NEWS POST

Middle School Participates in HOUR OF CODE

written by Ellen Hatherill

On Wednesday, April 16, all 150 seventh and eighth graders participated in the inaugural Middle School Hour of Code run by Holton’s Upper School 3D Printing and Computer Programming Club. Hour of Code is a nationwide initiative to introduce as many students as possible to one hour of computer science and computer programming. Across the country, tens of millions of students have tried the Hour of Code, including Holton’s entire Upper School.

Lead by 9th graders, Clara Ferrari, Rinnie Hewlett, Victoria Thede, and Sarah Greisdorf, the Middle School girls spent the hour learning the basics of coding via a self-directed tutorial. In addition to this introduction to coding, the girls learned that computer programmers are the master minds behind the technology we encounter in everyday life i.e. cell phones, microwaves, computers, even traffic lights.

Mrs. Mary Dobroth, Holton’s Academic Technology Coordinator, applauded the girls’ enthusiasm for the Hour of Code saying, “A week ago, I emailed the girls instructions for downloading an app that introduced programming. The girls could not wait until the Middle School Hour of Code to start exploring! Almost immediately, they jumped right in creating everything from basic codes that could draw a pattern to more advanced programs to create games!

To view the Hour of Code photo gallery, click here
To view the original news story, click here

Friday FAVORITES

In honor of National Poetry Month (and a very long week) this week's Friday FAVORITE is brought to you by Kid President (soulpancake.com)

Happy Friday!

I AM HERE TO HELP!

I am constantly working to learn how I can better support the teachers around me. As the Academic Technology Coordinator, supporting the teachers is not just what I am here to do, but it is what I absolutely love doing! In November of 2012 I wrote a post titled WHAT CAN YOUR TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR DO FOR YOU. This post (which was actually then sent out as a Tech Tip Tuesday PDF) definitely seemed to help teachers understand some of the ways I can help support them.

Although I stay very busy working with teachers and students - I am always wondering if I can do more. How can I be more proactive about the types of training I offer? How can I get the word out that we have access to so many great tech tools?  How do I make sure the training I am offering is the training that is wanted?

Just before spring break, I sent out a SHORT survey, and by SHORT I mean VERY SHORT. The survey contained only a few questions and on average, took each teacher only about a minute and a half to complete. My goal was to gather feedback from each and every teacher that will be able to inform the types of training opportunities I offer. As I work on planning summer training opportunities for both teachers and students, I wanted to share the result of the survey.

QUESTION 1

It was no surprise to me that individualized training as needed was the most popular response (93%) and that summer workshops (45%) came in second. What was most useful though, was the percentage of faculty members who are interested in lunchtime workshops (34%). Lunch n' Learn sessions have definitely been on my list of programs I want to start and this is just the motivation that I needed!. Although Tuesday afternoon sessions (13%) and Thursday afternoon sessions (15%) did not rank very high, they would be a natural addition to lunch time workshops - once the material is prepared I might as well present it more than once in order for as many people to participate as possible.  

QUESTION  2

Question 2 simply gives me a starting point for training topics. My main focus is to provide course pages training and iPad integration, but will definitely focus on providing training opportunities for Google tools and web based tools as well. 

For each question asked, I also provided an open comment field. Many of the comments actually told me much more than the response choices ever could have, but two comments in particular made my day! (Have I mentioned I work with the most amazing?)

AS A RESULT OF THE SURVEY

While I will definitely design survey questions a little bit differently, overall I received good information that helps me design training opportunities that will hopefully be more useful to the faculty. As a result of the information I collected, I am currently working on planning the following training events.

Summer 2014
iPad BootCamp
Course Pages 101
Advanced Course Pages
Google Tools 101
HATTS!

2014-2015 School Year
Lunch N' Learn
Tech Tuesday

I can't wait to start training!

LS GATHERING - DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

To follow up on last week's parent coffee on Raising Digital Citizens, this morning I presented an abbreviated presentation to the Lower School teachers and students at morning gathering. 

My hope is that I may have sparked some dinner time conversation digital citizenship, online safety and what it means to be leaving digital footprints. 

Below is the presentation I delivered this morning. I was quite impressed this morning with how intently the girls listened to the material I presented and look forward to spending more time focusing on digital citizenship with the lower school girls. 

[LS Morning Gathering Presentation]

Looking for more?

One of the resources I found especially helpful in introducting the idea of digital citizeship to younger girls was the digital citizesnhip poster from the blog The Book Fairy Goddess by Sandy Karas Liptas an elementary school librarian. I was lead to the digital citizenship poster through this website on digital citizenship which lists a variety of great resources worth exploring.

What resources have you found to be useful when talking to younger students about digital citizeship?

 

LOWER SCHOOL PARENT COFFEE

Today, I am spending the morning talking the the parents of Lower School girls about Raising Digital Citizens. Check out my presentation below! I always enjoy speaking to parents and look forward to the questions they will ask - I just hope I get a good turn out! For more digital citizenship resources for parents, check out the RAISING DIGITAL CITIZENS page.

[Holton-Arms Lower School Parent Coffee]

Friday FAVORITES

Social media is tool that can be use to make your classroom more engaging, relevant, and provide means for communication with a diverse population. Modeling appropriate use is the best way to teach students how these tools can be used for good! A GUIDEBOOK FOR SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM (edutopia.com) provides 12 examples of how teachers are using social media in the classroom right now!

Its never too early to start talking about responsible ways to use social media. The following online tools provide a safe introduction to social media as a tool to construct and present information for students who are under the age of 13.

1. Create FAKE FACEBOOK PAGES as an in-depth character study of historical or literary characters. (classtools.net)

2. FAKEBOOK PROJECT EXAMPLE (toengagethemall.bllogspot.com)

3. Create FAKE TWITTER CONVERSATIONS between historical characters, as a book report replacement or to practice written world languages. (faketweetbuilder.com)

4. Create FAKE TWEETS in response to a prompt, to summarize an idea or as an exit ticket. (classtools.net)

5. Create FAKE TEXT MESSAGE EXCHANGES to create short conversations between historical characters, practice written exchanges in world languages or even in digital citizenship programs to have students model do's and don'ts of text messaging or shoe how easily things can be taken out of context. (fakephonetext.com)