Category: Computational Thinking

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

by dougpete, posted in Blogging, coding, Computational Thinking, Computers, Education, inspiration, learning, Mathematics, Ontario Edublogs, PLN, Read/Write Web, Teaching, technology, voicEd Radio

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Forget the other thing about today.

To All The Things I Should Have Done…

We started the voicEd Radio discussion with this song from the great John Anderson.

I don’t ever recall talking about work/life balance at the faculty. It was something that I came to learn as I entered the profession. I’ll be honest; for the most part, it was just talk because of the nature of the job. It will eat you alive if you let it.

Elizabeth recognizes that there are other important things in life along with teaching and addresses it in this post. To be truthful, she doesn’t belittle the profession; she does a great job of sharing where she is with her class and her philosophy.

Like so many of us, she has a wonderful family that deserves part of her time and attention as well. It’s the condition of teaching that we’re forever balancing this.

A teacher’s life is like no other. She captures so much of it in this post. And, it’s just not home/work; there’s all the professional development that an educator needs and couple that with being an educational leader in the province, there are so many things competing for your time and attention …

Enough. Enough. Enough. 

Another AI Post, but about Math

I like it when Cal takes on a topic and takes it in an interesting direction. I came to the post ready to argue because ChatGPT is notorious for getting things wrong at times. I misjudged what this post was going to be about.

Cal notes that he’s worked with interactive bots for a long time as well as many of the popular Mathematics applications. One thread through all of this is that getting the answer right is important.

But, what about the process?

Cal introduces us to a new application (well, new to me anyway) called MathGrader and how it could be the solution to having Artificial Intelligence do some marking for you along with understanding the process that students go through to get their answer.

It’s an interesting read and it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that Cal sees it being integrated into OneNote some day.

I’ve marked this “stay tuned for more”.

Creating Dynamic Content

This is one of those “Wow” posts.

If you are using Brightspace/D2L or there’s a chance that you will be, this is definitely worth the time to read. Actually, I’d recommend bookmarking and reading more than once.

Lynn certainly takes a deep dive into using this resource in your classes.

By default, often LMS systems are boring text interfaces and the activities often aren’t similar at all to good classroom pedagogy.

Lynn tears this apart with all kinds of ideas to make the interface more appealing and the content more engaging with the hopes of better success and interaction with your content.

She addresses:

  • Environment
  • Active Learning & Engagement
  • Stress Management

It’s a huge affirmation that teaching and learning online doesn’t have to be completely different.

Coaching The Destreamers

I suppose that if you’re at Ministry, it’s easy to say “let’s destream Grade 9” and make the transition from Grade 8 to 9 a little more friendly.

Ultimately, it may well be. Right now, it’s an ongoing process.

In this post, Brad takes a look at what is required on the teacher side to make it happen.

  • Don’t do it alone
  • Your team matters
  • Experience is not always best
  • Not everyone is ready

And, as a department head, what he plans to do to assist his department in their implementation.

  • Make a plan
  • Take baby steps
  • Be the coach
  • Get the team together

It’s a nice reminder that any implementation isn’t as simple as just flipping a switch.

What was lost 8/31 #SOL2022

Melanie shares a writing prompt that she has used with us.

A writing prompt that I used recently asked students to consider a time when they lost something important. 

I had two reactions to this post.

The first one was the one that I shared on the This Week in Ontario Edublogs show. It was personal about something that I had lost – my wedding band (twice). Recovered once from a museum in Ottawa and secondly, I’m still looking for it. In that respect, the prompt let me have fun with my misfortune.

What I didn’t talk about on the show was that Melanie followed up her prompt with personal experiences of her own. I didn’t mention it but in passing because it’s the sort of thing that would make me tear up and choke.

She shared her story and her very emotional, personal take on the writing prompt.

I couldn’t help but wonder if her writing prompt might have generated similar stories from her students.

Oculum Echo: Guest review

Bronte L, a Grade 9 student, writes as a guest poster on Helen Kubiw’s blog.

She shares a review of Oculum Echo, a followup to the first book Oculum.

Bronte indicates that she didn’t read the first book but got connected to the characters, nonetheless.

“I would recommend Oculum Echo to any sci-fi loving kid that enjoys adventures.” 

