Coding for Kids

I want to talk about two things that are dear to my heart: My kids and Coding

My two sons are 8 and 3 years old. They are growing up in this vastly growing technology dependent era. Technically they are considered to be digital natives; however our economic circumstances holds them back from being well acclimated and  accustomed to using computers, navigating on the internet, and other various forms of technology, other than playing a few games on my smart phone. With so many new innovative creations being developed every day I try my best to stay relevant on what my boys should know in order for them to become intellectual contenders in the arena of life.  

First I will briefly explain what coding is. There are different types of coding languages that can be used to transmit instructions to a computer in order to perform different functions. Coding is the specific language that informs the computer on what to do next. For example; something as simple as the background on this blog is created through code. A specific sentence was written that the computer interprets and produces the outcome that we see here. Learning how to code is now becoming highly accessible and easily communicated in ways that young children can understand. There are free courses and tutorials that engage the curious minds of children and allow them to explore the possibilities of creating original computer apps, games, programs, and websites through code. With this knowledge children can began to unlock their learning potential and truly invest years in practicing a skill that has proven to be not only beneficial but a necessary bilingual language that will increase the amount of future education and career opportunities for these digital natives.

 I consider code to be the language of the future. My predictions are that in the next 10 years coding will be introduced into the public school systems as a component of the technology curriculum, when it is finally decided that there should be a mainstream requirement for computer skills beyond typing, to be taught in primary and secondary education.  Until this happens parents and educators like myself are on their own with helping kids ride the wave of the future through code. Below are a list of excellent websites that you can access to give you and your digital natives step by step instructions on how to code. I have tried these sites below with my boys but there are plenty other coding resources out there with FREE opportunities to become Coding Masters…. Enjoy

  

www.Code.org

www.tynker.com

www.bitsbox.com

www.pluralsight.com/kids

Who’s ready for i-Ready?

https://youtu.be/94j5h_7xOhs

Curriculum Associates developed a K-12 adaptive diagnostic and K-8 instruction online program, built for Common Core State Standards called i-Ready. This program is designed to provide students with individualized diagnostic assessments and engaging instruction. The focus of this online program is reading and math. The reading portion covers: Phonological Awareness, Phonics, High Frequency Words, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. The math portion covers: Number and Operations, Algebra-Algebraic thinking, Measurement & Data, and Geometry.  i-Ready Diagnostic and Instruction  helps teachers to effectively assess their students and then provide individualized instruction based on each student’s unique needs. 

By giving students these adaptive assessments that are derived from the CCSS, educators are able to easily and more effectively gage the academic strengths and weakness of each student in their classroom. The adaptive assessment automatically adjust in difficulty level of questions according to the students responses. This will determine their skill level in both reading and math. i-Ready presents students with questions that may be below and above the student’s performance abilities. The test are designed this way because it evaluates both the correct and incorrect answers in order to match the student to the appropriate skill level. Each time a student gets an answer incorrect, he or she will be presented with a simpler question until the diagnostic finds the grade level at which the student is performing well. In my opinion This method of assessments allows for educators to directly see the exact CCSS that the students need more practice with.

Once the results are available students  are assigned a username and a password to access further online instruction in the form of interactive activities on the i-Ready website. This is perfect because the student has 24hr access to i-Ready instruction. The program uses entertaining and attention grabbing game like activities to teach the self-paced lessons.  These activities assist the student in building a stronger skill set on the CCSS standards in which they exhibited low scores on the test. This offers great support in increasing the student’s abilities in mastering each skill level. As a result the students experience learning that attracts and captivates their interest while teaching them crucial skills and concepts needed to prepare them for the Standardized Smarter Balanced Test and promote their college and career readiness. I personally have experience with i-Ready. My son is in the 2^nd grade and uses the i-Ready program to practice Common Core State Standards and prepare him for the Standardized Smarter Balanced test. He completes the lessons after homework and enjoys the interactive learning games. I’m highly interested in seeing how his skill development from using i-Ready impacts his performance on the SBAC.

