And the Winners Are...

Digital Citizenship Media Contest Winners

Last month, just before the holiday break, students submitted digital posters, stories, and videos for this year's Digital Citizenship Media Contest. We were very impressed with all of the creativity and innovation that all of the participants displayed. It was not an easy decision, but here are this year's winners:

Our TK-2nd grade winner is Diya from Ms. Nguyen-Ebadi's 2nd grade class. Her class, at Noddin Elementary, used StoryBird and Make Belief Comix to write stories based on what they learned about staying safe online. Read Internet Safety to learn about how Stitch Bunny teaches his friends about password protection, email safety, and kid-appropriate websites. Diya uses StoryBird's stunning artwork to tell her digital citizenship tale in a clever way.

The 3-5 winners from Ms. Landis's 5th grade, Guadalupe Elementary class are Shannon and Lexi. We were truly impressed with their Harry Potter inspired story that was created using Scratch coding. Watch the video to find out how Harry deals with cyberbullies at Hogwarts. It is a great example of how STEAM can be used in language arts.

View HyperDoc

The middle school winners are from Ms. Zangwill's 7th and 8th grade technology class at Union Middle School. In the digital graphics category, Summer created a Piktochart infographic that sums up the most important points about digital citizenship in a visually stunning way. Adriana and Angelina won the award for best video with their interesting use of text, visuals and music to convey a powerful digital citizenship message using WeVideo. Finally, in the published story category, Sahith did an amazing job creating a Google Slides Choose Your Own Adventure story where you, the reader, have multiple decisions to make, leading to a different outcomes based on your choices.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's Digital Media Contest! If you missed it this year, but would like to try out some of these digital storytelling tools with your students, check out the Digital Storytelling Hyperdoc to get your students creating!

Hour of Code Winner

Congratulations to this year's Hour of Code winner, Danielle Blomseth, kindergarten teacher at Oster Elementary! This year our STEAM ToSAs did an outstanding job encouraging more teachers and students to participate than ever before. It is so exciting to see how teachers are finding cross-curricular integration of coding into their classrooms. Keep up the great work and if you haven't started coding with your class yet, it's never too late to start!

Be Part of the Movement! Just do one “Hour of Code” by guest blogger, Kristy Chia

Calling on all USD teachers to participate in this year’s Hour of Code! Join over 100 million students in over 180 countries for one hour during the week of December 5-11. It’s an exciting way to introduce your students to Computer Science.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Check out this quick and easy how-to guide. Code.org provides many activity choices. There are a variety of fun online and offline coding resources for students such as Star Wars, Minecraft, and Frozen themed code activities.  

All activities are self-paced and students follow step-by-step instructions.  You can find one that is just right for your students by using the filters for grade, experience level, and device.

Step 2: Once you’ve chosen a lesson you’d like to use with your class, have your class watch an introductory video about Computer Science or one of the inspirational videos.  

Step 3: Provide an hour of uninterrupted time for students to explore Hour of Code on their own and watch their engagement and excitement!

Step 4: Celebrate! Share your #HourofCode on Social Media to celebrate with other learners around the world!  And print out certificates for your students for completing HOC!

Step 5: Let us know your classroom participated in Hour of Code by filling out this form by 12/15 It’ll help us keep track of the number of students within USD that participate and you will be entered into a raffle to win a prize!

Step 6: Let the Hour of Code folks know your students participated this year and help push the number of total students reached grow even higher than last year by filling in the form on this page.

Offline Coding Lesson Resources:

Did you know that there are ways to teach coding skills even without a computer?  Students can learn important coding concepts such as writing step-by-step directions for others to “code” using hands-on lesson activities such as these. Just click on any of the icons to take you out to the website.

There are tons more online resources you and your students might like to explore. Lisa Highfill gathered a number of them in a hyperdoc. It includes both online resources and iPads apps. And there are still more resources to check out at Code.org, the Scratch website, Tynker Coding for Kids, Code Academy, or Khan Academy

We’re hoping you will want to take the Hour of Code experience even further by integrating computer science into your classroom curriculum. Be sure to ask your site STEAM ToSA about more coding ideas and resources. For example, consider having your class pair up with your buddy class to create a coding project together!  Or, create code programs about Language Arts, Science, Math, and History topics to connect with spheros robots and makeymakey circuit boards!  

And as always, if you have questions or would like some support for hosting Hour of Code, reach out to USD’s STEAM or Tech ToSAs. We’re here to help!

Next Week: The Hour of Code/EduWin for Regina Smith/EdCamp SJ

Don't miss having your students spend a fun hour learning the basics of coding next week. It is super easy to sign up and you don't need to know the first thing about coding or programming to get your kids involved. Just this week, I was in Regina Smith's Third Grade class at Oster, helping her to enroll her students.

Regina had gone to http://learn.code.org/ , clicked the Teacher Sign Up button and then signed up using her Google Account, using her @unionsd.org email address. By signing up, her class was added to the list of over 33,500 events, and Oster was put on the map!

