As a teacher in NY I realize I am one of the last teachers to go back to school, and to those of you who have been back awhile I apologize for what seems to you as a late post.
Every year when I get back into the rhythm of teaching again, I find that I stop for a moment to reflect on the previous year as well as what the summer held. I also look for exciting new things that I can bring to my classroom to enrich my curriculum even further. So I thought I would compile a list of useful or helpful things that I am bringing to my class this year.
Andy Begel’s Kinesthetic Learning Activities
For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to join us in San Diego for the CS&IT Symposium, one of the standout sessions for me pedagogically was the kinesthetic learning workshop given by Andy Begel. You can also view additional activities developed by the people in the workshop (and many others). I plan to use these both for reference for activities for my own class as well as an inspiration for when I need a lesson for another topic.
Recommended Resources from CSTA
I know, it is redundant to refer you to a CSTA resource from a CSTA resource, but I cannot help myself. I especially plan to use the OO project using Pong that was developed jointly with IBM and CSTA.
The University of Washington’s A Day in the Life video
This video is inspirational, motivational and shows kids (both boys and girls) that CS is not just sitting in front of a computer screen by yourself playing video games.
There are so many other resources available, but this is just a start for now. Keep an eye out for the CSTA repository – a full collection of resources that is being developed for computer science teachers at ALL levels.
Happy New School Year!!!!
Leigh Ann Sudol
Publications Chair