Information derived from http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/iready/diagnostic-instruction.aspx

Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley /

Awsome Video Post coming soon

Using Technology to Create an Alternative Education

       Education today is evolving at a very rapid pace. Some students and educators are gracefully making the transition and falling right into place with the new additions technology has provided. Yet some students and educators are ruggedly grasping on to the new concepts and innovations that technology has to provide. Ken Robertson uses the rain phenomenon that occurred in Death Valley as an analogy to describe his philosophy of the education system. He states that the education system is a human system that can only operate under conditions in which students can thrive and if those conditions don't nurture their thriving potential then student will lay dormant. He also makes the compelling statement that the whole purpose of education is to help students learn, that without learning there is no education. Many students that are entering and existing traditional school environments lay dormant and are not being stimulated to engage in learning. By traditional school I mean the student goes to a physical building and sits in a classroom in order to learn. 

        Based on the known facts of dropout rates, test scores, and title1 funding for schools with predominantly disadvantage students, I argue that these students should be presented with some form of alternative education that would better suit their learning needs. Ken Robertson’s Ted talk prompted me to research what other options are available to students who are not thriving in their current educational environments? 

Focusing on using technology to be the change and provide individualized avenues to attain the necessary academic skills to be college and career ready, I found five (5) online learning schools just in my local area. I used http://www.k12.com to discover the opportunities available. 

California Virtual Academies has11 different online schools: CAVA@Fresno, CAVA@Jamestown, CAVA@Kings, CAVA@Los Angeles, CAVA@Maricopa, CAVA@Maricopa High School, CAVA@San Diego, CAVA@San Joaquin, CAVA@San Mateo, CAVA@Sonoma, and CAVA@Sutter. 

“The network of the 11 California Virtual Academies schools is a tuition-free online public school that uses the K¹² curriculum, which is accessed via an online school as well as through more traditional methods. Materials are delivered right to the family's doorstep—including books, CDs, and even bags of rocks and dirt (for science experimentation, of course). We also partner parents and students with a state-credentialed teacher to assign and review lessons and assessments and to guide and support students and learning coaches through the program. Teachers, parents, and students meet on a regular basis in person and online. Student-to-student interaction is emphasized too, so the network of the 11 California Virtual Academy schools students in each of the 11 schools are always well educated and well socialized.” 

This is a perfect example of an alternative educational option that could be used to water the leaning seeds in students.

How are Common Core State Standards, Smarter balanced Assessment (Sbac), and Title 1 funding connected to technology?

The Common Core State Standards were developed to be a leveling checkpoint system that’s designed to ensure that students are being taught skills that would prepare them for college courses or to enter into the workforce. According to the California of the Department of Education the “standards describe what students should know and be able to do in each subject in each grade. In California, the State Board of Education decides on the standards for all students, from kindergarten through high school. The California Department of Education helps schools make sure that all students are meeting the standards. Since 2010, a number of states across the nation have adopted the same standards for English and math. These standards are called the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Having the same standards helps all students get a good education, even if they change schools or move to a different state. Teachers, parents, and education experts designed the CCSS to prepare students for success in college and the workplace.” Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/tl/whatareccss.asp

“The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that accurately measure student progress toward college- and career-readiness. Smarter Balanced is one of two multistate consortia awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Education in 2010 to develop an assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by the 2014-15 school year.”

I retrieved this quote directly from the website http://www.smarterbalanced.org. This gives a brief explanation of what the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Sbac) entails. This assessment was designed to determine whether students are learning these Common Core State Standards and are gaining momentum toward being one step closer to becoming college and career ready at the end of their grade level. The alignment with the Common Core Standards are what creates the high stakes for this test because the results from these assessments are used to establish if schools meet the requirements for Title 1 funding. Below is an explanation describing Title 1 funding;

What Is Title I?