I love the fact that a student wrote a review for the book and that Helen provided the platform for it. We should see more of this.

Cynthia Solomon: Computer Science Pioneer and Equity Champion

Peter is my best “way back” and “way forward” thinking guy. He knows and has made so many connectors with people who have made significant changes in the use of technology in education.

In celebration of International Woman’s Day, Peter takes us on a trip back and looks at the work of Cynthia along with Seymour Papert.

The programming, of course, was Logo. So often, these days, when you mention Logo, it’s poo-pooed. “We introduce kids to Python, a real programming language.”

I’ve always maintained, and I still do, that that philosophy completely misses the point. My first programming language certainly isn’t in vogue these days. But, the problem solving, thinking, and collaboration has lasted me a lifetime.

I miss meeting up with Peter; just chatting with him is so powerful. This post will have to serve as a proxy.

Thanks, my friend.

And here we are at the end of another week. Please take the time to click through and read these posts. You’ll be that much smarter for doing so. And, share them with colleagues.

Then, follow these folks on Twitter.

  • Elizabeth Lyons – @mrslyonslibrary
  • Cal Armstrong – @sig225
  • Lynn Thomas – @THOMLYNN101
  • Brad Dixon – @TeachingMrDixon
  • Melanie White – @WhiteRoomRadio
  • Helen Kubiw – @HelenKubiw
  • Peter Skillen – @peterskillen

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

Opening Song

Closing Song

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This Week in Ontario Edublogs

by dougpete, posted in artificial intelligence, bing, Blogging, Canadiana, Computational Thinking, Computers, Education, Equity, inspiration, learning, Media, Ontario Edublogs, PLN, podcasting, presentation, Read/Write Web

Would the winning Exactor be last day of classes before the Break and buses not running? That might give you more time to check out these wonderful blog posts from Ontario Edubloggers.

Not a soccer mom #SOL23 6/31

When I saw the title to Amanda’s post go flying by on Facebook, I knew that I wanted to talk about this on the voicEd Radio show and share my thoughts here.

Like Amanda, I played soccer in school as it was an Autumn sport and I didn’t know anything about football at that time.

I will say this positively about soccer – the practices were great for activities/exercise and running and learning to play a sport where only the goaltender could use her/his hands.

Other than that, the games could be deadly if the ball didn’t come your way.

Then, you graduate to being a parent and grandparent watching the games. I had to smile when I read Amanda’s thoughts about games.

  • I often take walks during the outdoor games. 
  • I often do crosswords during the indoor games.

Nailed it!

This is a wonderful grown up perspective on this sport. Prove me wrong in the comments.

And, the picture of her child in a ball bag makes clicking through worthwhile!

Incorporating Tech in FSL Presentations

This was such a refreshing post about technology in the FSL classroom.

I suspect that computers, if used at all, are used as word processors or players for YouTube videos in the FSL classroom at your school.

The activities that Arianna describe would be perfectly placed in an English classroom so why not FSL? Absolutely!

We do presentations in English so why not in French?

I saw Google Slides coming but I started shaking when I heard her make reference to Scratch. Wow!

Add on to that recording a presentation in advance moves those students closer to podcasting and if Mom and Dad can enjoy it over the internet, that puts it over the top.

Well done, Arianna. FSL teachers, here’s your inspiration to raise the bar in your classrooms with technology.

Computers Are Like Pizzas

When this guy learned to program, we were so far removed from our computer that it wasn’t funny. Our programs took a one hour trip to London every afternoon and were returned the next day. There were a couple of days when the commuting teacher was sick and we truly had nothing to do in class.

We learned that computers were a black box. When I started teaching, it was still a black box only the trip was shorter (although they were still run overnight) I remember a field trip once where we actually went to the computer and saw the program being run first hand. Still a black box.

We’re so far removed from that these days. Who doesn’t have hands-on access to a computer, Smartphone, Raspberry Pi, or a smart home device that can actually be programmed? Or taken apart and upgraded? With the appropriate screwdriver, you can actually open that black box. (You can see that mine is indeed a black box)

Tim draws a nice picture of the metaphor of a pizza with all the various layers and what they might be the equivalent of on a computer.

It’s for a learning unit about how computers work and I was delighted that he included the reference to Computers for Schools.

