Given the theme this year, I decided to take a risk. Coding and STEM activities are very hot topics right now in education, and as a math teacher, I admit I am inadequately educated in these areas. So as the saying goes, "the future is now"...no time like the present to remedy the situation!
Game Creation Graphic Organizer
I began my day learning how to effectively harness the five components of game design to design my own video game in GameStar Mechanic. There is a great ELA tie-in as well when students storyboard their video game first in order to ensure the story component of their video game is logical. I whipped up this quick graphic organizer as an adaptation from Tanya Stahl's organizer she uses with her students at Hawthorne Middle School North. I see a future where area, perimeter, and problem solving can be augmented with video game creation in math class...
Three-dimensional building, the perfect tie-in to any math unit on measurement, comes to life using programs like Lego Digital Designer, TinkerCad, and Sketchup. 123D Design and Tinker Play are downloadable iPad apps that have similar functions. If your school is lucky enough to have a 3D printer, students will really love having the ability to see their creations come to life. Another teacher in my session showed me examples of her students' 3D printing projects which included keychains, guitar picks, and earbud cord wraps. (She commented that the earbud chord wraps require especially carefully measurements.) I see a future where students' understandings of measurement, surface area, and scale drawing come to life before their eyes...
My first coding lesson
I was most excited about dipping my toes into the waters of coding. Code.org is a well-known resource for coding, particularly since it is a huge promotor of Hour of Code. Hour of Code argues that everyone can learn coding after this introductory hour to computer science and coding. I really enjoyed learning the (very beginning) basics of Java with Code Combat, a site that teaches coding through engagement in a fantasy game. In order to move my avatar, I had to enter the correct Java script. There are also other coding language options on this site as well. Another workshop participant also shared Bootstrap World, which teaches coding through algebraic functions. Someday (when I am a coding pro) I may be able to program a Sphero to run an obstacle course or write this entire blog post from the HTML page(!). I see a future where my students and I are learning coding together, side by side...
I always tell my students that I am a life-long learner. What better way to embrace the future than by modeling this mantra for my students, learning in tandem with my students, and exploring how we can be critical thinkers and problem solvers together?
(P.S. I wrote the line of code that centered this embedded YouTube video--victory!)
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