BONUS Post: Hour of Code @ DCDS and Coding Resources

As I mentioned before, last week was Computer Science week and the week code.org was designating for their grassroots campaign goal of tens of millions of students to try an "Hour of Code."  The goal is to inspire K-12 students to take interest in computer science.  Coding is a wonderful opportunity to teach students 21st Century skills such as:

• Problem Solving
• Critical Thinking
• Computational Thinking 
• Collaboration

Well, I am happy to state that DCDS had over 600 students, a variety of faculty, and even Glen our Head Master  participate in the "Hour of code."   I had the privilege to participate as well in some of your classrooms and it was amazing to watch the engagement, collaboration, and problem solving skills our students were experiencing.  The best part for me was watching who our students leaned on for assistance when they ran into an issue...their peers.  Then watching them provide the leadership and guidance.  What an amazing experience!!

If you are interested in coding opportunities in your classroom, here are some resources to help you get started.

• Scratch: Coding program based on blockly language (blocks that link together to make writing code easier.
• ScratchEd:  An online community where scratch educators can share stories, exchange resources, and/or ask questions.
• Code.org:   A non-profit organization and websitethat aims to encourage people, particularly school students, to learn computer science.
• Codecademy:  Online interactive platform that offers free coding classes and resources in 9 different programming languages.

#1 of the December Ed Tech 12 List: Glean--"Explore the Best Video Lessons in Education"

The Ed Tech 12 list # 1 is...Glean.  This is a free website providing the "best educational video lessons" in the areas of math and science. The topics include Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, and Chemistry with Calculus, Physics and Organic Chemistry coming soon.   According to Glean, "There are incredible educational lessons all over the web but they're hard to find...we help find the best ones for students."  The site organizes and tags videos by educational standard, and wraps them in interactive tools (like Q&A and practice exercises).   This resource also has a feature in which teachers can assign videos to students and track how students interact with each lesson.

#2 of the December Ed Tech 12 List: BoomWriter--"Free and engaging group-writing tool"

The Ed Tech 12 list # 2 is...BoomWriter.  This is a free tool that provides a platform for students to engage in collaborative writing.  It offers three group-writing activities focusing on developing and enhancing writing and vocabulary skills across all curriculum areas.  The three activities include:

1. StoryWriter for creative and narrative writing
2. WordWriter for vocabulary  
3. ProjectWriter for expository, argument and scientific writing

#3 of the December Ed Tech 12 List: Adobe Slate--"Turn any photos and message into a beautiful visual story...in minutes."

The Ed Tech 12 list # 3 is...Adobe Slate.  Are you looking for a tool that allows students to tell a story to demonstrate understanding of content?  If the answer is yes, then Adobe Slate may be worth a look.  It is a creation tool that empowers users to create visual presentations through the web or the iPad app.  It is free, easy to use and creates visually rich presentations that can be shared with a link.

#4 of the December Ed Tech 12 List: Toontastic-"Amazing Digital Story App for the iPad"

The Ed Tech 12 list # 4 is...Toontastic.  This digital storytelling app for the iPad teaches storytelling skills through playful cartoon creation.  Launchpad Toys designed this app in partnership with Standford's Graduate School of Education and the Zeum:  San Francisco's Children's Museum. Recently Launchpad Toys was recently acquired by Google offering more free features within the app.

Toontastic is simple to use and has a built-in story arc that assists with creating well-structured stories.  The story arc is a story planner that forces students to plan out the setup, conflict, challenge, climax and resolution of the story.  Following the story arc encourages students to think, plan, execute, sequence and follow the key elements in storytelling.

Finished stories can be shared online (including on Toontastic's ToonTube) or saved to the camera roll.  This app also works great in a single iPad classroom as several students can collaborate on the same story taking turns creating and editing the scenes and characters of the story.   There are endless opportunities for assignments in all areas using Toontastic and this app offers a great way for students to become producers of content.

#5 of the December Ed Tech 12 List: Vialogues--"Build Discussion Boards Around Videos"

The Ed Tech 12 list #5 is...Vialogues.  Vialogues lets you build discussion boards around videos.   This platform provides a space for users to hold meaningful and dynamic time-stamped discussions about videos.  You can upload a video, grab one from YouTube, or choose one from their collection. Once created, scaffold video content by posting comments, polls and surveys.   Vialogues can be a great way to promote communication and critical thinking while using videos in your classroom

#6 of the December Ed Tech 12 List: Everystockphoto--"A search engine for free educational images"

The Ed Tech 12 list #6 is...Everystockphoto. This is a search engine for free photos.  The photos come from many sources on the web and are license-specific. Students can use  Everystockphoto for images they want to use for class projects, blogs, etc.  The image search will produce results with photos and the photo's license.  By clicking the license icon or tab, students can determine the permission available for use of that image (see screenshot below).  What a great and easy way to teach digital citizenship.  If you are interested in using the site to dive deeper into image licenses, check out their FAQ section with your students to begin conversations.