Stephen and I had fun talking about this on the show and wondered where the network might come in. Is a computer a computer these days without network access?

AI IN THE CLASSROOM: THE NEW, NEW NORMAL?

These days, I find myself reading all kinds of stories about Artificial Intelligence and particularly, how it might fit in the classroom.

John starts with reference to a blog post written by Cecilia Aponte-de-Hanna which made a TWIOE post last December. I thought it was well written, as does John.

He adds to the discussion with three thoughts that he fleshes out nicely.

  • Teacher’s Assistant
  • Potential Challenges
  • Digital Citizenship and ChatGPT

Basically, I think we all know this, you can run but you can’t hide. As long as technology is available and in the classroom, it needs to be included and well thought through.

I think that this is important – individual teachers can’t be left alone to deal with it in among everything else that goes into their job. School districts need to have a competent educator or more working centrally to help shepherd teachers though all this.

Challenging Perceptions: The Unseen Struggle of Living with IIH #RareDiseaseDay

Reading Larissa’s post had me wondering about the reason why I started this Friday morning blog post and why I continue to do it.

My philosophy has always been that if I can help amplify someone’s voice in any way, that it helps the cause.

I first met Larissa at a Bring IT, Together Conference and have been the beneficiary of being in sessions led by her and/or the resources afterwards. Like great presenters, she gives back to our learning community. We are all smarter by the generosity of people like her.

This whole post and her explanations was one of the most important learning experiences that I’ve had in a while or ever, forever, perhaps.

I had never heard about https://www.rarediseaseday.org/  much less knowing someone who might have a disease like IIH. It was so sobering to read that she has felt that she has had to distance herself from her own learning and networking as a result.

You need to read it in her words so click though.

Women In Action

Things like this are important to understand in this day and age. Originally, when I read the title, I thought this was going to be something about International Woman’s Day. I was wrong.

Sharon had the opportunity to join with other women as activists.

Women in Action is designed to inspire attendees to think more broadly about their roles as activists and unionists. Learning and setting goals for yourself is an important part of the time you spend together

The program is actually a three part one and Sharon encourages people to attend all of the sessions.

More information is available through your local ETFO affiliate.

CHEATING OR CREATIVITY? HOW AI TOOLS LIKE CHATGPT AND BING SEARCH ARE TRANSFORMING ASSESSMENT IN K-12 EDUCATION

There is a strong message almost everywhere about how Artificial Intelligence and the like will destroy education because teachers aren’t prepared for it. I like to think that good educators have their eyes open and are listening to voices like Mike’s.

Assessment is the biggy – how can student achievement be trustworthy if students can fire up one of these tools and just go ahead and cheat?

Old school thinking.

Mike addresses four areas quite nicely in this post.

  • AI-assisted project planning
  • AI-assisted brainstorming
  • AI-assisted feedback
  • AI-assisted reflection

I’ll repeat my message above. These strategies are not easy and teachers shouldn’t have to go it alone. Fortunately, there are people like Mike already in place and thinking about the possibilities.

Please take some time to click through and read and enjoy these wonderful posts.

Then, follow these folks on Twitter.

  • Amanda Potts – @Ahpotts
  • Arianna Lambert – @MsALambert
  • Tim King – @tk1ng
  • John Allan – @mrpottz
  • Larissa Aradj – @MrsGeekChic
  • Mike Washburn – @misterwashburn

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

This week’s show

Opening Song

Closing Song

Peace Playlist

Early in the Spring of 2021, the opening and closing music from our live TWIOE broadcast have centred on the theme of peace. Here’s a special playlist of all the music featured since April.

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

by dougpete, posted in application, Blogging, Computational Thinking, Computers, data, Education, Humour, inquiry, inspiration, learning, Maps, Mathematics, Media, Media Literacy, Ontario Edublogs, PLN, presentation, Read/Write Web, Teaching, technology, voicEd Radio

Michael Frankfort joined Stephen Hurley and me as a guest host for the voicEd Radio show on Wednesday morning. It lent to a great conversation about the five blog posts from Ontario Edubloggers that we featured. Read on to see them and a couple more bonus posts.

Family Reunion

Don’t we all have family reunion stories tucked away in our memories? I remember the first time I took my wife to ours and her comment on the way home. “It’s hard to imagine that you’re all related.”

