Thing 7 - Flicker Upload

I can use this in the classroom to teach organization.  I found it hard to go backwards and organize photos after the event has passed.

CS Sidebar - Planning is essential!

Thing 6 - Flickr

Magnetic field in a turbulent plasma

I added this comment to Tulasinandan's Photostream after searching CT on Flickr:
I am scaling computational thinking education in K-5 and taking this course called 23 Things. We had to search a concept in Flickr, and found this. Interesting very few people tag CT. Would like to know if you have a blog that can support scaling CT in public schools. If you do, you can add a comment on my blog www.build-a-brain.com and we can "talk". I teach computer science through the arts.

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What more can I say - teach computer science through the arts. This attracts people who are not into competition and gaming into studying computer science. Start exploring this idea as we explored Flickr on my Graphic Programming site.

Thing 5 - RSS Management

I will have to play around with this some more to get comfortable. One thing I did was add my student's blogs to a folder in Google Reader. Figured it out, but it was not straight forward; there are so many choices. But, this will be very useful once I get over the learning curve to follow some special students. That way I only have to look one place and see who is keeping up with their computational thinking. CT was one thing I searched and got caught up in the information, so got behind with time. But, I did subscribe to some blogs and the reader will really help when I want to continue this research.

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Managing Blogs by creating folders is the same thing as breaking down a problem into smaller parts. This is a key concept in computer science. This can be used to help kids master problem solving strategies. Have lots of ideas on K-5 lessons to connect to RSS reader management; this is a reminder spot for me as I break down the problem of teaching computer science into "23 things." :)

Thing 4 - RSS

I am now motivated to use RSS Feeds to save time using all 3 methods. The process I use depends on the content. This will be useful in following student's thinking through blogs.

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Learning how variables and attributes work can save time too. It would be nice if bloggers would add a target="blank" attribute in their link tags. Understanding what happens in the source code background helps computing fluency and therefore speed. I am hoping 23 CS things will motivate learning how to program a computer.

Thing 3 - Blogs

WHY LEARN TO BLOG
It is a place for Reflection -

1. After looking at others blogs I know I have to keep text short. Blogs support the work I do by being a fast place to find ideas and lessons from the past. But, it must be brief and organized.
2. I am trying to tell a story about students.  I am hoping by using my story as example, my students will write their own.   Most are ESL students so need practice reading and writing.  
3. I am not concerned about students publishing work, but I am concerned about their ability to create exciting innovative ideas that others want to read.  Posting on blogs can motivate that work. And not only posting words, but posting graphics which drive thinking.

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WHY LEARN TO PROGRAM
It is Empowering!

I have been saying that since I first started teaching computer science using LOGO at Willowridge High School in Houston in the 1980s. It is empowering to switch to the HTML tab and code what I can't control using the Compose tab.

Wilber just might get closer to Harvard as my third education law relating to CS was passed by the Texas SBOE.  Designing solutions to problems using programming languages is now part of the standards.  Now to figure out how I am going to help and motivate Wilber  to reflect on what he learns and help him reach his goals.  He is now starting the age in school where he has choices.  I hope computer science is part of that world. I hope that blogging can help make Harvard a reality.

Thing 1 & Thing 2 - Web 2.0

Wilber goes to Harvard

… At least that is the plan in 7 years.

That brought a smile to my face. That is why I teach.

We were watering the new gardens. Four of my many 5^th grade students I teach in computer ancillary classes were helping to untangle hoses and come up with a plan on how to efficiently water the new playscape. We talked about the connection of kinks in a hose and solving math problems. The discussion led to telling Wilbur to keep in touch and continue being a positive thinking volunteer and I would help him get a scholarship to college. A smile came on his face and he said, “You can help me go to Harvard?” I said, that is a goal.

Now we need to work on an action plan… an action plan not just for one low-income Houston ISD student, but also for other hard-working children. ALL students dream about the future and we need to help them plan how to get there. We lose too many students along with the way with worksheets and testing. They give up, as their lack of success is demoralizing. They all want to water gardens and build something. They want their hands on a product they create. It is engineering and computing that can take them there. Math, Science and literacy are tools to help them design something real and relevant to their lives. That something is technology -> anything manmade.

I find a deterrent to this is teacher’s lack of knowledge about how CSE can enhance C-STEM. That is why I joined 23 things, to network with others who are passionate about computing. To learn how to create a site that teaches by participating in something that looks intriguing in their process of breaking down learning into 23 parts. I wonder how can I do that for computer science lessons K-12? The video and articles in Thing One stressed the importance of moving students from consuming to producing. But are students learning to be digital producers beyond communication and information? Can they write a phone app? Why not teach them how to teach their cell phone to do what they want it to do? Empower kids like the 12 year-old recently on the news for writing his own mobile application to solve his own problem.

“Oh, the Thinks you can Think” – a book I have read to my high school students the last decade and now I read to my elementary school students like Wilber, who I have taught for the last 4 years. That brings a smile to my face … he is a thinker who knows how to ask questions to build his passions. I look forward to travelling with him into the future that connects to the past through blogging. I look forward to learning from other educators on 23 things.

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THING ONE

• What does digital mean?
• Why Learn to Program?

THING TWO

• What does HTML mean?
• What is a descriptive identifier?
• Can you read the domain and folder names in a URL?

HINT: When creating a blog, keep the URL as short as possible while still being descriptive. You have to type the address to get to the information. The shorter it is the faster it is to type.