Bloom into EdTech: The Blog

We offered ten stations at the session eRobots: Robots for the Everyday Elementary Classroom. I would be remiss if I omitted the Wakelet I created here: https://wakelet.com/wake/d320d572-f125-4935-8a9d-3c9aa78851d8 . I have to say, most of the robots I had used in my classroom as a teacher. I became more acquainted with a handful while working as a technology integration specialist supporting teachers in their classrooms. And then there were three that were 100% brand new to me…. Sphero indi. What can I say about this robot, besides the fact that I am in absolute love! Every part of me wanted to jump back into the classroom and see what my students could do with this fantastic bot when I ordered it and delivered it to my door a few weeks before ISTE. What do I love about Sphero indi? Well, for starters, the versatility. With this little bot, you can do both plugged and unplugged activities. I honestly could visualize the students I once taught being highly intrigued with the ability t...

At ISTE '22 this year, I was given the opportunity to share my passion for teaching elementary students robotics with a fantastic group of educators. Being a computer teacher for many years, I even spent my pre-teaching days teaching 3 and 4-year-olds computers in a local daycare here in Western New York before landing my first teaching job, I was excited to share and learn from others. Especially after not being with humans for so long due to the pandemic. Throughout my career, I have been a strong advocate for Computer Science. I was humbled by the experience of sharing the workshop, eRobots: Robots for the Elementary Classroom, with a broader audience outside of my hometown. Over the next few days, I will share a variety of the resources I have created, either when I was a teacher in the classroom or for this specific workshop. First up is Dance Like a Robot. After discussing the importance of teaching young students computational thinking, I focused on how our littles learn...

Hello and Happy Halloween! It’s that time of year again when a lot of our beloved coding sites share with us their ghoulish coding puzzles. I have list a few of my favorite below in hopes it will be updated this year: Tynker’s Make-o-Lantern found at: http://www.tynker.com/ide/?p=580794afaf92312a378b45b4 Google’s Made w/ code Yeti Animation found at: https://www.madewithcode.com/projects/animation Tynker’s Trick or Treat Tombs found here: http://www.tynker.com/ide/?p=57ffc005af923193728b4674 Another great coding game from Tynker; Monster High found at: https://www.tynker.com/courses/monster-high/host And another….Halloween Hostage located at: http://www.tynker.com/ide/?p=57ffc093af9231e0738b46d3 Code.org’s “special level” drawing a ghost: https://studio.code.org/s/SpecialSeries/stage/1/puzzle/1 Happy coding!

KINDERGARTEN STEM For this lesson, you will use ABCYa.com's Make a Robot to engineer a robot from the various parts and pieces presented in the game.  Discuss the terms engineer and scientific  statement. Your students will then learn how to print your robot and type a Scientific Statement  (a sentence or two about what their robot can do) using a Word Processor. I suggest printing out their scientific statement and robot and mount on a piece of colored construction paper. And, hey- it's awesome to see the Tech Teacher's student work in the hallway every now and then too! Have your students present their finished project to the class! Resources for your project: ASK A NASA ROBOTIC ENGINEER!  http://robotics.nasa.gov/students/faq.php MORE FROM A ROBOTIC ENGINEER! Assessment: Rubric Vocabulary: STEM, Inventor, Scientific Statement, robot, engineer ISTE Standards 1. Creativity and innovation - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, ...