GWAEA Digital Learning Update
to ensure success for all learners - January 2020
EP70: Best of 2019
This is the last episode of 2019, and it's been a great year for using technology in the classroom, so Mindy and Jonathan round up some of their favorite edtech picks of the year. They also talk about some of your favorites too!
Show notes and links for everything discussed in the show can be found at: dlgwaea.org/podcast/70
You can follow Jonathan (@jonathanwylie) and Mindy (@TeamCairney) on Twitter, and see all the tweets from the Grant Wood AEA Digital Learning Team at @DLGWAEA. You can also email us with questions or ideas, podcast@gwaea.org. If you enjoy the show please share it with your friends and colleagues and/or leave us a review on your podcast app of choice.
THANK YOU for listening. We really couldn't (or wouldn't) do this without the support of listeners like you!
Think, Make, Innovate: Read, Connect, Create
This student edition of Think, Make, Innovate showcases students from Solon Community School District connecting to the story, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo. These students created suitcases and then wrote down things that were hard to talk about to put inside the suitcase. These students were able to share with one another these feelings and built a stronger sense of community.
Big thanks to Sara Pflughaupt, Solon Community School District's Teacher Librarian
You can also subscribe to our mailing list at: http://bit.ly/TMIMail #HaveFunMaking
Easy Graphic Design for the Creative Classroom
The face-to-face orientation session for Easy Graphic Design for the Creative Classroom is 4:30-5:30pm on February 5, 2020. Participants will receive an overview of the class on that night, as well as instructions on how to access course materials and submit assignments. There will also be time for questions. The remainder of the class will be delivered in an online format with learning modules that are hosted in Canvas.
Easy Graphic Design for the Creative Classroom can be taken as a 1-credit hour class for license renewal in the state of Iowa.
Making Connections with Hummingbird Bit
Activate your critical thinking and creativity skills through the use of the Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit in this hands-on workshop. The 1-day free workshop is designed for educators that currently have a Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit and are looking to gain a deeper understanding of this tool and integration ideas in their classroom or library. In this workshop, you will be making, building and coding. Throughout the day, you will learn the basic components of the kit, how to create and build with the tools and cardboard to create and code simple prototypes. You’ll leave inspired by examples of this in action.
Cost: Free
Date/Time: February 4th 8:30a - 3:30p
Location: Coralville Office
Register with this link. Copy this course number to register: 180173
2 Makey Makey Learning Opportunities
#1 - Invention Literacy Workshop (Course Number 167872)
New to Makey Makey? This is the place to begin the 1 Day Invention Literacy Workshop for Educators.
When: Tuesday, January 28th 8:30 am - 3:30 pm - Workshop is a $20 fee & you take a Makey Makey Home with You
#2 - Designing Connections with Makey Makey Course (Course Number 168679)
Interested in making stronger connections between Makey Makey and your curriculum?
Take the next step with this 1 license renewal credit course! This course includes 1 face-to-face full day, 1 hour online meet-up, and 1 evening workshop.
Class Meeting Times - Course Fee is a $20 fee & you take a Makey Makey Home with You - additional fee for license renewal credit
Tuesday, February 18th - 8:30 am - 3 pm, Tuesday, March 24th - 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm - Online Meeting, Thursday, April 23rd - 5 pm - 7 pm
Computer Science Strategic Planning & Implementation (SCRIPT)
During this two-day workshop, participants will collaborate with their district team to complete CSforALL's SCRIPT: the Strategic CSforALL Resource & Implementation Planning Tool. SCRIPT is a framework to guide teams of district administrators, school leaders, and educators through a series of collaborative visioning, self-assessment, and goal-setting exercises to create or expand upon a computer science education implementation plan for their students.
School districts and other local education organizations are the unit of change toward creating rigorous, inclusive and sustainable K-12 computer science education. The SCRIPT supports systems-level change by addressing five key areas: (1) Leadership, (2) Teacher Capacity and Development, (3) Curriculum and Materials Selection and Refinement, (4) Partners, and (5) Community.
District teams will leave with action steps and will participate in periodic coaching conversations with facilitators.
