From the desk of Mr. Walters

 UPDATE: GSM put out a survey about the future! ::Take the survey:: Back in 2008 (seems like yesterday), E-Line Media in partnership with the Institute of Play , rolled out a new site, called Gamestar Mechanic , which was originally developed by Gamelab in partnership with the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab (AADL) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This is a site that aims to teach kids how to design their own games, with the premise that designing games builds: Systems Thinking, 21st Century Skills, Creative Problem Solving, Art and Aesthetics, Writing and Storytelling, and creates a motivation for STEM learning. If you've read my blog for any length of time, you will know that this is a tool that I consider to be indispensable. I was pretty new to teaching Computer Science in 2008. I had only been at it a year, and I was trying desperately to make the leap from programming (we were using Scratch for that back then with no manual or guide wh...

This is the second in a 3-part (maybe 4) series on setting up a sweet STEAM classroom in your Middle School. If you want to go read part 1, it's here: MS STEAM starter pack pt. 1: Programming Design & STEM vs. STEAM So, this topic is all about putting the "A" in STEAM . It used to be STEM, and for a brief time it was STE[A]M, but these days it's STEAM, and for good reason. Apple did not experience the massive market success that it is known for by making products that were simply functional. For better or worse, human beings are drawn to beauty. We love stuff that looks good, and I believe that any STEAM program worth its salt will cover the basic fundamentals of design. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Somehow, whether in advertisements, user interfaces, or simple brand marks, the people who understand design wow us and suck us in with their brilliant use of typography, color, and composition. I think most of us have an inherent sense of w...

This is the first in a 3-part (maybe 4) series on setting up a sweet STEAM classroom in your Middle School. I will link all three parts here when they're finished. MS STEAM starter pack pt. 2: Design The Premise I am a middle school computer science teacher. It's what I do. I LOVE my job. I also often speak at universities, blog, tweet, and just generally build as many relationships in the education world as I can. In my travels, I have heard the following scenario at least a dozen times (probably more, but I am prone to exaggeration, so I'll stop at a dozen).  Hi, Clint. I'm a Librarian for Generic Area School District in Upper Generic County. My school is phasing out the Library curriculum and turning our Libraries into [ultimate action-packed / STEM / cafe-related / Multi-media adjectives] Centers. I'm being asked to teach a Middle School [Coding / Game Design / STEM / STEAM] Class, and I know nothing about this stuff. I think they're trying t...

This month, I am re-reading  What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy , by James Paul Gee and Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal. As a result, I've been thinking a lot about the current state of affairs in my classroom and beyond. This post is a rambling mess of junk that's going through my mind. I'm wrestling with these ideas. I invite you to join me. I need feedback, comments, arguments, and ideas. Heck, I need help. I also think that we (the community of educators who see the value of real game based learning and gamification strategies in the classroom) need to band together and find a way to provide some hard core professional development for each other beyond the ubiquitous Minecraft & Warcraft articles we all trade on Twitter.  Gee, McGonigal, and big ideas  Seriously, If you haven't read What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy , by James Paul Gee and Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal, you should. Both of ...

I'm working on a two new posts dealing with my Game Design, Game Based Learning, & Gamification Adventures. They should be rolling out next week. Meanwhile, I've been thinking a lot about Coding & Programming thanks to this video: As a result, I developed the project below for my classes. I could use ideas or feedback on: Adding more Gamification elements. Scope and Sequence issues. Providing better resources. Also, I would like to offer it up to any other CIT teachers out there who are interested. Come along for the ride. We can try this together. Project Wiki (feel free to contact me about joining). Edmodo Group for this project (Send me a message if you send a join request) My Class Website (if you're interested in stealing ideas from my other projects) Hope to hear from you soon.

