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Thank you for thinking of me in regards to teaching programming. I do have an idea, but it goes beyond 34 students in a programming class. Having teams and a block schedule puts our school in the unique position of making this idea possible and would result in a STEM culture at TPJHS. I think your administrator’s mind could take this idea and through little steps bring the learning occurring in our school into the 21st Century. Currently computers are used to transpose what was once done on paper to a computer screen. The Internet does liberate information from libraries, but this was once done with paper. Computers can be used to do so much more, like create. Using computers to do more than what was done on paper, like programming, is at the heart of 21st Century learning.

For what tasks are computers being used that once wasn’t done with paper? Creative and expressive purposes along with computational thinking are what technology should be used for.

Having just a programming course may be thinking too small. Here is an idea that might start our progress towards rivaling some magnet schools and create a STEM culture in the process. I think the Storytelling version of the free ALICE programming environment should be used to teach programming at our school, but not in a computer class. I think that being a STEM school, interdisciplinary projects should be done using the “story telling” version of ALICE. I feel students need to start creating media/animations that encapsulates what they learn in their core courses, especially science, math, and social studies. This will enable them to become producers rather than just consumers or reluctant consumers of what is taught. Telling “educational stories” using animations will also let students construct knowledge which seems to be the push of “the common core” and the NGSS. (Also being put in the role of producer may reduce the number of students that require forced-feeding.) I think producing animations would set students on fire about their learning and give them the skills to rock their little part of the world. With this idea, I see the need to get programming out of the computer rooms and into regular classrooms. Having all students, especially girls, become programming literate in the process is a bonus. This is what I would like to see a major portion of the mini-grants do. (I’m thinking computer carts.) See the links below for more information about ALICE.

I found this recommendation about what to have students program from a teacher on a forum and I think it applies to interdisciplinary programming projects: "My only caution would be this: focusing on games per se will attract boys to the class, and maybe one or two girls. I've found that offering classes aimed at creating art or animations tend to attract both boys and girls, and the boys will find ways to make games whereas the girls might write programs for a different purpose." One assignment I have students do using Scratch requires two animations to have a conversation. The conversations in the animations the girls make go on and on. Once they have this skill, they start developing characters and plots for their animations. We could use this tendency in girls to have TPJHS students encapsulate their learning by programming animations to tell educational stories and have this happen across their interdisciplinary teams. Capitalizing on this programming tendency in girls could also result in getting 100% of the girls and 100% of military students programming and eventually we could really call all our classes STEM. These interdisciplinary programming projects would also lead to the development of a STEM culture the goal of our STEM Team. I bet the science, math and AVID teachers might lead this effort if need be (and would get results in their classes at the very least). Once success in using this medium to demonstrate student learning occurs and the accompanying student engagement is seen, buy-in from most all teachers should increase. They will want to become part of our mini 21st Century learning revolution. We would be leading with other schools and not just following other schools (by adding just a programming class for a few students).

If I write and collect ALICE programming tutorials and lessons, I want to hit two or three birds with one stone. Develop and collect lessons for a standalone programming course for a few students doesn’t ignite my passion for two reasons. Transitioning to the NGSS (and the common core) will require a change in how learning happens in the classroom. The state isn’t going to approve science textbooks until 2018. This puts science teachers in the position of having to create, write, and collect the science content and activities that fit the student centered learning required by the new standards. Using a historical idiom, we have to increase the rate at which we make bricks while additionally collecting the straw. To meet this challenge, I want to write and collect ALICE programming lessons that not only teach programming but that also teach science in a student centered manner as well. Even better would be to hit three birds with one stone and work with my team to create interdisciplinary programming projects and the necessary programming tutorials to make this possible. I don’t see having the time to create/collect materials for both my science course as well a programming course for a small number of students.

Second thoughts on a programming course: We already have two programming courses at our school. I prefer teaching Scratch and programming robots as opposed to just teaching programming. I introduce students to Scratch so they can program at home where they don’t have a robot. Many students continue to program Scratch on their own time. (The boys program games and the girls program stories.) I’m most interested in teaching programming that interacts with gizmos and gadgets that interact with the real world (like 3Dprinters, computer controlled routers, laser cutters, robots, autopilot/gps interfaces and sensors that tweet information to their programmer). I am not into programming for programming’s sake. I am into what can be done in the real world through programming. The programming I am into and passionate about relates to making, designing and exploring real things. This relates to my love of science. (As a side point, I am definitely not a gamer, but I like hacking the real world with gismos and gadgets. Last summer’s hack was to trick the ocean into letting my family and I see orca by kayak and camp on beaches beyond where there are any roads.) I do see great value in animations and educational “stories”, because everyone likes a good story. I am OK with these stories being embedded in a game for those boys and a few girls who are inclined to the virtual world.)

Examples of ALICE projects in math, Spanish, history, science, dance/art, and Language Arts/Literature: http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/alice/aliceInSchools/workshop08/examples.php

Links about ALICE: http://www.cmu.edu/corporate/news/2007/features/alice.shtml http://www.alice.org/index.php?page=what_is_alice/what_is_alice http://www.alice.org/3.1/index.html

My real world hacks: