Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything accomplished. It can be hard for me to balance my family, career, and personal life. So how can I find time to search for new resources that I need next month for the start of school? Here are a few of the resources than I am relying upon to get me started for the new school year.
CSTA Source: Have you checked it out lately? I have to admit that this was a resource that I had sparingly used in the past. Why? Well, I get into the pattern of using a new variation of lessons from last year. This year, I have changed jobs and there aren’t any last year’s lessons to rely upon. The CSTA Source is a great place to find new resources for the classroom. When was the last time you checked it out? Now might be a great time to add a resource of your own or search for a new one.
Social Networking Sites: It sounds strange, but you can use social networking to find resources for the classroom too. A friend of mine posted a status update that referred me to a Web site which helps to introduce students to algorithmic thinking. You might want to check it out at:
http://www.robozzle.com/
Another friend created a networking site for teachers to share ideas. I usually think of social networks as social communications tools but I am now finding them good for professional resources as well. By the way, did you know that CSTA is on Facebook? Just go to
www.facebook.com
and search for CSTA.
Blogs: Blogs are becoming more important to me. I have a few favorites that I follow and check periodically. The CSTA Blog is one that I follow more than others. Barb Ericson’s blog entry from July 22 shares several online resources that will be of help to those of us returning to the classroom in a few weeks. It can be a great place for others to share their ideas too. Where do you find your resources?
Summer Activities: This is the time of the year that I think back to all the activities that I have participated in over the summer. I think back to the GameMaker:
http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/
session at CS&IT 2009:
http://csta.acm.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/CSIT09Presentations.html
by Fran Trees. This is an idea that I hope to use with my upper middle school students who have no previous programming experience. GameMaker makes it very easy for students to create interactive games.
My wife will be adding a standalone technology course to her elementary school this year. While at NECC, I saw previews of Kodu which will be great for her to use with her third through fifth graders. Kodu is a graphics based, drag and drop coding application that allows students to create games using the Xbox 360 system on the PC. While the classroom version of Kodu hasn’t been released I have heard it is to be released sometime in August. You might want to check into it if you teach in an elementary or middle school classroom.
What are some of the things that you learned this summer and plan to take back into your classroom? I would love to hear about some of your experiences in the comment section. Remember, I too use this blog as a resource for my classroom ideas.
Dave Burkhart
CSTA Board of Directors