Thursday, March 23, 2017

The Power of Twitter!

Do you often Google new ideas for your classroom, but you’re just not sure if they will work, or how to best manage the flow of the activity? Do you feel bored with the same lesson you’ve done for a particular standard and want a new idea? Enter the supportive and amazing educational world of Twitter!
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Eight years ago, a DIF in my former county told me I really needed to be on Twitter. In my ignorance of what a powerful tool it could be to build my PLN, I declined, telling her I really didn’t need to know all the gossip being shared by strangers. And really, didn’t she realize how busy I was grading papers, writing lesson plans, and preparing for my students every day? I didn’t have time for Twitter!

Thankfully, I accepted her challenge to try it for 30 days, and since then, have been a part of one of the best educational networks in my career. I currently follow, learn from, and connect with over 1800 educators from around the world!

For those of you not familiar with Twitter, it is a social networking site that allows you to share ideas and thoughts in up to 140 characters with others around the world. The 140 character limit is perfect for educators since our time is valuable and we don’t very often wish to read long paragraphs of text. Ideas are short and to the point. You can also attach photos, short videos, and links as you share the wonderful things you are doing in your classroom!

Many of the technology integration ideas and tools I have come to love, I first learned about on Twitter. Teachers and others who work with kids on a daily basis share successes and difficulties which often allows me to hit the ground running, rather than tiptoeing in “will this work?” mode!

One of the best ways to dip your toes into the Twitter waters is to lurk during a scheduled “chat”. There are many weekly Twitter chats focused on various topics, grade levels, and/or subject areas. Those who participate engage in meaningful conversations similar to the EdCamp MCS recently held. The chats are organized by hashtag (#), so if you search a particular hashtag, you can see what everyone has shared. HERE is a calendar of many of the education chats being held. Pick one that seems interesting, get on Twitter at the appropriate time, and search the #tag to see all the great ideas being shared! You may even be drawn in and tweet out your own thoughts on the topic! Lurking in a Twitter chat is also a great way to find other educators with similar interests to follow. (Below is a screenshot taken during a chat.)

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So, in an effort to introduce you to one of the best personal learning networks and some of the most awesome professional development you have experienced, I challenge you to join the educational side of Twitter (if you haven’t already). Just like my friend and colleague challenged me eight years ago, I ask you to give it a try for 30 days so you can see what a valuable learning tool it can be for you as an educator!

Your DIF can help you get started, and by “following” members of the DIF team (our Twitter handles are listed below), you’ll get a glimpse of many of the cool things happening in our schools right here in Moore County! Knocking down the walls of your classroom is a TWEET away! Give it a try!
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DIF Twitter Handles
Deanna Boesch @deannaboesch
Kelly Priest @KRPriest
Beth Alderson @texteachBeth
TJ Martin @tmartin4726
Carrie Robledo @carrierobledo
Kim Collazo @kcollazo
Clint Rogers @clint_rogers21
Jill Snotherly @snotherlyj
Jilian Reynolds @JilianReynolds
Lee Ann Holmes @tlvfan
Will Herring @WillHerring16
Steve Johnson @edtechsteve
Moore County Digital @MCSDigital

Happy Tweeting ~ Kim


Friday, March 17, 2017

6th Grade Science Coding Infusion

Looking for a fun way to review the Layers of the Earth?

...Oh...did I mention infusing a little computer science too?

Over the past few weeks, Mrs. Yeager, from Southern Middle, and Mrs. Greer & Mrs. Clark, from West Pine Middle, have joined me in teaching students how to infuse a little coding into their science classrooms.  

Let's review the lesson steps so YOU may try this in your classrooms!

Students:
1.  Go to the following website:  wescheme.org
2.  Click "login"
3.  Click "Allow"

This is where I explain the coding platform and tell the students that coders use two windows: the definitions window and the interactions window.  The definitions window is where the code is written and the interactions window will show mistakes in code after running the program.  If there are no errors, the code will run the program.

4.  Type the following code on the left side of the screen:
(circle 50 "solid" "red")

6.  Click "run" at the top left of the page     


A red circle should appear on the right side of the screen.  If it doesn't, have students analyze the code for errors.

7.  Now, type the following code on the left:
(overlay(circle 50 "solid" "red")              
             (circle 100 "solid" "orange"))

This should look like this after students click "run."




So, now that the students know the overlay code, they will need to figure out how to represent the four layers of the Earth.
* Hint:  The parentheses might be confusing.  The ONLY time there are double parentheses will be at the end of the entire code.  Therefore, the final solution would look like this:





  

If students want to explore further, have them click on "Documentation" and look up how to code tons of shapes and ideas!



 Happy Coding!
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Wednesday, March 8, 2017

DIF Team in Action

The Digital Integration Facilitators of Moore County are a team of fully licensed, former classroom teachers, that now serve as the technology specialists in the schools.  Our number one goal is to keep Moore County Students and staff at the forefront of educational changes.

