From the desk of Mr. Walters

Engaging Middle School students is hard, even in the computer lab. In one of my recent posts, I mourned the loss of several great initiatives and tools that are no longer with us. As I looked over my contributions to the CSK8 (Computer Science K-8) community in this blog recently, I noted that a lot of what I was doing / promoting just two years ago, is completely antiquated now. On a positive note, though, it's 2019, and there are a lot of great new things to be excited about. As long as there are technology producers as well as consumers, computer class will remain very relevant, despite the prevalence of thin devices, such as iPads and ChromeBooks. Let's take a look at 10 things you should be including in your computer class in 2019 and a few honorable mentions for the good of the cause... Classroom Environment Today, I'd like to begin with Danielson's Domain 2, Classroom Environment, because sometimes the atmosphere we work in can profoundly affect the work i...

So, I wanted to share my reflections on my first month with a 3d printer. I recently wrote about our experiences choosing, ordering, and setting up a 3d printer here at Spring Grove Middle School. I'd like to share some thoughts with you for the good of the cause on what having a 3d printer is like "in real life" (IRL). If you're considering adding a 3d Printer, these are some ideas, experiences, thoughts, and issues you might want to consider. Know you will have issues  3d Printing is not ready for prime time. No matter what mainstream manufacturers would want you to believe, 3d printing is for makers and enthusiasts. It is not a seamless, out-of-the-box plug-and-play casual consumer experience. You can buy the "Fisher Price" of 3d printers and still end up tearing stuff apart and fixing it on a regular basis. Have tools, and be prepared to use them. Unfortunately, the fantasy & the reality of owning a plug-and-play 3d printer didn't line u...

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...