Category: stem
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Lessons Gleaned from the Life of Joseph Priestley
Tremendous benefits await those who generously share their ideas with others. Leaders should not shy away from the challenges of developing professional expertise in multiple domains. Regular collaboration and networking over excellent food and drink can prepare the mind as a fertile field for the cultivation of life-changing thoughts. New technologies can present novel opportunities…
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Digital Literacy Challenge: Create an Information Filter Bot
Two of the most important digital literacy skills we need to develop and practice today are the ability to effectively filter information and the ability to create algorithms (code) which cause digital pixels to do our bidding. In this post, I’ll describe the steps I followed to create an “information filter bot” over the Christmas holidays…
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How Microsoft is Poised to Destroy MinecraftEDU
As an elementary STEM teacher turned technology director, I’m extremely enthusiastic about the positive potential for students and teachers to use MinecraftEDU software to create powerful learning experiences. I’m extremely disappointed and sad, however, to learn about the changes and price structure which Microsoft is making to the “MinecraftEDU School Edition” set for official release on…
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Podcast446: Reflections on a PBS Scratch Jr Coding Camp for Kids
Coding is an important literacy skill we need to introduce to everyone in the 21st century! This podcast features reflections by Shelly Fryer (@sfryer) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) following a PBS Scratch Jr. Coding Camp for Kids in Edmond, Oklahoma, on September 17, 2016. It also includes some recorded audio from Shelly’s lessons during the…
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Create a Maze Game in PBS Scratch Jr
Scratch is a wonderful, FREE, block-based coding language and website students around the world have used since 2007 to create over 16 million projects. “Scratch is used in more than 150 different countries and available in more than 40 languages.” Learners of all ages have created a diverse array of animations, games, interactive art projects, music and dance projects, stories, and…
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STEM and Coding in Yukon Public Schools Featured on Oklahoma Horizon TV
Many thanks to Oklahoma educator Amy Jo Garner (@amyjogarner) for letting me know today via Twitter that Oklahoma Horizon TV has a featured segment from my 2015 STEM classroom at Independence Elementary School in Yukon Public Schools in their episode this week. thanks so much for the heads up! I'll check it out on #AppleTV 🙂…
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Podcast442: Classroom Passion Projects, Maker Studio & Digital Citizenship with Shelly Fryer
This Speed of Creativity podcast features an extended interview with 3rd and 4th grade teacher Shelly Fryer, who shares about her students’ classroom passion projects, learning in “Maker Studio,” and learning about digital citizenship via the class chat feature of the iPad app News-O-Matic. Shelly has been teaching for over twenty years, and this was…
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Podcast441: iPads in Maker Studio by Shelly Fryer (May 2016)
This podcast is a recording of Shelly Fryer’s presentation “iPads in Maker Studio” via a Google Hangout for the 2016 Global Maker Day Conference. The session description was: “Learn how our third and fourth grade students use their iPads in our maker studio to document their learning and share both inside and outside our classroom.…
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Scratch Day in Oklahoma City on Saturday, May 14, 2016
Know any kids in grades 2-6 who would love to learn how to create their own video games? Register them today to join me for Scratch Day at Oklahoma City University on Saturday, May 14, 2016! Scratch Day is an annual event sponsored by the MIT Media Lab to promote coding, digital creativity, computational thinking, and…