Register your team now for course 182109!
Start a FREE Girls Who Code Club Today!
Grant Wood AEA has partnered with Girls Who Code (GWC) to bring free computer science learning opportunities to our region. Girls Who Code Clubs are FREE after-school programs for 3rd-5th or 6th-12th grade girls to join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models and use computer science to change the world. Participants not only learn hard coding skills and computational thinking, but they’ll also learn project management skills, collaboration, bravery, resilience, how to positively impact their community, and so much more.
When you start a GWC Club, you’ll gain access to free resources, flexible plug and play curriculum, funding opportunities, ongoing support, alumni opportunities for your young learners, and more! There’s no computer science experience needed to get started since GWC is there for you every step of the way. Clubs with 3+ students enrolled in your club receive a mini-grant of $300 per semester!
Apply now with the quick 15 min Clubs Application. As a Girls Who Code Community Partner, any Clubs in our network are eligible to receive additional partnership benefits by indicating Grant Wood AEA on the Clubs Application!
OR
Join us for a Club Application Party on January 21st, at 3:30p! Key Session from Girls Who Code will join us via Zoom to walk you through creating your club! You can join the party with this link.
Learn more about our Community Partnership here or contact Corey Rogers (crogers@gwaea.org).
Additional Computer Science Opportunities
Code.org CS Fundamentals Deeper Dive (January 21, 2019) - GWAEA is partnering with NewBoCo to host the CS Fundamentals Deep Dive Workshop at our 6th street facility on January 21st, 2020 from 8:30a - 4:00p in our Scale-up Room. You can register for this free workshop at this link. The popular Code.org CS Fundamentals Intro workshop now has a follow-up event to continue supporting teachers! The Deep Dive workshop targets teachers that have used at least some of the curriculum, and will cover implementation challenges, barriers, and general questions submitted by participants; additional lesson experiences; how to support an equitable classroom with a variety of student needs; and the roles of the teacher and students. This workshop is available at no cost, and educators can choose to receive one licensure renewal credit.
An Introduction to Programming in Scratch (February 2020) - UNI Computer Science Professor, Ben Shafer, will be running his free, online, self-paced, Scratch course February 3rd through March 13th, 2020. This six module course is available online year-round. However, it is offered "live" three times a year so learners can benefit from taking it with a concurrent group of peers and conduct the peer-review/code walkthroughs that are facilitated during the course. You can learn more about the course at https://csed.uni.edu/scratch/index.html. Please contact Ben with questions at schafer@cs.uni.edu.
DLGWAEA Summer Summit
Get Ready for Caucus 2020
Presidential elections happen every four years. With an election happening in 2020, Iowa is in the news with the first caucus. If you are looking for resources to discuss current political news or help learners understand why the Iowa caucus is a big deal for our nation, we have a few suggestions to get you started:
- American Citizenship: Voting and Elections
- Political Parties: From Nominations to Celebrations
- What's Great About Iowa?
These are perfect for projecting on a screen as well as for entire classes to be able to examine (depending on availability) as there are 30 copies of each title! These offer a read-aloud option, have standards-aligned content, and high-quality images to engage learners. There are many more options available on MackinVIA !
For training and support, contact:
Kathleen Goslinga, GWAEA Online Resources Lead, 319-399-6582 or
Dianna Geers, GWAEA Teacher-Librarian, 319-399-6481
Wakelet: Versatile, Flexible & Free
From Mindy Cairney & Amber Bridge
If you are new to Wakelet, imagine it as the ultimate digital bulletin board. If you have a core list of websites and resources that you share with your students, turn it into a Wakelet. Wakelets can be shared not only with students, but teams could contribute and share resources through a Wakelet as well....continue reading
Save the Dates
ITEC Learning & Leadership Symposium - March 31- April 1, 2020
Building Bridges - April 21, 2020
DLGWAEA Summer Summit Featuring Google for Education - June 16-18, 2020
About Us
Email: digitallearning@gwaea.org
Website: http://www.dlgwaea.org
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Phone: 319-399-6700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dlgwaea
Twitter: @DLGWAEA