Hour of Code is Coming!

 Channahon School District 17 has participated in Hour of Code every year for the past 7 years! This year is no different! I want to share some information with you about Hour of Code that I think is very interesting and useful!

First, what the heck is Hour of Code? Well, it began as a one hour coding challenge to pique interest in computer science. It has become a global event, and all it takes is your willingness to donate an hour of class time -- no experience (or even computers!!) necessary! And it's for kids of all ages, anywhere from kindergarten all the way up to adult (yes, even YOU can have fun during Hour of Code). Check out the fun video below -- how many famous faces do you recognize?

How is Hour of Code completed? It is done through fun, engaging games and activities that kids enjoy, using things like Disney  or Star Wars movies and characters and games like Minecraft, Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, and even Space Invaders. The lessons are run as tutorials, including video instructions and hints along the way to help the kids write their own lines of code! Come on -- who doesn't want a legit reason to spend and hour playing games during class time????

Sorry, I don't teach computers. Sorry, I don't know anything about coding. Sorry, I don't have time to find or develop lessons. No worries! Coding is NOT just for computer class! In fact, many activities are curriculum based, so you can easily find a coding activity that can be used in math, language arts, science, social studies, P.E., art, or music! You need to have exactly ZERO experience with coding! The lessons are created to teach you and your students from the ground up! And the lessons are already created for you -- and one of the things I will be doing is finding what I think are the coolest lessons out there and sharing them directly with you -- call it positive peer pressure :-) All you have to do is commit one hour of class time to giving the kids -- and yourself -- the chance to learn! Set aside an hour (or 2 30 minute sessions, or 3 20 minute sessions, or 4 15 minute sessions) where all any of you do is try your coding activity -- teachers included!

When is Hour of Code supposed to happen? December 7 - 13, 2020

Can you commit to doing an hour of code in your class those days? If so, share it on Twitter! All you have to do is click here to post a Tweet that you and your students are going to be part of this global event!

Cool Tool Alert -- Go Formative

 Teachers are always looking for ways to get feedback from their students in order to gauge understanding. There's a tool that has been around for a while that does this nicely -- and I can't believe that I am only now learning about it! It's called Go Formative.

You create what is called a Formative for your students to respond to. You can add content and ask questions. Free content includes

• Embedding
• Images
• Text
• Video
• Whiteboard

Free questions include

• Essay
• Multiple choice
• Multiple select
• Short answer
• Show your work
• True/False

Plus there is a question bank you can search to find questions that are ready to use -- no need to figure everything out on your own!!

AND you can attach learning standards to your questions!

AND it syncs with Google Classroom!

Here's a video tour of Go Formative!