Why every kid should have an iPhone and be allowed to use it in class...

Why every kid should have an iPhone and be allowed to use it in school

Example:

I'm reading and want to define a word...

A quote from the book It's Complicated, by Dana Boyd.

Page 98 top

Although many parents have historically worked to minimize their children's exposure to diverse cultural mores, teens use of social media often subverts the goals sought by moving to gated communities or limiting exposure to broadcast media

The definition of "mores" is:(sociology) the cultural values that embody a group

... Also note that I am using the voice to text feature to dictate these notes

Tap and hold.  

Read and understand

Take notes

And with only 4% battery life, I can still update my blog. 

MM

Songwriting (well, song-posting)

I always thought it would be really cool to write songs that people would want to hear.  Fast forward a few years to now and I'm realizing how much I need to practice before those songs are ready for prime-time.  That said, I still go through the motions and play with as many of the toys as I can get my hands on. 

At this point I haven't found the best place online to store my stuff - my songs (if they were worth storing.)  I've played with a few.  YouTube is easiest to use when uploading, but I haven't found a way to make a nice list of songs:
MySpace is very frustrating to use (I have to assign a genera to each song even if I group them in an album and already put the album in a genera, uploading glitches regularly...)
https://myspace.com/mikemccabe29/music/songs

And, finally ReverbNation, the third of my tries.  It's always trying to get me to promote my stuff.  Makes sense.  That's how they will make their money, but it gets in the way for the young artist just trying to figure out if this is a good place to park.

http://www.reverbnation.com/widget_code/html_widget_config/artist_3909356

Free Electronic Press Kits template from ReverbNation.com

What makes YOU happy?

Another great TEDx video to add to my list.  I love this one for so many reasons.  Logan, only 13, speaks with the wisdom many adults still seek.  He talks about two things I love: finding your passion, and learning.  


Hackschooling makes me happy: Logan LaPlante at TEDxUniversityofNevada:
When 13 year-old Logan LaPlante grows up, he wants to be happy and healthy. He discusses how hacking his education is helping him achieve this goal.


https://www.youtube.com/embed/h11u3vtcpaY?rel=0

Kids & Programming

The Little Coder’s Predicament ...
Okay, then, children of the modern age (where we live in a world so tied together with wires that Pangaea ain’t goin’ nowhere!), you tell me if this is a predicament or not.
...


Coding Just Isn’t Accessible
... We have no shortage of new languages, but they become increasingly distanced from the populace.  ...


https://github.com/hacketyhack/hacketyhack/wiki/The-Little-Coder's-Predicament

So... Which languages and tools are best?

Check out this article: Computer Programming Resources for Kids


Hackety Hack, Kids Ruby, Logo, Scratch,  NetLogo, and more!


 

I'd add Blockly for anyone (everyone) and Bootstrap for middle schoolers, but the resources at code.org, Khan Academy's programming section, and CodeAcademy.com  are essential to anyone's list who wants to learn more about programming or help others to learn programming.

CODE.ORG

Code.org 

At first I thought this site was all about promoting "Bill Gates," and "Mark Zuckerberg," and other high-profile techies.  I didn't really give it much thought, but as momentum grew, I looked more deeply...


 

 Really? 

Looking at the code.org/stats page the "untapped opportunity" numbers leaped out at me.
"1,000,000 more jobs than students by 2020"


This made me wonder if there really is a crisis.  There certainly seems to be an opportunity, but do more kids really have to choose computer science as a major in order for these extra jobs to be filled?

Could these jobs be filled by taking an extra class in ... coding, web design, writing macros for spreadsheets...  whatever extra class would fill that need. 

OR can the right student fill an entry-level position and get on-the-job training to fill the position?

NOW I'm really interested.









I believe that no matter what kids major in, these jobs will need people who can understand some level of coding (diving into spreadsheet macro writing, creating a web page, or even writing a simple program).  The great thing about code.org is that the whole site is designed for anyone at any level.  I've seen a room full of non-technical administrators plow through the tutorials with electric enthusiasm.  They were highly motivated to tackle the code.org challenges and get those "angry birds" and zombies to the parts in the maze they needed to be without getting blown up by the TNT.

  Here is the first puzzle.  Dive in and start coding!

Building Virtual Worlds - A Model Learning Environment

Wouldn't this be a cool class to offer in any school?

http://bvw.etc.cmu.edu/

Mike McCabe

Director of Technology

The Foote School

www.footeschool.org

(203) 208-8404 (direct)

(203) 777-3464 (main)

Is it still May?

Obviously I'm not blogging as much as I'd hoped when I wrote my New Year's resolution.  I am however doing some cool stuff.  Last week I led a 3-D printing workshop...

 *****



And this week I'm working with a group of kids in an Introduction to Programming course:
https://sites.google.com/a/footeschool.org/foote-summer-2013-programming-class/home?pli=1
I even made a bitly shortcut to help us get there more quicker...
bit.ly/footeprojam