"Title I" is the federal program that provides funding to local school districts to improve the academic achievement of disadvantaged students. It is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act first passed in 1965. That Act is reauthorized by Congress from time to time, and often given a new name. It is currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act. Section A of Title I provides grants to states to distribute directly to school districts. This is by far the largest source of federal money for local schools. School districts do not have to apply for Title I funding as they would have to for a competitive grant. If a school district qualifies for Title I funding, it is entitled to the money. However, the district must submit to the state education agency a plan for how it will use the funds to improve academic achievement among disadvantaged students. http://www.formulafairness.com/title1

Technology is the glue that connects these three elements together. The Common Core State Standards currently only focus on English and Math retention and does not have any guidelines that promote learning basic technological skills at any grade level. This is a major downside to the CCSS because to produce college and career ready students for the 21st century even the simplest tech skills need to be learned. Also in order for students to be assessed through the Smarter Balanced Assessment, students are required to know how to perform basic functions on a computer such as; how to hold the mouse appropriately, use a mouse to drag and drop, or use a mouse to highlight text. These are just a few skills that are expected of children when they are testing. Now if the school has no set curriculum to teach these skills why are the students expected to know them. The assessment scores of the students who lack basic knowledge of these skills will be misrepresented as lack of proficiency of the CCSS and be calculated in the percentages that are reported to state officials. Title1 funding will be made available to these schools with these low test scores to promote academic advancement, however the focus of the funding is being directed in the wrong areas. No funds will be allocated to improve the area that is causing the disadvantage, which is the lack of computer skills.  How can students with no or limited exposure to computers be required to use computers to on a Standardized Assessment?

Geoffrey Canada: Our failing schools. Enough is enough!

21st Century Learning

 ·          What sort of challenges do you believe lies ahead in any district which proposes changing the entire teacher evaluation process based on student need for a change of learning skills? How would it feel to you to participate in this kind of process?

First and foremost I really like this question because it challenges my value for teachers, as well as, my value for students and with any change there is bound to be some push-back and controversy from both parties involved. The challenges that I believe lie ahead may be the struggle to determine the needs of the students and deciding what type of teacher will suit those needs. Low-income schools are often known as “hard-to-staff” schools because they have a higher turnover rate for their teachers.  Finding more teachers will suit one need of the students, however to fit this need to what extent is the evaluation process going to be changed. For instance; would the teachers be required to have extra skills and experience to better serve the students or would teachers be required to have less skills and experience to serve more students at higher rates. I recently had a personal experience that addressed this challenge. I recently inquired about joining Teach for America. This organization or corporation I have determined, recruits newly college graduates to become contract teachers for two years at a low-income schools, after only 5 weeks of training. During this time of working in the classroom, the graduates can earn their teaching credentials. This concept sounds amazing, however in perpetuates the extended cycle of educational inequality with quantity. Teach for America and partnering schools changed the teacher evaluation process based on what they proposed to be the most important need. I disagree that more unprepared teachers are the answer, therefore I was not willing to participate. In connection to other aspects of teacher evaluation changes the biggest challenge I foresee are current teachers expressing contempt for this kind of process, which will create a negative work culture at minimum, yet still effective enough to impact student learning. Attached is a very interesting article discussing Teach for America.

·         “What can I do as a teacher and leader to more effectively bring 21st century learning to my students?”

Currently I’m not working as a classroom teacher and I’m not sure at which level do I want to lead the change in education. After reading about 21^st century learning, I agree that this framework would increase preparedness for students once they finish high school. Whether they go in the direction of college or the workforce, 21^st century learning will allow them to access to a more well-rounded skill set that matches the demands of present times. As an educator, those who aspire to promote learning, I’m interested in policy and the appropriation of the proper training for teacher and parents. This way the students are learning these skills in the two most effective learning environments in their young lives. I want to bring 21^st century skills to the conductors of these students’ support systems. This is important because before we can’t expect students on any level to learn, master, and then apply 21^st century skills until us as educators and facilitators first learn, master, and then apply such skills. Focusing on effectively reintroducing education in the 21^st century and providing a lens to teachers and parents to view the infrastructure as a continuous evolving entity that’s growing with our society, will be my contribution to the students.  

What's the standard for Standardized Testing?

Hello World & Welcome

I'm Blue Skies and this Blog is dedicated to conversing about the pedagogy of education along with the vision of our educational future,as well as, technology integration in the classroom and how to prepare all students for the change.

Over the next few weeks I aspire to develop my Tech Support Blog into an educational resource and supportive outlet for researchers, educators, students, parents and all brilliant minds.