The Hour of Code will soon begin!

Next week (Dec. 9 & 11) ISPP will be hosting two events to join in a huge worldwide event: The Hour of Code.
-M

The Hour of Code is Coming....

Some people might say that "the whole world runs on code". I think we'd better investigate!

Stay tuned for information on how learning to code benefits students, as well as ISPP's upcoming Hour of Code events for all ages at at both campuses, starting this December.

Meanwhile, check out this short (1min 27sec) teaser video from the Elementary Student Technology Advisory (ESTA) on why you should join in and learn the basics of coding, no matter how old you are!



-M

Digital Footprints

International Digital Citizenship Week Oct. 19th-25th!

This week we are celebrating #DigitalCitizenshipWeek as our students take to blogs and social media in a responsible, T.H.I.N.K first, post later manner.


As students learn new media research skills and ways to identify quality websites, we continue to make digital citizenship a key part of our technology integration. It's not a giant leap for the PYP; the learner profile, attitudes and skills of IB PYP are perfectly aligned with the tenets of digital citizenship, but the pace of change and impact of new technology do present their challenges for a curriculum that is this "full on". Sometimes teachers are learning alongside students, the options can be overwhelming, and technology can fail when you need it most. Teachers can always use more time, teaching digital citizenship takes time, can they really spare it?

I believe they must. I believe that in such a connected world the ability to understand and evaluate internet sources is crucial. That knowing who to trust with your information and the value of that information cannot be understated. That understanding self image and identity can help students express creativity without changing who they really are. That we can be producers of content and grow a community of learning worldwide while staying safe, keeping private lives private, and developing a public portfolio of our best work.

New to digital citizenship? New to integrating technology in your classroom or with your kids? Afraid of all the nasty stuff you hear about the internet?

Common Sense published this awesome series of teacher backgrounders that really break down what you need to know about the core tenets of good digital citizenship, including why we teach it. I strongly encourage you to have a look at these and talk to your kids about them at every opportunity, they will be permanently linked from the Digital Citizenship page on the blog.

Happy digital citizenship week!
-M

ISPPcraft: Minecraft in Education

Hi folks!

Recently we introduced Minecraft as a learning tool in elementary, and the student response has been so exciting you may have heard it all the way across town. Rarely does a teacher get such a motivated response from students, and surely it has something to do with the fact that Minecraft is a computer game... a fun one at that. Does this mean students are wasting valuable school time fighting zombies and digging virtual holes?

To assume so would be to underestimate the immense potential of the "virtual sandbox" that Minecraft provides... a living world of building blocks, where your lego-esque creations can grow vegetables, build working machines, model real world architecture or prototype big ideas while working collaboratively with large groups.




Historically there have been many debates over whether students should be allowed computer games in school. Parents and teachers alike have passionate perspectives on the dangers (violence, addiction, inactivity) and benefits (collaboration, creativity, problem solving) of gaming. The use of minecraft at school is a carefully thought out decision that focuses on its use as a learning tool, with a special version of the software that allows teachers a great amount of structure and control over players. Our elementary MinecraftEdu server uses custom worlds designed by or with teachers to support learning in direct connection with student's unit of inquiry. Check out some of these lessons that have been created by other educators already!

Here are some thoughts on Minecraft at school from Ms. Chelsea Woods, ISPP's technology director:

On violence collaboration  

This is a topic that falls close to our hearts because we want a peaceful world for our children, and we worry that if our children play games that include violence, they will exhibit violent behaviors. While Minecraft does allow survival game modes in which players can fight on teams or individually, it does not promote violence. We provide guidance for our students on developing peaceful solutions and strategies for managing conflict throughout our curriculum, and Minecraft provides an additional environment for developing collaborative relationships and problem solving skills so that our students can grow as responsible global citizens. 

On addiction balanced self-management  

Our children need support to develop balanced self-management. Whether they love studying, gaming, social networking, reading, sports, YouTube, 'hanging out,' or something else, the role of parent and teacher is sometimes to re-direct attention from personal interests to academics, sleep, or some other balance-creating focus. Our intent as parents and educators is to educate our children so that they will be able to find their passions, and make balanced self-management choices now, at university, and beyond. 

On inactivity being physically active 

Physical activity is an important factor in personal and academic development. For some of our learners, a passion for sport or active play makes physical activity a regular part of their day. For others, support is needed to find physical activities that provide the benefits of being active and the engagement needed to get the learner to engage in the activity. While playing Minecraft, students are not being physically active (unless they have desks like these!). They are, however, being mentally active, and Minecraft can be considered a worthwhile activity along the lines of reading, studying, art, music, science, and mathematics. 

On creativity and problem solvingPlaying Minecraft requires creativity, research, and problem solving. When you ask people what they do in Minecraft, they will often give you a perplexed look. It's not because they don't do things. It's because it's difficult to know where to begin. It's because there is too much to explain, and you might not get it anyway. Minecrafters use code, plugins, mods, command blocks and more to change the nature of their environments and control their worlds.  

