Recent articles
10 easy steps to start coding with Google CS First
11/29/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Robotics
In Greenfield Union School District where I teach fifth grade, I’m known as a bit of a technology enthusiast. This means I’m always excited about new ways to integrate tech in the classroom…
Teaching computational thinking more important than defining it
11/27/2018
Topics: Computational Thinking
Computational thinking (CT) is riding a strong current in the edtech world that teaching K-12 students to think like computer scientists will better prepare them for life in the digital age.
But bringing CT to K-12 classrooms isn’t something that can be done overnight. It faces…
Make CS accessible to all students with physical computing
09/14/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Robotics, STEM & STEAM
The notion that computer science education is essential for all is picking up steam in the United States; however, we still are a long way from making it accessible and equitable for all.…
5 things you can do to bring computer science to all your students
07/08/2020
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking
There’s no doubt that in today’s world, computer science (CS) is foundational knowledge for all students and coding is a foundational skill — just like reading and writing. Yet many schools, especially those in low socioeconomic areas, don’t teach computer science because of a lack…
Embed computational thinking into PBL
07/17/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, ISTE Standards for Students, STEM & STEAM
Like many of my students, my daughter, Anisa, is very familiar with using electronic circuits to make designs …
4 ways to make CS for all a reality
05/24/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Literacies, Makerspaces, professional learning
Kimberly Lane believes that in the digital age, computer science (CS) should be right up there with reading and writing as a foundational skill.
Lane, blended learning specialist for Lancaster Independent School District near Dallas, walks the talk by helping…
Students build coding skills block by block
04/19/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics
New knowledge is constructed by building on what we already know, making connections by tinkering with new combinations of familiar blocks.
In the same way that a musician improvises new melodies, or a poet constructs new juxtapositions of sounds, words and images, students…
Students use computational thinking to analyze real problems
03/27/2018
Topics: Computational Thinking
The poster boards on display in an Oregon middle school gym illustrate a wide range of student concerns and passions. One features data on the incidence of breast cancer, another highlights the percentage of women versus men in Congress since 1970 and yet another illustrates the effects of…
Computer programming in 4 steps
03/20/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Robotics
At the secondary level, core computer science (CS) concepts and practices are taught in courses typically within the…
How to develop computational thinkers
09/22/2020
Topics: Computational Thinking, computer science
The demand for computer science (CS) in schools has many teachers wondering which components of CS they should implement first. A couple of years ago, I asked myself the very same question, and I had to remind myself that creating a computer scientist could take up to…