We work closely with teachers and instructional staff to develop curriculum materials and lessons that are engaging and appropriately integrate the digital tools available at each school. Throughout the day, DIFs model lessons for teachers in all content areas, thus providing job embedded staff development and support for teachers.  We can also be seen providing staff development and training in small grade level or content area meetings, large group conference settings, and via online modules for learning.  We are responsible for training teachers on things from how to integrate an app into their classroom, digital citizenship practices, to the North Carolina Technology Competencies for Educators. We often troubleshoot when a technology issue occurs in the middle of instruction, so learning is not disrupted. It is our job to know the digital tools out there and assist school personnel in finding the tool to fit their teaching and learning needs.  

DIFs are responsible for the green screens, robotics, game design, 3D printing, and other projects our local students come home talking about. Many of the robots, drones, competition boards, virtual reality gear, and other various tech tools used by the DIF team were acquired by the team members through grants we wrote ourselves.  

Similar to classroom teachers, our day does not end when the bell rings, as after school robotics coaches, we are teaching young students how to code, invent, and problem solve.  The elementary and middle school DIFs are doing this at two schools, so we are pulling double duty.  The robotics showcases in the spring are organized and run by the DIF team.  This year, Moore County Schools will host the first ever regional showcase for middle school and elementary students.  

Have you heard about a five year old talking about building a house out of toothpicks to protect a little pig from the wolf, or a solar oven made out of cardboard to make a s’more, or perhaps constructing a robotic kicker that can ‘bowl’? This past summer, we designed the STEM Engineering Thread, to introduce the engineering and design process to students. We designed both robotics and non-robotics lessons that are aligned to the curriculum for each grade level K-5. The team plans on extending this thread into middle grades this summer.  Currently, in middle school students are using code in math class to design their own video games and this year we had a middle school team make it all the way to state in their first year of competition with FTC robots. At the high school level, we have students competing and winning at the state level and placing 9th at the national level in a cyber security competition, in the second year of the program.  

The DIF team is very busy and we do much more than chromebooks or apps.  This past week, 10 of our 12 DIFs presented at the state technology conference, North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES).  We presented on topics and practices that are in place right here in our schools every day, something our team is very proud of.  

Currently, the DIF team is working on this summer’s STEM camp.  This aviation themed camp promises to bring STEM education to life and make it very relevant for students. This self sustained annual camp is planned and carried out by the DIF team as well.  

If you are curious about what we do, please check out the Digital Learning Showcase at West Pine Elementary next Thursday, March 16, from 6-7 pm.  See for yourself what is at stake in Moore County and the great work our team is doing.  



Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Ian Mackey - The Man Behind the Machine

It was the Monday after Thanksgiving and I was returning back to work after being out with the birth of our daughter.  I walked into the North Moore Media Center and said good morning to Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Garner like any other Monday morning.  I checked my schedule and saw that we had a little less than 3 weeks before the Winter Warriors Robotics competition at Union Pines High School.  I walked into the North Moore Makerspace to see the progress that had been made to the robot since I left them with a pile of pieces 6 weeks earlier.  Much to my chagrin, the pieces were left almost exactly how I last seen them.  I began to panic until Mrs. Davis said she knew just the person I needed to get this robot built.

I found Ian Mackey at lunch that very day.  Ian is a Chevy truck loving, kayak paddling, robot building machine.  I showed Ian the Velocity Vortex video and he started almost immediately building our robot.  He was a leader on our team in the Engineering Design Process and led the North Moore Robotics team to a strong showing at both the in-county Union Pines Winter Warriors competition and the Regional Qualifier Competition at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill.

He was a leader on our team in the Engineering Design Process and led the North Moore Robotics team to a strong showing at both the in-county Union Pines Winter Warriors competition and the Regional Qualifier Competition at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill.  


Ian knew that we were behind other teams but that did not stop his creativity and positive attitude.  He led team meetings after school and on weekend build days.  Ian was always open to other ideas from team members.


Here is a short video of the warm-ups before the actual Winter Warriors event.  To get a true appreciation for how much work Ian did, the robot was a pile of pieces in a toolbox just 10 days earlier.  


I had a chance to sit down with Ian to ask him some questions about his time in the Robotics program.  This is what he had to say:


1.  What were the highlights of the Robotics season?  
I think the highlight of the season is at the end of the building stage when it turns into crunch time and you have to get a working robot.  I enjoy the pressure and tend to work well under it.  

2.  What would you have changed about the Robotics team?  
I would have like to have another builder as into it as I was to bounce some of my own ideas off of.  It would also have been nice if we could get some better materials to build with.  

3.  How did the Robotics team experience add to your skill-set as a student?  
I learned a lot about the programming and building the robot learned some good problem solving techniques.

4.  Tell me about your experiences in building, engineering, problem solving.  
I ran into a lot of problems in the building stage getting the motors to run without stripping the gears.  The claw on the end of the arm required a lot of guess and test.

5.  What kind of vision do you have for North Moore Robotics in the future?  
Well I hope they keep it going.  It's a good program and fun.  Not many clubs are as fun as the robotics.

6.  What are your plans for after high school? 
I plan to attend Randolph Community College for 2 years and complete a course for my future job.

7.  What was the most challenging thing about the Robotics program?
The most challenging part of building was the little bit of time I had to build a working robot.  We were in a big time crunch.  

8.  What was the easiest part of the Robotics season?
The easiest part of the season was the competition day it was more fun than anything.

9.  Anything else you want to mention....
I really recommend the robotics club if you like to build or tinker with stuff such as robots or machines.