Category:

Coding/Computer Science

How AI Can Enhance Education

by Dr. Bruce Ellis January 10, 2023

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Whether you are on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, you have most likely seen some buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) tools that have been coming out over the past few months. AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and act like humans. These intelligent machines can be trained to perform a variety of tasks, such as recognizing patterns, learning from experience, and making decisions.

Even though many AI tools are not as robust as we may want them to be, there are many ways that AI, in general, can enhance education. They include:

Personalized learning: AI can be used to create personalized learning experiences for students based on their individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests. This can help students learn more effectively and at their own pace.
Automated grading: AI can be used to grade assignments, essays, and other written work, allowing teachers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time supporting student learning.
Adaptive tutoring: AI can be used to create adaptive tutoring systems that can help students learn and understand difficult concepts. These systems can provide instant feedback and support to students, helping them stay engaged and motivated.
Early detection of learning difficulties: AI can be used to monitor students’ progress and identify areas where they may be struggling. This can help teachers intervene early and provide targeted support to students who need it.
Improved accessibility: AI can be used to create educational tools and resources that are accessible to all students, including those with disabilities. This can help ensure that all students have equal access to high-quality education.

If AI interests you (or if it quite possibly scares you!), then plan on joining me at the TCEA 2023 Convention & Exposition as I share about AI. Be sure to bring your device charged and ready to go, as you’ll have a chance to try out several AI tools. Here’s a preview of some of the tools we’ll explore together:

You will leave with a list of AI tools, knowledge of where to find out about future AI tools being released, ways that you can use them to make your life easier as a teacher, and even integration ideas to support student learning!

More AI Articles

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools Spur Classroom Creativity
An AI Tool for Generating Higher-Order Discussion Questions
Five AI Tools You Should Definitely Try
How ChatGPT Can Help with Grading
Four Ways AI Can Help Teach Poetry
How to Improve Google Search Results with ChatGPT
How to Use Canva’s Text to Image Feature

January 10, 2023 0 comment

Coding/Computer Science Libraries

How to Get Started with Python in Your Library

by Monica Babaian December 20, 2022

written by Monica Babaian

For the past few years, many librarians have included coding activities in their curriculum. Yet most librarians themselves do not know how to code. They might feel as though they do not have time to learn something new. They might be intimidated by computer science. Or maybe they feel like they are all thumbs when it comes to technology. The good news is that one does not have to be a genius to learn a few coding shortcuts with Python that will make their job easier.

How Can Python Be Used in a Library?

Python is a powerful programming language that is easy to learn and can be used to simplify repetitive tasks. There are several ways that librarians can use Python: automate social media accounts, remove missing or duplicated data from your ChalkDust statistics spreadsheet, or create virtual booktalks. Let’s explore a few functions for Python and some resources for curious librarians who want to know more about Python.

Using Python to Convert Text to Speech

Recently, while working on a virtual booktalk project, I wanted to use a text-to-speech (TTS) converter, because I do not like the way my voice sounds when recorded. For a variety of reasons, none of the websites I found fit my requirements (free and ongoing in comparison to paid or freemium). Then, I realized that I had the skills to make my own converter using Python. Even better – someone had already created one! I just needed to copy the code and tweak a couple of variables before I had exactly what I needed. A few minutes later, I had a program that allowed me to input a bit of text and then convert that text into speech, saving it to an mp3 file. The only cost involved was about ten minutes of my time, and I can reuse the converter any time I need.

Using Python to Automate Tweets

Another timesaving use for Python is to automate your library’s Twitter account. With a few lines of code, you can set your Twitter account to send out tweets at whatever time interval you want – one hour, two hours, or thirty-six hours. The hardest part about this process is actually not the code. As a matter of fact, much like the text-to-speech converter I mentioned earlier, the code for setting up and automating your Twitter account can be found with a simple search. Most of your time and effort will actually go into completing the necessary form and getting the key codes from Twitter.

Using Python with Spreadsheets

When working with spreadsheets, I can compare two or more Excel files for differences, and then record the differences into a .txt file that I can share with others. In addition, I can use Python to clean up missing or duplicated records from hundreds of entries in a spreadsheet. I only have to write the code once. Then, anytime I want to compare files or clean up some data, all I have to do is type in one command to run the program.

Python as a Password Generator

For those who are concerned about privacy and Internet security, once you are comfortable with Python, try making a password generator that lets the user change parameters, like how many characters to use for the password, whether to include special symbols, or whether to include a specific number of random words like the password appearing in the XKCD comic above. Of course, there are already some tools that create random passwords, but there is always the possibility that those tools also record the passwords that they generate. To be honest, nothing connected to the Internet is 100% safe. With my own program, I worry less about my passwords being recorded.

Resources for Beginners

If you would like to get started with Python to automate basic tasks, the following is a list of resources for beginners. I recommend starting with “Automate the Boring Stuff” by Al Sweigert and “Python Crash Course” by Eric Matthes. There are many other tutorials and videos on Python projects all over the Internet. YouTube is a treasure chest for finding tutorials that will walk you through projects step by step, and videos are a great way to get started because they can be paused and replayed when needed. Keep in mind, however, that there is no right or wrong way to learn how to code. Find whatever method works best for you.

Books

“Automate the Boring Stuff with Python” by Al Sweigart. (free)

Al Sweigert provides free access to digital copies of all his books through his website. “Automate the Boring Stuff with Python” has both step-by-step instructions and practice projects. Sweigert also offers free print copies to anyone who wants to write a review for one of his books. This book is great for those who would rather take what they need than read the book from cover to cover.

