PD for new comp sci + robotics teacher

[Kamala Qalandar]

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a not-too-frantic end of the school year! I'm wondering what professional development opportunities you might recommend for a new comp sci and robotics teacher. I've looked around, and have found several geared toward learning coding, but I'm looking for more for something aimed at learning how to teach coding and robotics.

Thanks as always -- grateful for this group!

Kamala

Kamala Qalandar (she|her)  

hear how to pronounce my name!

Director of Programs for Technology and Innovation

Teacher, Mathematics and Science Departments

The Thacher School

Gates Workshop Schedule: bit.ly/GatesWorkshops

Link: Office hours & appointments (computer only)

[mic...@logofoundation.org]

Kamala,

 

We have the Logo Summer Institute coming in July, an immersion in creative computing focused on coding and robotics. Check it out at www.logofoundation.org/summer

 

-Michael

-----------------------------------

Michael Tempel

Logo Foundation

tel: +1 212 579 8028

mobile: +1 212 877 2429

www.logofoundation.org

@LogoFoundation

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[Katie Topper]

Hi Kamala - 

I just went to the VEX robotics educators conference in Dallas last month and learned that VEX has an extensive library of PD - from beginners to advanced robotics educators, from elementary to high school aged students.

Similarly, Carnegie Mellon has great PD if you're teaching with any of the Lego (inventor, spike, etc.) products.

Have fun!

-katie topper

[Elisabeth Lepert]

Hi Kamala

I personally attended the logo summer institute a few years ago ( 2015) and found it highly valuable. I would also recommend the online courses on the raspberry foundation website as it helps you to master concepts and how to teach.

Best

Elisabeth Lepert Dean of Instructional Technology, Computer Science and Design t.  +1 (650) 251-8527 elisabe...@svintl.org www.siliconvalleyinternational.org

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[Michael Tempel]

We actually have two Logo Summer Institutes this year: There's an online workshop July 11-13, similar to what we've been doing for the past three years. The following week we have the In-person Logo Summer Institute, a return to the format we used for many years prior to Covid. You can attend one, the other, or both.

We'll be highlighting projects with machine learning and AI, including ML and AI with the robotics platforms Finch, Hummingbird, and microbit. There are also some new additions to the Scratch family that we will work with. Details at www.logofoundation.org/summer

Email if you have any questions: mich...@media.mit.edu

-Michael

[Kathy Giori]

Kamala, or any other educator, if you want some 1:1 personalized training on physical computing, including robotics, advice on hardware, software, and components, I'm happy to set up a zoom call with any of you. I'm in the pacific coast time zone, and generally have more availability in the late morning and afternoon than early morning. Just let me know in advance if you have hardware or not, so that I can plan accordingly. 

And if you haven't already tried it, I recommend checking out my favorite physical computing programming tool, MicroBlocks. It's the only "live" (like scratch) tool for physical computing, where when you click a block to turn on an LED or activate a servo, it simply turns on. You can graph sensor data in real time, right in the development environment, which is super valuable to figure out what new components are doing. When your code is how you want it, you simply unplug the board and apply power by battery or other source and your code is already synced, because it is synced constantly as you write it. No waiting for firmware to download or "why doesn't it work?" fatigue.

I've taught a lot of workshops, starting back in the popular days of the Arduino IDE, but I generally no longer use those more difficult tools. For learning and trying to engage new learners to appreciate the joy of physical computing, the struggle with older or "deeper dive" tools is not generally necessary. I can't say enough good things about the human-friendly nature of MicroBlocks. It hides the tricky parts of physical computing, improves debugging, and allows users (like me) to focus on the creative pieces and "making".

So again, if anyone wants a quick intro to my experiences with physical computing, hardware I like, or have other questions in this area, I'm happy to set up a call. Just reply directly to me.

kathy

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