Sometimes the best resources are in your own building! Especially at a time when health protocols, expenses, and time prevent us from taking field trips.
5-6, 7-8, 9-12, Advanced Topics, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, Computer Science I, Robotics, Uncategorized
With the added pressure of Back to School Night in person (we hosted virtually last year in a modified format), I decided to stick with what I’m most comfortable with and just teach. In each class, I picked out a quick unplugged activity or discussion to give a truer sense of what a period in my classroom is like. Here are some ideas.
What do I want my students to leave my class knowing? It’s not the nitty gritty details of syntax and memory management. Rather, I want them to see computer science in their everyday activities. I want them to see their coding, iterative design, and critical thinking skills as tools in their toolboxes. And, I want them to have the skill set to investigate and research new ways to use these skills to solve problems. To prove to themselves that they have these skills, I end the year with a final project that I call their “Passion Project.”
9-12, Advanced Topics, AP Computer Science Principles, Computer Science I, Hybrid Learning, Uncategorized
A few weeks ago I decided to work through this Mixtape tutorial on Repl.it that utilizes the Spotify API. While an excellent tutorial on it’s own, especially for someone teaching themselves, I saw an awesome opportunity to expand each part with rich discussions and discovery activities. Over the course of a few lessons, students explore HTTP requests, discuss the values set forth by the Developer’s Terms of Service, interpret JSON objects, write basic HTML, make use of Flask and Python, and put it all together in the original tutorial’s Mixtape project.
Never too late to the recursion party! Looking at traditional examples from a pedagogical standpoint.
Simulations has always been a fun topic to explore with my computer science students. I know AP only includes it for a lesson or two, but I luxuriously explore it for a few periods since my students have already had some programming experience. If your students are familiar with Python, I’ve got a simulation for them!
Since I always feel short on time, I try to find out what they already know while doing fun activities that set the tone for my classroom. I want students to know that it’s okay to laugh and have fun, try something even if they’re not sure, ask questions, and work together.
I asked students, “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” about the network traffic. Amazing discussion followed.