Moving at the Speed of Creativity

Tag: scratch

  • Reflections on Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (Part 1)

    This week I am attending a 4 1/2 day robotics workshop at Carnegie Mellon University, learning how to teach middle school robotics with the “Lego Spike Prime” robot platform. This is based on the Scratch programming language from MIT, which I love and have been using for over 10 years. In this podcast reflection (from…

  • Code as Poetry in 4th Grade Scratch Club

    The highlight of my Mondays now is getting to co-facilitate an after-school Scratch Coding Club with my wife. Today one of our fourth graders discovered a wonderful Scratch block that simplified a much more complex set of blocks I’d showed him a few weeks ago, and created a simple shooting cannon / animated cannon. I…

  • Inspired by Ohio Student Interactive Scratch Games

    I’m presenting and attending at the 2018 Ohio Educational Technology Conference in Columbus today and tomorrow, and this afternoon I stopped by the poster sessions outside the vendor hall. I met several different Ohio high school students who have been learning to create interactive games using the free Scratch programming language and MakeyMakey controllers. This is…

  • Educational Technology Updates for January 2018

    Hello and Happy New Year! That may sound odd on January 27, 2018, but it’s been over a MONTH since I’ve posted to my blog in mid-December. There are a variety of reasons for this, but rest assured I’m not becoming a “blog fader.” 🙂  This may be the longest lapse in blog posts for…

  • Developing Computational Thinking with Scratch Coding (webinar video)

    Last night I had an opportunity to present a free, evening webinar for the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Educational Technology Division, as part of a series they hosted to prepare teachers for Computer Science Education Week. The title of my presentation was, “Developing Computational Thinking with Scratch Coding.” The webinar recording is 1 hour and 11…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Scratch Camp Facilitator Workshop (April 2016)

    This Saturday, April 16, I’ll be leading a “Scratch Camp Facilitator Workshop” from 9 am to 1 pm at the Casady School in Oklahoma City. This FREE, hands-on workshop for educators is sponsored by The Div (@thedivorg), a non-profit based in Edmond, Oklahoma, focused on providing coding experiences for students. If you’re interested in attending,…

  • STEM and Scratch Resources (May 2013)

    I shared the following websites and resources with an Oklahoma City suburban school administrator recently who is helping start a STEM program at one of their elementary schools next fall. If you’re a STEM educator or involved with a K-12 STEM program these might be helpful. Both Chris Simon and Amy Luffelhotz are grade 4-5…

  • Technical troubleshooting and tinkering are essential skills

    Like it or not, technologies are a part of our lives today and show no signs of completely going away. While I resonate with those advocating for more time spent outdoors in unstructured environments, dream of working for hours in my own garden someday, and often have new-Luddite sentiments about a variety of topics relating…