A brief survey of the stuff that is coloring my decisions this 9 weeks in class & another plea for online community for my students... Paradigms, Context, & Survival... Now it's video clip time. I just want to share with you a bit of the context in which my thinking has been framed lately, before I talk about why I'm blowing up my curriculum and pursuing things that are driving me crazy. Many of you have seen this stuff before. If you haven't, watch these. They're good for you, like fiber & anti-oxidants all rolled into one delicious sweet roll: Sir Ken Robinson. Diane Ravitch - This video reminded me of  this article , which came across my Flipboard the other day, thanks to my awesome PLN... ( supplemental reading )   Jane McGonigal Projects, PBL, and Online Community One of the awesome things about being Middle School BCIT instructor is the freedom I have to teach a skills based cu...

One of the projects students may choose in my CIT 7 & 8 classes is Sustainable Design. The Goal: Design and advertise a home for a 4-person family living in the US using (around 3,000 sq. feet max) at least one Sustainable Architecture principle or Green Energy Source. As a part of the project, students will demonstrate a variety of technology fluency skills in the context of completing the following components: Research (tagged to your student Diigo account and our class Diigo group). Scale Floor Plan drawings (rendered in Google Sketchup or MS Visio) Student Choice 1: Promotional Materials Interior design Moodboards Landscape Design Plan Elevation Renderings in Sketchup Pecha-Kucha presentation of project as endcap (last week of class). In addition, students will regularly participate on an online community on Edmodo that includes multiple schools across & outside of the country. One of the challenges of providing a choice of complex projects in which stud...

Yeah, there are a hundred or so PLN posts out there. Here's another one. Why? I'm presenting this stuff at an in-service, and I couldn't find all of this stuff in one place. I decided to compile it all on our district web page. Here are the fruits of my labor. My slide deck for the presentation... What is a PLN? Personal Learning Networks, or PLNs, are the collegial relationships you have with peers. Originally, they were your family and friends, maybe other educators you worked with, but thanks to the internet and web 2.0 tools have become much much larger. PLNs can now include myriad communities, including but not limited to social networking sites like Facebook, blogs, Twitter, wikis, social bookmarking tools, LinkedIn, Goodreads, and Ning. n. – the entire collection of people with whom you engage and exchange information, usually online. ( http://bit.ly/Klingensmith )  How to build it Twitter (not just for breakfast anymore) Okay, so maybe...

WOW... This gives us a lot to think about in education. Any ideas on moving forward incorporating this knowledge into practice? Comments welcome...

Hey Peeps, Long time - no post. As you may or may not know, I teach seventh and eighth grad CIT.  My class is essentially charged with the mission of providing a transition point between the Elementary "Computer" classes and the High School's Business, Technology, & Graphic Arts departments.  A lot of students want to do things with computers for a career, but most are confused when they see the HS course selection guide for the first time and see no category for computer classes.  They're really floored when they see that "Technology" means "Shop" Anyway, needles to say, my favorite part of my curriculum is the Introduction to Design, which introduces: Graphic Design - Art Department Photography / Photoshop - Technology Department Web Design & Publishing - Business Department I'm always looking for new resources with which to challenge & inspire these kids. Most of these make use of the Adobe Creative Suite.  If you don't...

Drawing a connection between faux pas in fashion and in print design to help kids “Get it” when it comes to their documents. Microsoft Office for once is not promoting terrible design.  The core applications in suite now contain new Themes and Styles that make it easier to use really sound design techniques.  Unfortunately, the majority of twelve-year-olds do not see the value of this and would rather make their documents look like a gypsy’s nightmare.  Fortunately, many of our middle school students do have an obsessive concern for fashion, and this has been the key to unlock design greatness.

I've found it.  That's right. Amidst this tumult of uncertainty that is our current world, I've found the answer.  There is apparently one determining factor of our students' success in the 21st century workforce.  Would you like to know what it is? Despite increased globalization; the need to prepare students to access, evaluate, synthesize, and build upon information and media; and the drive to promote Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication, and Collaboration, the curriculum of our district's Computer Information Technology program hinges on Keyboarding . I'm not kidding. This is apparently very serious stuff. One teacher commented at a recent curriculum meeting that this is "becoming a management and discipline issue at the high school." Wow. It seems that students, who have formed bad keyboarding habits despite intensive training at the Elementary level, are resorting to the technique that works best for them ...