Computer Science Inspired by Literture - WAOTL

For over a decade I have been celebrating Computer Science Education week with Vermont educators.  In 2013, we created a place for Vermont schools to share their participation in #CSEdWeek and the #HourOfCode activities that many of them participated in.  Since taking on a role as a chapter leader for Vermont-CSTA, I've continued these efforts. Here are some highlights from our Vermont schools participation in #CSEdWeek2024, 

One of my contributions this year was to design a workflow for elementary classroom teachers, librarians, and their students to code an interactive experience using SCRATCH  to accompany the children's picture book "Who's Afraid of the Light" by Anna MacGregor.  This was one of my grandchildren's favorites from the Red Clover Book Award nominees.   

I also created a PD opportunity for educators who wanted to create confidence with code using this workflow.  If you're interested in enrolling in this PD opportunity (including a certificate of participation for continuing ed credit) email me at ldelabruere at gmail and I'll send you the Google Classroom Code. 

I also plan to share the workflow and lessons here  over the next few blog post for those who just want to try it with their students. 

This blog post is the first in this series of posts.

In this series, you will experience computer science by using Scratch to create and code an interactive experience with bioluminescent characters from the book. Most of the coding challenges target grades 4-6.

Younger students will be able to participate in SOME of the activities in collaboration with older students or with support from teacher and other adults.  

Your characters will include the storyteller (i.e. diver), Fergus,  and 3 additional bioluminescent sea characters from the book. You will learn to code a blinking light animation effect to simulate bioluminescence 

You will also learn to control your characters, hide and show your characters, make them move and add dialogue between them. You will also change the setting (backdrop) and add sound.

Here is part 1 of a teacher guide that also includes a Welcome video to get you started.

To get started go ahead and read the book "Whose Afraid of the Light."
You can get a copy from your local bookstore or your library. 

You will meet 4 bioluminescent characters:
a gulper eel, a vampire squid, a spook fish, and an angler fish.

Use the unlined back of an index card to draw one character per card.
Trace the outside of the character with a bold black line using a Sharpie.

Color the inside of the characters with vibrant bold colors.

My 5 and 6 year old grandchildren loved this part.  I imagined students in grades 4 and older adopting a reading buddy from lower grades and encouraging their reading buddies through this part of the process. 

Perhaps each of the younger readers could draw ONE character that older children can use as they learn to code the experience.  I can tell you from experience that the younger learners will be very excited to see their illustrations used in these Scratch projects.  When your older students use younger reading buddies as an 'authentic audience' for their projects, they  hear comments like "There's mine!" contributing to a feeling of community amongst your students.  That's an outcome worth striving for in our schools. 

In the next blog post in this series, I'll describe a workflow that I  have used for bringing hand drawn student work into a SCRATCH project. 

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Computer Science & Making Inspired by Literature - Red Clover Books

Each year, Vermont librarians nominate 10 picture books for children grades K through 4 to read  and vote for their favorites. This year's Red Clover Book inspired me to consider how we might make a connection between computer science and literacy.  You can learn more about the Red Clover Book awards through the Department of Libraries an the Red Clover Award Website.

For years, I've  watched  librarians  take a lead in their school's involvement in Hour of Code or Computer Science Education week. So many librarians also provide opportunities for our younger student to learn through creating and making including maker tools and supplies in their libraries.  They inspired me to created an ebook with idea cards for hands on making and projects for learning computer science, inspired by the  Red Clover book nominees.  With support from STEAM educator, Tina Smith, and school librarian, Jessica Wisloski, we launched this e-book at the Vermontfest conference as part of the Vermont-CSTA Computer Science series of workshops and at the interactive popup makerspace that Jessica and Tina

facilitated. 

You can find the e-book at  https://bit.ly/red-clover-all

The book includes 40 idea cards  (4 for each of the Red Clover books). These idea cards include projects and links to resources curated from colleagues as well as web resources. I also designed one or more computer science projects using Scratch for each book.

As part of the Vermont CSTA chapter leader team preparing for Computer Science Education Week, I, also, created a version that focused on the computer science projects using Scratch. 