On my mother’s side, it was a big summer event, more often than not landing on my birthday but nobody brought presents. We did bring millions of butter tarts though and had to be there pre-6:00 so that Dad could go to the golfing tournament and the rest of us slept in the car until people started to arrive at 9 or so. Dad’s family reunion was a big gathering just before Christmas which changes the entire mindset. Instead of being outside and enjoying the weather, we’d rent a hall and go inside to avoid the weather.

Despite all that, we were within a couple of hours driving to get to the events. I can’t imagine doing what Amanda did (read the post) just to get there. Then, there’s the whole mixture of her family and I’ll bet that everyone has stories about their own personal mixtures. Her family has mine beat.

I loved the post and it made me think of faces and names from reunions so long ago and how so many of them are no longer around. Despite it being such a lovely story, it was a great reminder to remember the current moments because they are so special.

But, 18 people in one house for a week? You’re a strong woman, Amanda.

Fighting Disinformation

In the beginning, disinformation was easy to spot and actually kind of fun to explore. One of the more famous ones that I remember was the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.

Over the years though, the concept of the fake website has skyrocketed and taken off in a very sad direction.

We’re now in a time and era where everyone with an internet connection and the desire can put up a website for whatever the cause. We have so many of them, some consistent with our beliefs and others not so much. Some, after doing a bit of digging, can be debunked.

The ones that I personally have trouble with are those who have a dissenting opinion and do their best to create a plausible story from their perspective. Finding the truth used to be so simple; just go to the library and grab the encyclopedia. Not so anymore.

Then, throw into the mix the concept of a second or third language learner doing their best to research. If we as English First Language people have problems at time, imagine their situation.

Jennifer shares some great thoughts on the topic and the bottom is a wonderful collection of resources that can be used to help determine if something is truthful or not.

Reflections on “Sometimes it is enough to look back to see the Future clearly” presentation by Dr. Georg Marschnig

I’m really enjoying Paul’s doctoral work and how he’s openly sharing his work and his research. This is a very personal post about his own thinking. He organizes things and discusses each.

  • How do schools frame notions of citizenship;
  • What kind of relationships in schools and in educational decision-making processes foster real learning;
  • How do power structures affect learning? – Paul’s question
  • How were race, class, gender differences framed in the event?
  • What connections can you draw with readings, lectures, and discussions we have held in the class?
  • What creative ideas or astute analysis about education did you encounter in the event?

I enjoyed reading all the sections but the section about power structures affecting learning was a real thought generator for me. Like you, I grew up in a school environment where the teacher was always right. My parents came to their defense all the time when I’d challenge facts or other things. Later on, I came to realize that it was the game of school and you had to play by the rules. It sure made the day easier to handle.

Of course, like all things, we’ve got better at it all and we’ll continue to get better. On a personal level, I’ve made a note to learn more about “Youth Participatory Action Research.”

Slice of (Experential) Life

I’ve mentioned it many times; they don’t pay teachers of our youngest students enough. This blog post will have you laughing, smiling, and being thankful that you don’t teach the youngest. Or, if you do, you’ll be nodding your head in agreement throughout this post.

It was a 20-minute bus ride to the field trip location. For some of the students, it might have been a three-day road trip as they got out and looked around and remarked that they were in a different world!

Now, before I get too righteous, I enjoy community dog walks and there are always new things to see and explore even though I’ve lived here for 45 years.

I will be adamant though; we still have the same water tower.

Experience Sustainability

Our guest on Wednesday had written and shared this blog post to the STAO blog.

It was about a Webinar that Michael had co-delivered with Teresa Huang about organizing an eco-fair at your school. The post comes with appropriate resources to replicate the same activity at your school.

The concept is unlike the traditional science fair with its judging and ribbons that I remember. This was about doing good by doing good. (one of my dad’s favourite expressions that I’ve always tried to keep in mind) Today’s students can be more socially aware and responsible and this post honours that.

Look for links to replay the webinar and a slide deck packed full of ideas, resources, and connections to the Ontario Science & Technology and other subject areas Curriculum.

Our month in Bordeaux, France (June 2022 –FINAL month!)

There’s probably a fine line between being a stalker and an internet friend.