Parent of a Minecrafter? Before you judge it, play it. Really. Sit down with your Minecrafter and make a world, build a crafting table, survive the night, learn to use red-stone, dig for gold (or, even better, diamonds!). Ask for a world tour. Prepare to be amazed at what your child can do and create. Be amazed at what YOU can create! 

Chelsea Woods
Technology Director

The students excitement and motivation for creation is only one of the many reasons we're excited to be using minecraft as an educational tool. I hope you'll try it out, or drop myself or Chelsea an email if you have any questions.

Happy crafting!

-M (& C!)

Empowering Our Community

THINK before you Post!

When I was growing up, my mother used to say to me:

"If you don't have something nice to say about someone, say nothing at all."

Well, apparently she forgot to teach that to the Internet.



There's no shortage of critics online, but it doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Constructive analysis and criticism is part of being an inquirer, of being reflective. It is a fundamental aspect of critical thinking, and as such we must become champions of it's principled use!

Have a look at the handy creative commons licensed image to the left. This post is true to the best of my knowledge, helpful for those new to publishing on the internet, as inspiring as my passionate belief and flimsy attempt at whimsical writing can make it, necessary for our community to know about and, as for kindness, well. You folks sure are nice for reading all this.


Quickly running through the THINK checklist before posting things online helps students contribute to the web by ensuring accurate, enthusiastic and constructive content. And you know, I can think of a few adults who should start using this philosophy...

-M

Real world, digital world, same world.

Comic by xkcd

Whether you're reading the public comments on a reputable news site, blog, or beneath your favourite videos on youtube, scroll too far into that section and you're likely to start asking yourself the question "Who wrote this junk?!"

The question I am asking is can we, as educators and members of an international community, start replacing junk with quality discourse, respectful decorum, and perhaps a more balanced use of CaPsLoCk?

Not overnight. But our chance to improve the web for everyone starts with educating children how to responsibly use it from the beginning.

As most students eagerly leap into the world of email, blogging, creating and sharing online, their lives are becoming even more integrated with technology tools. They may be more excited to try new things than their parents and teachers, and although that's not necessarily a bad thing it does burden us with the responsibility of keeping up. We may love to throw around terms like "real world" and "digital" or "online world" to differentiate between the types of activities we are doing on computers and those with our physical selves, but the difference between them is less obvious with each new collaborative tool we adopt. The decisions we make and the actions we take are not limited to a single environment, and that is a lesson for all to take very seriously.

Teaching young people to be principled, responsible users of technology is no different and no less important than teaching them to be principled, responsible human beings. It may be more difficult if you lack technical expertise, but I want to help you develop and understand the implications of the use of technology while we can make a difference. We can make the internet a better place. We want to make the world a better place. These students can do both.

Click here for a brief overview on digital citizenship initiatives at ISPP, and feel free to contact me for sessions on this important topic or help integrating these principles into classroom and homework activities.

"NEW", The Terrifying Technology Term

Why hello there!
Fancy that, you dropping by to read about how scary new technology can be.

Here at ISPP we've been adopting all kinds of amazing tech at light-speed. In the past year we've unleashed an army of google apps marching into our classrooms, an airforce from apple and a navy of websites keeping us afloat. Our joint task force of teachers are deploying enough blogs to create our own internet! And while I think that this is just fantastic, to some people this can be absolutely terrifying.

Now where did that file go. I hit enter and now I'm renaming, not opening! The printer doesn't print, no wait, now it's printing four thousand copies of the same butterfly! I THINK I DELETED MY MEMORY. AHHHHH......hhh...hhh.....

Take a deep breath. Count to five. Let it out.

Computers are not smart. They are plastic and metal and silicon and electricity that have been designed and built by humans. They can make our jobs easier, but they are only as clever and fast as we are capable in their conduction. As people's expectations of productivity rise and the skills of the brilliant young minds in our classrooms develop, it can get very frustrating when things don't work (quickly) and very intimidating to try new things in case of undesired or...gulp... even indeterminable results. And for those of us who are teachers, you know we're always on a tight schedule.

You are not alone. We understand. There is no mistake with new technology that is embarrassing to ask for help with; half of these things have only been invented since you ate breakfast, figuratively speaking of course.

I always tell my colleagues that patience is the ultimate technology skill. Another important one is to face your fears. With the advent of things like cloud storage, backups and detailed revision histories,  there is very little we can't recover from. Take chances. Be open minded, be risk takers, and try it out. You might just surprise yourself with what you can learn by experimentation. And when you get stuck, I'm here to have your back. So are your colleagues. So are our students.

What can we learn this week?
-M

Welcome to ISPP Elementary Tech!

Why hello there!

Welcome to Tech O'Clock, the ISPP Elementary Technology Coach blog and the home of yours truly, Mr. Matt.

Hiya!

I'll be using this space to discuss some of the technology initiatives taking place here at ISPP Elementary, and to highlight interesting articles and resources that may be useful for parents and teachers integrating technology into children's learning experiences. Awesome! Right? .....riiiiight??

Yup, I thought so too. See you again soon!

-M