Author: Jacqui

C-STEM Studio is a California A-G approved curriculum and turn-key solution for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics through computing and robotics.  This web-based scalable program is available for elementary through high school students and can last anywhere from four weeks to a year. As Professor Harry Cheng, Director of the UC Davis Center for Computing and STEM Education who offers this program, states simply: “Our goal is to get kids interested in math and robotics through hands-on computing and robotics.” In fact, the C-STEM Studio algebra curriculum is fully aligned with Common Core state standards in mathematics.

Programs that run through the Studio are:

• Linkbot–students write a simple program to complete a function that is then uploaded to a robot–in this case, a Linkbot. One feature I found in this program which I rarely saw in others: It’ll point out syntax errors in programming. This is well-suited to younger students.
• RoboSim–students program a virtual robot of their choice (by picking from among Lego Mindstorm and others) in a virtual environment.
• RoboBlockly–a web-based robot simulation using a drag-and-drop interface to program virtual Linkbot and Lego robots. The RoboBlockly curriculum includes a student self-guided Hour of Code activity as well as teacher-led math activities that meet Common Core state standards for fourth to ninth grade.
• ChArduino–students use Ch programming (kind of a simplified, easier-to-learn C+) and an Arduino board.

To assist teachers, UC Davis offers professional development  that lasts between two days and a week on how to roll out the lessons and/or curriculum in their classrooms as well as a C-STEM Conference to share ideas and stories with other educators.  For students, there are CSTEM camps and competitions to showcase the robot wizardry of programmers from elementary through high school.

To evaluate C-STEM Studio, let’s look at three questions:

• so what
• who cares
• why bother

So What

One of the most pressing and timely issues facing the education community nationally is how we can address teaching math, science, and engineering concepts to the K-12 population. C-STEM Studio does that with a compelling and thorough software program which trains both students and teachers to use robotics as a superior vehicle for learning math.

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Here are eight of the top Digital Storytelling articles according to Ask a Tech Teacher readers:

• 9 Best-in-Class Digital Storytelling Tools
• Storyboard That–Digital Storyteller, Graphic Organizer, and more
• Digital Storytelling Websites
• Common Core Writing–Digital Quick Writes
• 42 Great Story Websites You’ll Love
• Monday Freebies #28: My Storybook
• Weekend Website #29: Storybook Maker

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BloomBoard is a professional development website for teachers and administrators. On the teacher side, educators learn, share, and discuss teaching ideas. The resources–including over 10,000 articles, videos, lesson plans, and more–are clear, easy-to-navigate, and user-friendly, with opportunities to collaborate with other teachers. What truly makes this educator-oriented site unique is that teachers can earn topical micro-credentials that can be used by their school district or state credentialing agencies (depending upon the circumstance). To earn these, teachers view the required materials, answer a set of questions, and then submit evidence of impact on practice such as lesson plans, instructional materials, and videos.

On the administrator side, BloomBoard offers the ability to look at reports and recommend resources for professional development. Analytics provide insight into which professional development resources and topics are most popular.

Alongside BloomBoard’s free content are premium pieces such as tools to collaborate with colleagues, private spaces for virtual discussions and document sharing, a dashboard to monitor the most widely-used district-wide collections and micro-credentials, the ability to create unique micro-credentials, and dedicated support from BloomBoard instructional practitioners. Within a district hub, admins can also create programs around particular topics such as ELL and special education that enable them to set shared goals, resources, and opportunities for collaboration and conversation.

Here’s what you do:

• sign up for a free account
• fill out a profile with your interests and goals
• start reviewing recommended materials or browse the resources

Pros

• The problem often with professional development isn’t a lack of resources; it’s identifying the ones that fit specific needs. BloomBoard does this for educators.
• Resources are recommended that fit teacher grade level, subject area, and teaching interests.
• BloomBoard tracks the progress of each teacher’s professional development and chronicles how they hone their skills.