You can find the CS version at https://bit.ly/red-clover-cs

For each book,  you will find a link to a Scratch project that can be used to introduce students to computer science concepts and practices. Although the CS projects could most easily be completed by students grades 4 and up, younger students could be enaged with parts of the project with support from adults or with older students as mentors.

As I continued to envision students coding the Scratch projects as they engaged with the book,  I realized that a teacher/student guide might be helpful.  After consulting with my youngest grandchildren about their favorite Red Clover book, I started to create the teacher/student guide for Who's Afraid of the Light  by  Anna McGregor. 

You can find the teacher/student guide for Who's Afraid of the Light at https://bit.ly/red-clover-cs-WAOTL

The teacher/student guide for Who's Afraid of the Light includes 6+  Computer Science Challenge Cards that can be used in several ways.  Each challenge introduces a limited set of code-blocks that can build a  mini Scratch project related to the book.  Each challenge also offers a link to a Scratch project that can be used to scaffold the experience. Students can choose to look inside each Scratch project or remix the projects.  They could also build the project from scratch (pun intended). Educators could use the Challenge Cards and supporting slides to lead students using whole group instruction, or they can make them available as handout for students to explore and try. 

If you'd like a version with just the Who's Afraid of the Light Challenge Cards you can find it at https://bit.ly/red-clover-cs-cards-WAOT 

The Challenge cards are made available through Creative Commons license for you to print out.  I printed my copy on cardstock and cut them out for students to rearrange into an algorithm that solves each challenge. 

Next steps for me are to coach a group of students and their teacher as they 'kid test' the challenge cards.   Please contact me, if you'd like to collaborate on this next phase. I'm also taking suggestion as to which teacher/student guide I should take on next! If you see one of the  computer science ideas  inspired by the Red Clover book  that you'd like to try, let me know.  Let's see where the interest lies for the next  Red Clover  inspired Compuer Science teacher/sudent guide. 

The current and any upcoming Teacher/Student guides and Challenge cards for the computer science projects inspired by literature will be shared throughout the year on Vermont CSTA website and on the Create Make Learn blog.  If you are interested in trying these with your students, please reach out so  we can collaborate. 

AI Vermont for Elementary Educators

 On Saturday, September 28 AI-Vermont will be hosting elementary educators for a day long exploration of artificial intelligence.   When asked to prepare an interactive experience for educators, I thought of the different ways I've used AI as an educator to assist me with instructional design and which one of these might be most useful to elementary educators. 

But soon I found myself drawn back to using AI and computer science to CREATE, MAKE, and LEARN that AI is not magic and computer science skills are still relevant skills to be teaching our students. 
 
So in our workshop, we will create a "Snap Chat" like project that uses  pre-trained models and two extensions (Video Sensing and Face Detection) available in the Machine Learning for Kids version of Scratch.  All the resources can be found on the Machine Learning for Kids website.

We'll also use the website to experience Training an AI model by collecting images as data and using them to Train and Test the model to see if it can differentiate between our hats and our shoes.  My hope is that this will allow participants to better understand what is meant when we talk about "training" the AI and see how easily biased the data can be. I do believe that our elementary students should be aware of what's under the hood with the AI features in the tools and toys that are increasingly becoming part of their lives.

Join me for this interactive mini experience with AI   using these slides 

Create Make Learn Fall Course launches Sept 21

 Many of you have asked us to offer a 'non-summer' version of the  Create Make Learn Institute.   We are excited to announce that this FALL will be the first FALL Create Make Learn Institute kicking off at The Generator Makerspace in Burlington, Vermont on September 21.

Yes, it's quick turnaround time, but we could think of no better time than Fall to come spend 4 Saturday's creating and making with colleagues as you create confidence with Makerspace and STEAM tools. 

The course will model personalized learning practices and provide you will opportunities to create confidence with the following topics: 

• Create and Practical Problem Solving
• Design Thinking
• Cardboard Tools
• Laser Cutting
• 3D Printing
• Vinyl/Craft Cutters (i.e. Cricut)
• Circuits 
• Makey Makey, Microbits & Micro-controllers
• Physical Computing
• Create With Code
• Hand Tools
• Meaningful Making
• STEAM Infused Project Based Learning

Click here for or a more detailed overview of the  draft schedule, 

The topics each week are subject to change to meet the interest and needs of registered participants.