I’ve been following Sylvia’s adventure as she’s headed to Europe and shares so many pictures and stories on social media. Does living vicariously equal stalking? <grin>

I can’t imagine how long it took Sylvia to assemble this piece. There are so many pictures and she uses her technical skills to provide a mapping of routes for us.

Food, wine, and the biggest croissants I’ve ever seen are highlights. It really does look like it was a spectacular event for her.

Don’t read and look at the images on an empty stomach!

Math Links for Week Ending Jul. 8th, 2022

Finally, David always has lots of cool mathematics things in his weekly post. This week, he shared a couple of wonderful visuals.

Thanks to all of the above for sharing their learning and thinking. Regular readers know the routine – read these posts and follow these folks on Twitter.

  • Amanda Potts – @Ahpotts
  • Jennifer Hutchison – @TESLOntario
  • Paul McGuire – @mcguirp
  • Lisa Corbett – @LisaCorbett0261
  • Michael Frankfort – @mfrank_76
  • Sylvia Duckworth – @sylviaduckworth
  • David Petro – @davidpetro314

voiced Radio Show

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

by dougpete, posted in Blogging, coding, Computational Thinking, Computers, Education, Equity, inquiry, inspiration, learning, makerspace, Mathematics, Media, micro:bit, Ontario Edublogs, PLN, programming, social justice, Teaching, technology, Visualization, voicEd Radio

Sit back and enjoy some writing from great Ontario Edubloggers.

Becoming a Better Person for Others: Faith into Action

I really appreciate when bloggers are so open and transparent. In this case, Rolland shows the best of this. He takes a look at his role as re-engagement teacher and marries it to his understanding of social justice.

In particular, he identifies four things in his role.

  1. Dignity of the Human Person
  2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation
  3. Rights and Responsibilities
  4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

With each of these, he analyses making connections to his job and to education. Then, for each he provides a next step for himself. I couldn’t help but think that blogging about it and making it public really makes himself accountable for these changes to his approach.

The word “brave” kept running through my mind as I was reading.

Learning from Each Other — Destreaming Across Ontario: Waterloo District School Board

This is another very brave and open post about learning and planning for action. Alexandra thinks that there are three things that will make destreaming effective.

  1. Smaller class sizes to support students
  2. Equipping teachers and administrators with the correct tools and professional development
  3. task force to “inform the design, implementation and monitoring of de-streaming

Ultimately, any success will result from the practice and acceptance of classroom teachers. After the past two years, it’s going to take a great deal of effort to do the necessary learning and then implementation of new approaches.

Alexandra shares her notes and thoughts from a Google Meet conducted by Jill Hicknell and Jillian Waters and some reading to support their thoughts. A big takeaway is a Google Resource site and a Twitter handle to follow.

Check it out.

New Twitter Communities: Will this better our Twitter experience?

Do you ever have one of those moments where you’re thinking something but you keep it to yourself and it’s only when someone else notes it that you realize you’re not alone?

I had that moment as I read Jennifer’s post. There are times these days when I feel like I should be getting more from my Twitter community than I am. It was somehow comforting to note that she felt the same way.

Lately, I have been a little dissatisfied with my Twitter feed to be honest. Unless someone tags me, I feel like I have been missing out of many of the powerful voices I once had access to. And whereas I felt like my own voice reached many before, I feel like unless I tag people, they rarely see my tweets either.

At about the same time that I started to feel this way, Twitter rolled out the concept of Communities. I took a look and felt it was too much like the Twitter lists that I’ve been curating. But, again, Jennifer takes it a bit further and offers a way that we may fall back in love with Twitter again.

Nicely done, Jennifer.

Self-Reg Havens

The big takeaway for me from Susan’s post was that her concept of a haven isn’t necessarily

 just a location

For the longest time, a safe haven for me was a place to think and I guess I’d always put it in personal terms as a location. With a busy life, often the thinking was done in my car commuting to and from work.

The post is a look at what that haven just might be and Susan takes us to these attributes

  1. Safe
  2. Rooted
  3. Balanced
  4. Capable
  5. Trusted

If nothing else, it will give you lots to think about.

OBSERVATION IS A NEW REFLECTION!

From Wayne’s World…

I think that most of us did our quality observation as student teachers having placement with an experienced teacher. I don’t know about you but it was one of the first times that I thought that maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a teacher. Thankfully, I persevered.

