebook.
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We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #69 Dallastown Student Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Mon, 23 May 2016 16:11:00 +0000

In 2012 I was invited to present at the Google Teacher Academy in Google’s New York City office. Now known as the Google Certified Innovator Academy, this is a professional development opportunity for educators from around the world. At the event, educators receive learning from teachers and Googler's. I was thrilled to be involved and wanted to share the experience with my students. I asked the Google in Education team if I could bring them to present with me and they enthusiastically agreed.

Since that time, my long term goal has always been to work with students, teaching and providing experiences for them to give back to the educational community. We called these students Tech Sherpas. A helpful guide for anyone who needs it. During the years my students and I have produced a live technology support show and presented at hundreds of conferences. That work has culminated into a book that will be published soon.

The Google Apps Guidebook

The lessons and activities found in this book are designed for educators to teach students about Google Apps for Education. Ultimately, these students will go on to teach others, learning throughout the process. This dream came to fruition at the EdTechTeam Student Summit in Dallastown Intermediary School. While no one knows what will come next, we do know that whatever happens, these students are prepared for anything.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Tech Sherpa Show - Episode #67 "What is Breakout EDU?"

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 14:59:00 +0000

This host this week are Zach and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show - Episode #67 Alan November's Building Learning Communities Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 14:18:00 +0000

This hosts this week are Jacob, Britney and Emily.

We will be back Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show - Episode #66 Going to School with Telepresence

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 13:42:00 +0000

This host this week is Kern and Jasmine.

We will be back Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show - Episode #65 Migrating Graduating Student's Google Accounts

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:36:00 +0000

This host this week are Austin and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Tech Sherpas - Episode #64: Google Maps Engine

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Wed, 06 May 2015 05:03:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake and Laura.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Tech Sherpas - Episode #63: A Robot Named Sully

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 19:45:00 +0000

This host this week are Zach, Kern, Macie and Cassidy.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Student Magic!

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 16:39:00 +0000

It was a historic week for the Tech Sherpas. Thanks to EdTechTeam, four students from central Maine joined me for educational opportunities across Alberta, Canada. The students presented to over 1,000 educators from around Edmonton.

(and won the Demo Slam :)

The week was capped off with an amazing Student Summit at Black Gold Regional School District in LeDuc. 150 students coded, animated, modded, taught, learned and so much more. The event culminated with one group of little wizards creating a district wide student tech team website. Collaboratively, students researched domain names, designed logos, and built a custom website for their school board with links, resources, and lots of selfies!

The whole thing can be found at www.studentmagic.org

I was amazed at how quickly that one idea, forty-five minutes and thirty amazing students could take the building blocks of a transformational project that will help teachers, give back to the community and ultimately provide a platform for all the students to learn.

So, what are you waiting for - go get started!!

The Tech Sherpas - Episode #62: The Sherpas Tour Alberta!

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 17:17:00 +0000

This host this week are Austin, Jake, Zach and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #61 Making Sure You're Signed Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 18:00:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #60 - Google Books Bookshelf

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 04:21:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #59 We chat with Mrs. Mageria's Student Innovation Team

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 15:10:00 +0000

This host this week are Austin and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show Episode #58: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 19:20:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake, Austin and Britney.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Infinite Thinking Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 18:00:00 +0000

The Tech Sherpas made it on The Infinite Thinking Machine! It's an introduction to some of the work the students do helping educators around the world.

Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #57 Maps Engine Lite and the Global Education Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 18:54:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Art of Deliberate Patience

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 18:37:00 +0000

It was the first snow day of the year on Monday, (November 3rd, by the way, the earliest in my recollection but who's counting) and we did all the typical snow-man-day things, but one of the unexpected benefits was that we lost power and the Internet for the day. Usually that's an imposition of course, but we had a generator and nowhere to be so we came up with our own entertainment.

I remember one of my favorite past-times as a child was building card houses. We had drawers full of partial decks that were never thrown out and I would transform them into impossible towers and forts. I hadn't thought about them until (after a cut throat family tournament of UNO) my son and I started new construction!

I would build, build, build and watch half a tower fall down just to build, build, build again. What I realized is that learning how the tower falls became an integral aspect of the final product itself. And most importantly, I learned a kind of patience in this iteration process. Deliberate patience is something our kids don't experience much these days. (A friend of mine said, "Try watching your T-Ball player wait for a hit in deep right and you'll appreciate patience." ) Developing a practiced patience that comes from stacking cards I was encouraged how long my boys were willing to stick with it.

(My personal record as a child was nine tiers high and something I'm still proud of.)

Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #56 YouTube Editor and Private Recordings

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:51:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

Tech Sherpa Show: Episode #55

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 13:27:00 +0000

This host this week are Jake and Kern.

We will be back next Tuesday at 3:00 EST

The Tech Sherpas go International!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kern Kelley) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 18:08:00 +0000

The Tech Sherpas had an amazing time this weekend at the first Student Summit and the largest Google in Education Summit to date.

Friday, the Tech Sherpas participated in the Student Summit with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. We had a couple hundred students from various schools where high school students were teaching sessions on Google tools to younger grades. What a fantastic model for learning!

The kids were excited to be there and of course, the Sherpas were happy to help out. These students asked questions, dove into the tools and kept us busy!

Next up was the largest Google in Education Summit to date! Ottawa, where the Tech Sherpas presented, helped out and rocked the demo slam!

All said, we want to thank the OCSB for inviting us to the Student Summit and EdTechTeam for inviting us to participate in an amazing opportunity!