Won't you join us to experience a little JOY this Fall.  Register at www.CreateMakeLearn.org

Cambridge Rotary Sponsors Girls and STEM Project

This June, I once again witnessed the amazing  support from  Rotary International to their local communities.   On their website, Rotary International is described as 

"Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves."

Tech Savvy Girls Camp 2018

Through their support of Girls and STEM, our local Rotary clubs are indeed creating 'problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action".  For years,  the Rotary Club of Newport has made it possible for  young women like, Sydney (see video below) to spend a week with their peers creating confidence with technology through  creative and practical problem solving at TechSavvy Girls summer camp.

This June, the Cambridge Area Rotary Club sponsored a Girls in STEM event at Cambridge Elementary School that engaged 3rd and 4th grade girls with Circuits and Code.  The event, designed and lead by Faith Horton (Cambridge Elementary) and Lucie deLaBruere (Create Make Learn) provided the girls with the opportunity to express their creativity while creating confidence with computer science and circuits.

THANK YOU to the Cambridge Area Rotary!

We used Scratch (a coding platform from M.I. T) to start coding firefly stories. 

In no time at all, the girls coded a backdrop with blinking fireflies and learned how to animate firefly sprites that could tell stories as they moved across the screen. 

Soon, we turned our focus to batteries, led lights, and switches to build simple circuits.  Inspired by colored LED and empowered with a wire stripper, the girls  put together circuit assemblies that would become part of a firefly model.  

   

Using creative and practical problem-solving, we used our circuit assemblies in creative firefly models whose abdomens lit up.   Colorful paper and craft supplies assembled with tape and glue fueled by creativity yielded some amazing fireflies.

Watch Cambridge girls empowered with creativity, circuits, and code!

As our time together for this session came to an end, the girls left with light up fireflies in hand and a greater awareness of how creativity, code, and circuits can empower them with new tools for creative and practical problem solving.   Hopefully many will be back during our week long exploration of many different ways to play with circuits and code.   Here's a sneak preview of different ways we will play with circuits and code at Cambridge Elementary later this summer. 

AI-Vermont - Playground Session: Creative Computing with Block-Based Code and AI

 

I'm super excited to be part of the AI-Vermont Playground where we will use an accessible block based platform for engaging students with creative coding:  Creaticode.com 

Use these slides to engage in our playground session.

Here is a DEMO of the project we will be making.  Although you can see the Demo without being logged into Creati-code.  The interactive chatbot will only work with CHAT GPT if you are logged into Creati-Code (for accountability purposes).  This connection to Chat GPT is filtered to school appropriate Feel free to make an account as a student to try it.   (Teacher accounts are also available, but are not immediately approved)

https://play.creaticode.com/projects/667ca29d19f407016ce86be1?version=1

AI for Educators Discussion at MGI

 

I got the opportunity to lead a  discussion on AI at Middle Grades Institute this week. 

The goal for our conversation was to connect with thought partners on the topic of AI in education.

I chose to use the Compass Protocol from SRI as a framework for the discussion. We started by thinking about our own personalities and needs and formed discussion questions based on those 4 compass points.

As a person who identifies with the North Compass Point, you have probably already tried AI tools.  We shared AI tools that help us be more efficient and effective with instruction as well as AI tools that support constructionist practices. 

We considered some of the Big Picture questions that are being asked by those of us who align with the EAST compass point. 

And those who identified with the Southern Compass were eager to ask some important questions about diversity, inclusion and equity.

And we concluded our discussion with suggestions of how we learn more and the conversation about AI continues to evolve.

Here are a few ideas for staying connected to learn more. 

• MGC Follow-up events on AI (tba)

• Create Make Learn
  (focus on Creativity & Constructionist uses of AI)

• UVM AI for Educators Course (Syllabus)

• AI-Vermont

• AOE -  grant for (ISTE AI course)  

• Vermont-CSTA (VT CS Teachers Association) 

 Feel free to complete this Google Form if you would like to get notified as opportunities to stay connected about AI in education in Vermont you can. 

 If you'd like to use these discussion starter slides with your colleagues, you may use them or join our discussion.