Cons

• One piece I always seek out on educator websites is an active forum where I can ask questions of colleagues and work through problems. While BloomBoard does offer this (a great plus), it’s too new to be robust. I look forward to what it will grow into over time.
• Another feature that really isn’t a con, simply on a wishlist: Teachers and administrators can curate collections, but not load their own material. On the plus side: The reason is that BloomBoard wants to review the material and ensure its quality before making it available.

Educational Uses

Here are six ways to integrate BloomBoard into your professional development:

• provide a curation of quality, tested resources organized by topic so teachers have a one-stop shop for informing themselves on topics of interest.
• track teacher professional learning for credentialing or recertification (or salary schedules).
• quickly find out who’s knowledgeable on a particular education subject (by reviewing earned micro-credentials).
• engage in group study of a topic to promote grade-level or school goals.
• extend learning using the BloomBoard recommendations, based on teacher profiles.
• stay up-to-date on education pedagogy with easy-to-access and reliable resources.

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Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.

August 1-10

169 Real-World Ways to Put Tech into Your Class NOW

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169 Real-World Ways to Put Tech Into Your Class Now provides 1) an overview of the tech topics most important to your teaching, and 2) practical strategies to address common classroom tech problems. Each tip is less than a page long–many only a third of a page. The goal: Give you what you need to know without a long learning curve. Topics include iPads, Chromebooks, assessment, differentiation, social media, security, writing, and more.

Here are some images from the curriculum:

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Parents increasingly find technology a roadblock to tracking student progress in the classrooms. There are too many options, with too few instructions that seem to constantly change. One of our Ask a Tech Teacher contributors summed it up like this:

Most parents have some concerns about keeping up with the part of the digital revolution that has extended to their child’s classroom. Parents who are not comfortable with technology, or who have no experience with it at all are facing challenges. Some of these non-techie parents are asking questions such as: 

* What kind of devices, programs, and/or apps will my child be using?

* How will the school communicate with me about my child’s progress in using a technological device?

* How much time during the school day does my child spend using a technological device?

* Will my child be taught to read, write and do mathematics without using a technological device?

* Does this school have an anti-cyberbullying program?

* Is the use of technology really good for my child’s education?

Parents who are not tech-savvy may be reassured about their children’s educations and futures when they understand that technological devices do not take the place of teachers.

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One of the most popular, free tools used by thousands of schools is a virtual bulletin board called Padlet. It starts as a blank canvas (called a ‘wall’) to which users can add text, video, images, weblinks, and more. It can be accessed via a direct link that is posted or emailed, or an embed in any digital platform that accepts these HTML codes (such as a blog, website, or wiki). It can be managed from the website, a mobile device, or with a Chrome app or extension. Walls can also be emailed, printed, social shared, or saved as an image or PDF file. Individual accounts are free; education accounts are charged per teacher.

Here’s how it works:

• set up an account so that you can save and share your walls
• quickly and easily create your first wall with a customized background, title, and layout. Backgrounds include lined paper, blueprint, a chalkboard, and more.
• once the set-up is completed share the link or embed with students
• to participate, all students do is tap the screen and add their comment

Pros

If you have a Google account, you can use your Google account to sign on. No need to create a new account.

All walls are by default semi-private — accessed only through the direct link or the embed, but privacy options range from ‘private’ to ‘public’. You choose your level of transparency.

An unusual ‘save’ option is to export as a PDF. This creates a completed document that is platform-neutral.

Amazingly, the walls are ad-free whether you’re on the website or the embed. I don’t know how they manage this, but I’m thrilled — and hope it lasts!

Cons

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As teachers get more creative about differentiating for student needs, we’re turning to tools that use other approaches than writing a report or creating a class play. One I hear more and more about is podcasts. Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Emily Southey, has some thoughts on how to integrate podcasts into your lesson planning:

In the age of technology, students and teachers alike listen to podcasts in their spare time. They are funny, entertaining, and often educational. Podcasts are episodic series of audio, video, or PDF files that can be downloaded or streamed through the internet. In addition to the podcasts that already exist in the world, there are enormous benefits to having your students record podcasts of their own. I have found that podcasts can be used both as material for class and as an evaluation tool. What follows are 4 ways that podcasts can be introduced into the classroom. Enjoy!