Here, I've signed up for a class just to show you how easy it is.

When you get to the Teacher Home Page, choose Student Accounts and Progress. It's the choice in the upper left-hand corner.

Name your class, choose to have your students use an email to log in. Don't worry, elementary school teachers, what they are looking for is the format. Since your students already know their Google account log-ins, it'll be easy for them to remember.

Choose your grade, and pick the course. I chose "Hour of Code" because it starts off fairly easy and takes students through a number of progressively more difficult lessons. It is a great differentiating activity.

Once you do press Save, you'll get a Section Code. Your students will use this code to sign into your class.

Your students will also start at the http://learn.code.org/ webpage, but they will choose Student Sign Up. They will be required to enter a name, e-mail address, password, and age. I created a student with only my daughter's first name and a fake e-mail address and was successful in creating an account.





Once signed up, your students click Sign Up, and are taken to the Welcome page, they will need to scroll to the bottom of the page to Add a Teacher. Here, they will add the Section Code for your class. As students click on Add teacher, you'll see the number students increase. Students will then be able to start the activities, and you'll be able to watch their progress.

UPDATE for USD teachers: Trent has added it and it makes it really easy for your students to sign in. When the students click on Hour of Code, their name and Google account name will automatically populate. Students will need to enter an age to sign up. That will take them to the Hour of Code. They will still need to scroll down to "Add a teacher."

Next time they go to Hour of Code from the Symbaloo page, it will automatically sign them in and take them to the page where they can get started! Couldn't get much easier than that!

Thank you, Kathy, for suggesting it, and Trent, for putting it all in place.

Regina's class just dug right in, even before we were able to walk them through the directions. In fact, when one boy was having difficulty getting started, we just asked for a volunteer to explain what to do and 3/4s of the hands went up.

Here's a video you might like to show your students to help them understand what to do:

While the event is called "Hour of Code," students can sign in whenever and from wherever they like, and there are other activities they can try.

We hope you'll give Hour of Code a try. We can see by the map that someone from most of our schools has signed up. If you are one of those teachers, let us know. We'll throw everyone's name into a hat and choose one for a (small) appreciation prize.

If you'd like to have more information about The Hour of Code, you can find it here.

EdCamp SJ

Ever go to a Professional Development Conference and wish you had more control over the sessions offered? If so. EdCamp is for you.

EdCamps started about three years ago, and have been spreading all over the world. It is a free event where teachers suggest topics they'd like to talk about and learn more about. The event organizers then group topics together and create an agenda. The sessions are assigned a room and time, and the participants are off. 

When you enter the room, there is no presenter, just a bunch of "like-minded" and "like-interested" educators willing to contribute to rich conversation, or just listen and learn.

EdCamp is coming to San Jose, and will be hosted at Union Middle School on April 25th. While April might seem like a long way off, people are already signing up, so you might want to check your calendar and consider reserving your spot on EventBrite.

Word Clouds/EduWin from Kaitlin Klein

I love word clouds. They can be a beautiful representation of text, highlighting the words and concepts that are most important.

There are lots of ways to use word clouds in a classroom. Here are a few I thought of:

• Students can create word clouds of different passages from related books, and then compare and contrast the texts.
• Teachers can create a word cloud of an upcoming topic. Then use the word cloud to identify key vocabulary and concepts. Teachers can review the unfamiliar words and   students can anticipate the key concepts.
• Students can create a word cloud before summarizing text, to help them identify the most important points.
• Word clouds can help students analyze important historical texts or news articles to see what author felt was most important.
• Teachers can collect words or impressions on any topic in a Google Form, and then copy and paste the text into a word cloud. I would do this after every field trip to see what most impressed students, to find out what their “take aways” were.
• Word clouds can also provide a powerful way for students to analyze their own writing. Pop the text into a word cloud, and students will get a visual representation of which words are used and overused in their writing. With this information, they can revise writing to use richer vocabulary.

Wordle and Tagxedo are the two word clouds teachers are most familiar with. Both have their advantages. Wordle is easy to use. With Tagxedo, you can have your words make a shape, and then, when you mouse over a word, it pops out of the word cloud. But both of them require you to download and install applications on your computer. Wordle requires Java, and Tagxedo requires Microsoft Silverlight. Both work on Safari and Firefox, but neither work on Chrome. That makes either of those more teacher tools than student tools.

Google Docs now has an Add-on available that students can easily use to analyze their own writing. It will need to be added to Google Docs, but once it is, it is easy for students to use. And since it is a Google Docs’ Add-on, it will work on Chromebooks. True, it doesn’t give the user any options and only picks up the primary words, but students can use it to analyze, reflect on, and revise their writing. Here’s how to enable it.


In the toolbar of any Docs document, click on Add-ons. Go to "Get add-ons..."

