Ngā Matapakinga | Discussion

I'm mostly a Māui style learner. I love to have something to work on, instructions beside me and then give it a go.

@Joanne.Roberts1

To start with, my big concern is my lack of knowledge at this point.  I guess I am in the right place to deal with that.  Unfortunately, there are too many educators out there who are resistant to change, especially with digital development.  However, I am really excited about seeing student engagement with computational thinking and where it can take them!

Rāwhiti School has continued to respond in innovative ways to implementing digital technologies across their school. Here's an interview with Elizabeth (leader of CIT release, library and e-learning/DTs) talking about their journey at Rāwhiti School so far and sharing some authentic examples of DT in practice.

Anything look familiar? Or is there something new to view? We'd love to hear from you.  Meri Kirihimete tatou.

Thank you Jess Bond for sharing this story.

Kia ora koutou. Recently we've seen the sorting network drawn out on a king size sheet which I thought was a great idea. All it requires to make up is a circle big enough for one person to stand in to draw around (perhaps a baking tin) and a rectangle big enough for two people to stand in (perhaps a 60cmx30cm whiteboard, although the two people would still be a bit snug). If the shapes have a bit of a gap around them then people don't need to be standing exactly inside the shapes. The sheet can be easily folded up small and pulled out when needed. Check out the second-hand shops for large sheets/duvet covers.

Technology Online has hosted another great presentation, where primary teacher and STEM specialist Sarah Washbrooke shares how she makes connections locally across her community to find authentic ways to integrate both Computational Thinking and Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes. Well worth viewing and sharing.

Download the slides: Local curriculum projects and digital technologies (PDF, 3 MB) Taken from Technology Online

Kia ora @Deborah.Newman1, thanks for sharing your current reality. I think you'll find you're not alone in this scenario. 

My 11yr son has programmed some simple games in Scratch and would tell you he has used Scratch 'heaps' (he hasn't). What he also probably couldn't tell you is, his understanding of what coding concepts are or what programming is - in terms of the six elements of programming:

1. Sequence
2. Input
3. Output
4. Selection/ IF statements
5. Iteration/Loops
6. Storage/Variables

Taken from Pīkau 07: CTDT: What is programming?

What we need our students to do, is develop a programming mindset that can be transferred into other text-based programming languages (in addition to Python). What we can do as teachers, is to make the language and meaning of the fundamental concepts and processes of Computational Thinking more overt (logic, algorithms, decomposition, patterns, abstraction, testing, debugging), as well as make correlations to six elements of programming above. These can then be transferred across to any programming language.

I’m also thinking, if students show an understanding for what the blocks do in Scratch (control blocks, motion blocks operators, variables etc) then they might be more able to see the patterns/instructions required text-base coding might help too. Like this example illustrated in Pīkau 07: CTDT: What is programming?

Scratch is a layered programme, we really can go as shallow or deep as our own knowledge allows. The wonderful thing about it, is the potential for students to code together to make something more complex. Mr Google has some resources to help teach segways from block coding in Scratch to Python. 

Also wondering if you Deborah (or anyone else) has dabbled with Gamefroot (NZ web based platform) that helps transition from Scratch blocks to blocks in Gamefroot? Love to hear more about how teachers are transitioning students from block coding to text-based coding language.

Thanks Debbie, this will be very useful. 

Nicki 

A big huge thank you to Karl Summerfield and Warren Hall who up-skilled us about types of 3D printers, practical tips to consider when purchasing and using them, as well as contexts and examples of effective use in yesterday's webinar.

Anyone starting out or already using 3D printers will get something out of this webinar. The recording and presentation slides (and much much more) are available in the Enabling e-Learning discussion thread, DISCUSSION POST: Using 3D printing in real-world contexts. 

If you are starting out and have dived into these resources, I'd love to hear your feedback.

You're so right @Laura.Butler2 and Clive! I think it's timely to have well-rounded discussions about this space with our kids. Who makes the decisions? Who will they benefit? How do we know if the decisions are moral, ethical, just and fair?  

As we face an increasing amount of global issues/wicked problems, then the effective use of AI may well help the human condition...just like this Microsoft AI advertisement I found myself being drawn to...

This could become part of a localised electric garden project or a project using Micro:Bit moisture sensors Laura for your juniors - tracking the growth of plants etc.  https://www.electricgarden.nz/

Long term, interesting to be aware of the potential implications of Artificial Intelligence for education and industry (CORE Education's Ten Trends, p57). What do you think, is this something we can take to the kids

Found some examples on how to explore Beebots in maths. Do you have Beebots in your school? How are your students using them? Any other ideas to share?

@Natalia.King-Taylor TIP is a great idea to help grow knowledge and capacity collectively. I'm going to try the same TIP activity with the teachers I work with, so thank you for sharing this.

I'm also going to make some time to explore some more of these archived activities from CSUnplugged as well. How were you going to collate the teacher resources? In a website or folders?

It basically looks the same way it does for you and me, @Tessa.Gray - be open to un-learn and re-learn in order to remain relevant. I believe that real problem solving, outside a given framework, an ability to discern between fact, fiction, apparently factual information and possibly proven probability could be a start for a new set of "key competencies". Computational thinking would provide a good platform for the development of those skills. Currently, our high school students are acquiring a considerable level of descriptive skills, which to a certain point, involve some analysis ability. However, analysis doesn't necessarily involve creativity, or at least the kind of creativity I was referring to earlier.

I wouldn't wish to sound too radical, but as I have previously mentioned, we need to adapt to a world that is changing at an exponential rate. Subject specialized individuals are becoming a species of the past. Universality is what keeps our minds open and our spirit ready to be surprised. Successful computer games have a powerful story line, more often than not, historical, as well as amazing graphics. Medical robots and devices are created by doctors and ultimately, the technical solutions to our current environmental problems will be solved by engineers who have a profound understanding of the living world and our history in the Universe. 

Most 2-state or cascading 2-state logic problems can be solved with boolean algebra.

Example 1 - which car warranty would provide wider coverage:

a) your car warranty covers 100,000 Km or 5 years

                                                or

b) your car warranty covers 100,000 Km and 5 years

Example 2 - use of IF, AND, FALSE, NOT etc. functions in Excel formulas

i.e. Working out the amount of tax and net pay for someone who earns between $14,000 - $48,000pa - =IF(14000<Gross<48000,14000*0.895+(Gross-14000)*0.825,0) This will return the net pay per year.

Example 3 - for ax^2+bx+c=0 - IF((b^2-4ac)>=0,REAL,IMAGINARY)