As an alternative to an oral report

Oral presentations can get old for both the students and the teacher. Having students record their presentations as podcasts and upload them to the class website can be both a class time saver as well as a medium where students can express their creativity with the option to include music or interviews. In addition, assigning a podcast instead of an oral report may allow the shyer students in the class to flourish, as their fears about standing up in front of their peers will be mitigated. This lesson plan from Dr. Pastore highlights several topics that students could create a podcast on with links to examples of podcasts that cover courses ranging from French as a second language to math.

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Math teachers: Here are great suggestions from efriend and math afficionado, Matt Kim:

Before I was ever a high school math teacher, I was always a hardcore technophile. As long as I can remember, technology has been one of those things that have caught my interest no matter what my current job title was at that time. It makes sense that when Jacqui and I were talking about popular tech tools and ways to bring tech into the k-12 math class, I had a lot to share and get excited about and jumped at the opportunity to write this post. It really is an exciting time for technology in education and the tools available to us to use today in our math classes is no exception. Just a disclaimer though, I am a high school math teacher, so a few of the tech-tools I reference in this post belong mostly in a secondary math classroom, but with a little elbow grease and ingenuity, there are ways to fit them into any K-12 math curriculum as well. For the most part, these are just great ways to incorporate tech in your math classroom so feel free to give them a try!

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A screencast is a video recording of what’s happening on your computer monitor, often with annotations and/or narration. It can be simple or sophisticated, anything from a whiteboard presentation to a slideshow to a movie-like video. With Common Core’s emphasis on understanding and explaining tasks, screencasts are a great way for both students and teachers to share the required steps in completing a math problem, collaborate on close reading, or pursue any other literacy activity.

Screencast tools may be web-based, software, or a browser add-on and include some or all of the following:

• a spotlight for the mouse
• the presenter picture, usually in the right corner
• ability to edit the video once completed
• ability to upload to YouTube, the Cloud, or another common file sharing location

There are a lot of reasons to use screencasts:

• Record procedures and answer common questions.
• Give students audio-visual feedback (the next best thing to a 1:1 conversation).
• Record lessons that students can access anytime, anywhere.
• Make a video to help the substitute teacher.
• Communicate using a media students love — videos.
• Provide video evidence of class activities in a flipped classroom.
• Create a live recording during a class activity or a student presentation.
• Share student-created content as part of homework or a class activity.
• Provide training videos for both faculty and students.
• Offer a fun, unique approach to digital storytelling.

Once you’ve selected your preferred tool for screencasting, here are tips to make it easier and more effective:

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When you think of the Supreme Court, you think of old people in black robes that dispassionately determine the fate of the country’s laws. That’s all true, but there’s more to maintaining law and order than a podium and a gavel. The Supreme Court is the apex of one of three branches in the American government:

• The Legislative (the House and the Senate) passes laws
• The Executive (the President) executes the laws
• The Judicial (all the courts in the United States from the local courts to the Supreme Court) judges whether the laws and their execution abide by the nation’s Constitution

The Supreme Court consists of nine individuals who are nominated by the President and voted in by the Senate. Once approved, they serve for life, the hope being that this allows them to judge apolitically, based on the merits of the case rather than political leaning. These guidelines are not without controversy but are critical to a healthy, democratic environment.

But this year, an election year, is different. The death of Antonin Scalia leaves the court split evenly between those who lean Democrat and those who lean Republican. Rarely in our history has an outgoing president — in his last year — been tasked with selecting such a critical Supreme Court justice.

Really, it’s much more complicated than what I’ve described, but this isn’t the place to unravel what could become a Gordian knot of intrigue over the next few months. Suffice to say, this process will overwhelm the media and your students will want to know more about what is normally a dull and boring process and why it has become foundational to our future. This provides a rare opportunity to educate them on the court system in America.

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