Then search for "cloud."

When you get the results, choose “Tag Cloud Generator,” and click on the blue +Free box.


Now that it is enabled, you can create a word cloud in any Google Drive document that has at least 100 words. A word cloud is automatically generated when you choose Add-ons > Tag Cloud Generator > Create a tag cloud. Revise the text, and create another cloud. It is just that easy.

The three word clouds used in this post were all made with the same text. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but just think of how powerful a visual (and fun) tool word clouds can become in your classroom.

I’m guessing there are dozens of ways I haven’t begun to think of. Let me know how you use word clouds in your classroom. I’d love to pass along some of your ideas.

Hour of Code - December 8-14, 2014

The Hour of Code is fast approaching. Over 43,000 events in over 180 countries are already planned. With all the excitement, they are well on their was to reaching 1 million students this year.

Taking part in the Hour of Code doesn't take that much set up, and there are lots of resources online to help you get started.  Last year, I looked through the first two lessons and set my kids loose. Before I knew it, some were charging through the ten lessons and had become the local experts.

There were Angry Birds activities or students could make a holiday card. With choices, students could find what they liked to delve into it. While I had a parent in the computer lab along with me, it wasn't long before the kids had surpassed us. When there was a question, we just called on our student experts to help.

We'd love to know how many of you are participating. Let us know by sending me an e-mail at lynchm@unionsd.org

EduWin/EDpuzzle with Kaitlin Klein

Ever assign a video for your students to watch and then wonder if they actually got anything out of it? EDpuzzle was developed to encourage active watching and learning.

Kaitlin Klein has been using EDpuzzle with her students. "I am using EdPuzzle to create video lessons. The students seem very engaged and I like the ability to embed questions and voice comments etc. into the videos."

EDPuzzle is easy to use. You can find video from a number of sources, including YouTube, Khan Academy, Vimeo,  LearnZillion, or you can upload your own video.

To try it out, I found a YouTube video on animal adaptations. I was able to trim it to only include the portion I wanted, and I added three questions. In addition, I could have added voice directions and comments. 

It is easy to assign to your students. They will need to sign up, but EDpuzzle provides you with a code so they can join your class. You can then monitor their progress and see their scores.


Here is the EDpuzzle assignment I made in just a few minutes.

Thanks, Kaitlin, for letting us know about this easy to use and free resource. 

If you or one of your colleagues are doing something in class that uses edtech tools, please let me know. I'd love to share it with other teachers.

EduWin from Pamela Rissman and Christy Mills - Hour of Code is Coming

EduWin from Pamela Rissman, Elise Plutt and Christy Mills

Over the past week, I've gotten a few e-mails from teachers who are planning ahead for the Hour of Code.  The Hour of Code began last year as a way to raise interest and awareness of coding in schools. 

Pamela Rissman, from Dartmouth, was one of the teachers contacting me. She wrote, "As we lead up to December 8 -14, you might want to promote Hour of Code.  Last year, at Dartmouth, we had all math teachers doing this during one period during that week. Here's the website that teachers want to review to determine the best level for their students."

One of Elise Plutt's parents, advocated for the Hour of Code. In an e-mail, he wrote, "I spent 100's of hours coding as a young teen back in the 80's and it's been an invaluable foundation throughout my life. "

Christy Mills' 5th grade students participated in the Hour of Code last year. Watch a short video on what happened when Christy introduced the Hour of Code to her students last year.



Last year, my third grade students participated in the Hour of Code. We started out on the Hour of Code website. I had looked at the first three lessons, but some students were beyond that before the end of our 30 minutes computer lab session. Students who moved ahead quickly were happy to share what they were learning with the other students in the class, while I helped those students who were having challenges. Some students went home and worked through the ten lessons. At the end, they can print a certificate of achievement. The parent of one of my students encouraged her son's interest in coding and Santa brought that student a programmable toy for Christmas. Before the school year was up, Andrew had the toy traveling around the house, with notes requesting a drink sent to the kitchen, and the toy returning the drink to him.

Whether your students are middle schoolers or Kindergartners, whether you have Macs, Chromebooks, thin clients, or iPads, your students can participate in the Hour of Code. Aside from the Hour of Code website and apps, there are a number of coding websites and apps . Primary students might start with the Daisy the Dino app, available for iPads and Android devices. For older students, Tynker and Hopscotch also use building blocks to program commands for students. 

While some coding apps and sites have a license cost, most offer Hour of Code activities for free.

Here is a list of fifty coding tools you can use or pass onto parents to teach kids to code.

As Andrew said in his e-mail, "Here is a great opportunity to get students introduced to coding. No experience necessary." But, if you'd like help getting started, or planning to get started, please let us know.

Thanks to Pamela, Elise, and Christy for sharing enthusiasm for the Hour of Code. If you or one of your colleagues are doing something in your class that uses edtech tools, please let me know. I'd love to share it with other teachers.