Hour of Code

I got this email from Code.org:

Yesterday, we announced the Hour of Code: a movement to recruit 10 million students of all ages to try computer science for one hour. This will be the largest initiative of its kind, ever.

Backed by Microsoft, Google, Apple, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, the Boys & Girls Clubs, and over 100 other partners, we want to bring computer science to every child, in every school, during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 9-15).

Welcome to the 21st Century

Computer science is foundational for all students today. Yet 90% of schools don’t teach it. Fewer kids learn to program than 10 years ago.

What’s an Hour of Code?

It’s an introduction to computer science designed to demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics. We’ll provide hour-long tutorials featuring Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Angry Birds, and Plants vs. Zombies -- for your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

How can you help?

1) Ask your local school to participate - share this handout and video with your teacher.
2) Participate yourself (or with your child). Set aside one hour to learn, during Dec. 9-15.
3) Ask your employer to schedule a 1-hour team-building event to learn together.
4) Get together a local group in your community. Or host an Hour of Code "block party."

No experience needed

We owe it to today’s students to start with one hour. Let’s make history.
Please get started now at http://hourofcode.com

- Hadi Partovi, founder, Code.org

Educational Bloggers challenge

Web Address: http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/2013/10/15/week-1/

The above link shows a great idea for using classroom blogs with students or starting a personal education blog.  So take a look at the rules and try out your own blog.  Need a place to try out this blogging stuff.  Here's a few

1. my.uen - There's a great blogging tool as part of your my.uen.  You can also get help on the blogging tool.
2. edublogs - A Word Press powered blogging platform for educators.
3. edutecher - A platform for blogging and a variety of other educational sharing tools.
4. edmodo - More like facebook for teachers than a blog, it allows you to post items and allow students to comment on them.  Still a great potential resource for interacting safely with students.

Bookmarking Tools

There are some great tools for online bookmarking.  Try one of these out:

1. my.uen - has a bookmarking tool where you can save your favorite websites and then publish them on your public page if you choose
2. diigo - social bookmarking and highlighting
3. delicious - social bookmarking and sharing
4. symbaloo - visual bookmarking. There is also a special edu version http://www.symbalooedu.com
5. google.com/bookmarks - Chrome keeps your bookmarks in sync across devices, but Google Bookmarks allows you to access them on whatever browser you are on and also allows you to share them.
6. Pinterest - Visual bookmarking and can be unsafe for work but there are some great education Pin Boards too.
7. Pearltrees - Another visual bookmarking and mind mapping tool

Where are you saving bookmarks and sharing bookmarks?

Rounding

Rounding and estimating are two very important skills in our day when exact numbers are easy to get with calculators and computers but we still need to know if the numbers on the calculator make sense. Check out this video helping people learn to round:

Math Practice

With almost any gadget you happen to pick up equipped with a calculator math facts may seem less of a priority, but for calculators to be meaningful it is necessary to have some sense of whether the answers that show up on the calculator make sense.  So instead of just one site with resources here's a list of a few sites that can help practice math facts.

• http://www.math-drills.com/ This site has limited numbers of worksheets in each area , but there are a wide array different topics all aligned  to grade levels.
• http://www.mathfactcafe.com/home/ This site is a great resource because it can randomly generate a variety of worksheets and their answer sheets.
• http://www.mathworksheetsland.com/ Another site that has a good array of content in both grade levels and topics
• http://xtramath.org/ is the last one and is not a worksheet generator but a way of allow students to practice math facts at home while parents and teachers get feedback.

So learn some math.