It shouldn’t stop there and Setareh talks about observing a colleague in their teaching. I did that a couple of times and I think that you get a new lens when you are in the profession. Setareh talks about observing a very extroverted teacher, knowing that that would be a real challenge and maybe an impossibility.

Still, there are lots of things to learn and we should never stop.

Coding Fireworks!

From the Fair Chance Learning blog, Barb offers a project (along with a solution) for creating a program that will emulate fireworks on a Micro:Bit.

Now, if you’ve already done something like this for Victoria day, you might want to move along.

Or, how about setting off some fireworks to celebrate the end of the school year?

Importance of Context and Concrete Manipulatives From Kindergarten Through Grade 12

Kyle shares a wealth of information here that’s applicable to all grade levels.

I like his start and confession. We all had it. When we started teaching, we wanted to be copies of the very best teacher that we ever had. If you’re honest, you’ll realize that their classroom often doesn’t resemble the successful rooms we have today. We’ve learned so much about effective teaching and learning and it’s just not the same.

This is a long resource but well worth the read and thinking. We want the best for everyone after all.

Please take some time to enjoy these posts and then follow these bloggers on Twitter.

  • Rolland Chidiac – @rchids
  • Alexandra Woods – @XanWoods
  • Jennifer Casa-Todd – @jcasatodd
  • Susan Hopkins – @susanhopkins5
  • Barb Seaton – @barb_seaton
  • Fair Chance Learning – @FCLEdu
  • Kyle Pearce – @mathletepearce 

This Week in Ontario Edublogs Show

Coding in Ontario

by dougpete, posted in coding, Computational Thinking, computer science, Problem solving, programming

If case you hadn’t been aware of the link to the Mathematics Curriculum dealing with coding, it was reinforced yesterday with changes to the Science and Technology Curriculum.

Mathematics – New math curriculum for Grades 1-8
Science and Technology – Key Changes – Science and Technology, Grades 1–8 (2022)

As with most curriculum documents, it’s a look from 10 000 metres as to what should be taught. The actual details will become apparent as writing teams hunker down with the task of making things implementable in Ontario schools this fall.

I can’t help but think about my own journey. I took programming with Mr. Cook in an “experimental course” for a couple of years at secondary school, studied Mathematics and Computer Science at University, and made Data Programming and Computer Studies as teachable options after a year at a Faculty of Education.

Photo by Roozbeh Eslami on Unsplash

As I reflect on my path, it really seems to be old school. Well, maybe traditional school. The skill set though can easily be morphed into something that’s usable today. I don’t regret the path that I took at all. Far beyond the actual skill set, it has introduced me to educators with similar passions and that’s always inspirational.

I’ve always had the ability to see the importance of learning to write instructions to make some object do something for me. It started pretty simply with computer cards to the way things are done today with computers, tablets, phones, televisions, kitchen appliances, personal assistants, my car, and the list just keeps on going.

I like to think that I took to it well and that I did my best to pass along my passion to students that I had the honour of teaching. That passion that was instilled by Mr. Cook remains with me today.

Now, we’re going to have a school system that will make this available to students starting at Grade 1. A number of progressive educators have already gone this route and brought that sort of thing into their classrooms for some time now. Some have done it in a traditional manner programming a computer; others have encouraged principals to buy robotic devices or have made the purchase themselves. They saw the importance of students being in control of a device instead of the other way around.

I’ll confess; for the longest of times, I was focused on the what and how it was good for me. It was only later in my life that I really tried to understand the why and why it was good for kids immersing myself in the works of Seymour Papert. I’ve often wondered if I’d spent time with Papert’s work first, if I would have been even more passionate about it for kids.

I’m sure that there will be a lot of different thoughts about this new initiative and how the new strand is added to the Science and Technology curriculum without removing anything else. I can’t believe that there would be anyone who would argue against the concept; just about how long it took us to actually get here.

If there’s ever a need to rationalize this, you need to read Douglas Rushkoff’s book Program or Be Programmed. There’s also a free study guide.

The immediate pressure will be on subject associations to step up and develop appropriate learning materials and resources to make this a success.

And it needs to be a success. To be anything else fails our kids.