“Python Crash Course: 2nd Edition” by Eric Matthes ($39.95 print; $31.95 Ebook)

“Python Crash Course” complements the information covered in Sweigart’s “Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.” This book is divided into two parts, with the first section covering basic Python. The second part contains three sections: a video game, data visualization, and web applications. These sections highlight the versatility of Python. Readers can skip around or read from front to back.

Websites

YouTube Channels

Replit

A repository for librarians of Python programs I have created to make my job easier. Hopefully, it will do the same for you!

Are you interested in learning even more about how to use Python to automate tasks in our library? Join Monica as she walks you through step-by-step Twitter automation with Python at TCEA 2023. No coding experience is required. Register before January 10 to get the $50 advanced pricing discount!

Register Now!

December 20, 2022 1 comment

Coding/Computer Science Robotics

New SPIKE App 3.2.0 Is Released by LEGO

by Peggy Reimers December 6, 2022

written by Peggy Reimers

LEGO Education released a new SPIKE App on December 1, 2022. This will be the third version of the software app since SPIKE Prime was released in January 2020. The first release was solely programming SPIKE Prime. With the addition of the SPIKE Essential, SPIKE 2 was released. SPIKE 3 will be used for both SPIKE Prime and SPIKE Essential. Officially this app is called the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App v. 3.2.0

This is an entirely new app for both the web software and the downloadable app. This app will upgrade both the firmware on your hub and the software. One of the nicest features this app will offer is a faster wireless hub connection on any device (Windows, Mac, iPad, Android, and Chromebook). The other bonuses include:

Simplified motor and movement blocks
More precise model movement
Greater capacity to support larger user programs

Links:

SPIKE 3 App (official name: LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App v. 3.2.0)

SPIKE 2 App (name change: LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Legacy App v. 2.0.9)

If you using the web version of SPIKE App 3, use this link. Make sure you click on the blue box and select “Launch Web App.”

If you are using the web version of SPIKE App 2, use this link.

LEGO has provided this handy chart to help teachers decide when to make the transition to the new software.

I have heard from a teacher that there is a glitch with the new software when it comes to the color sensor not staying connected with the REFLECT function. If you are in the middle of competition season, you might want to hold off updating to SPIKE 3.

Things to Note About SPIKE 3

Python WILL NOT be available at launch time but is promised to come soon. When it is released, look for faster program execution and easier progression from Scratch to Python.
Upgrading is not compulsory. You get to decide when you would like to change apps.
Remember once you change from SPIKE 2 to SPIKE 3, your SPIKE 2 programs will not run on the newest software. So remember programs saved with SPIKE 2 will not be able to be opened with SPIKE 3.
It is NOT recommended to switch back and forth between SPIKE 2 and 3. If you need to downgrade to SPIKE 2, you will need to contact LEGO Education Tech Support at success@lego.com.
If you were using the SPIKE Prime web app, you were not able to use bluetooth, just the USB cable. But SPIKE 3 has changed and you will have the bluetooth download capability.

LEGO SPIKE 2 New Look — The New Look for SPIKE 2

The SPIKE App 2 will now be called LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Legacy App and will be available through June 2023.

SPIKE 3.2.0 move for duration with steering at speed — Move for Duration with Steering at Speed

The More Movement block has been whittled down to three blocks of code instead of nine.
The More Movemement block no longer has “Move for Duration with Steering at Speed.” I used this block to program forward and backward movements, because you could control all three parameters on one block: direction, distance traveled (cm, in, time, degrees, or rotations), and power of the motors. If you used this like I did, you’ll need a new strategy to teach forward and reverse movement, probably using two blocks of code instead of just one handy-dandy block.

All in all, I think the app changes will benefit SPIKE Prime. My lingering question is: Which blocks will be the best for motor movement? When I find this out, I’ll update this blog post. Until then, go, bot, go!

December 6, 2022 26 comments

Coding/Computer Science Windows

Build Block Worlds with Minetest

by Miguel Guhlin July 5, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

Want to launch virtual gaming to support critical thinking at your school but find it cost-prohibitive to go with the mainstream solution? Maybe you want to avoid paying a per student cost. If that’s the case, this blog entry is worth a read. You can now deploy a block-based crafting environment with Minetest– a solution that offers a block environment, simple circuit-switching features, and visual bots.

Benefits of Virtual Reality to Children

Virtual reality offers a way to encourage creativity in children. A few of the ways it does that are highlighted in this AR article:

Removes geographical boundaries. It’s important that children have open-ended spaces to build and explore. Virtual reality worlds make that possible.
Empowers students. Allowing children to become heroes of a story they create with others is powerful. The immersive environment of virtual reality worlds engages children and hones their storytelling skills.
Supports visualization. Visualization makes it easier to understand complex concepts. If you can build it, you can better understand it.
Stimulates critical thinking. Games that allow for creative production foster players’ abilities for creative expression.

For many schools, playing, crafting, and learning have been limited to one solution that costs money, even if it offers extra benefits. But what if you could find an alternate creative space as a free, open-source solution? A solution that would be available at no cost to anyone who wanted it? That’s where Minetest comes in.

That means you can create and adapt it for your use in schools, and give it away for free to your students to take home. Isn’t that amazing? Don’t take my word for it. Michelle Wendt, in SmartBrief, writes (amended slightly for readability) the following about these virtual environments:

This collaborative sandbox game works well with open-ended projects where students construct their understanding and create their own adventures. For example, a middle-school teacher assigned students a pre-history project, asking them to learn about that period’s culture, lifestyle, and historical limitations and assets. The students next had to build an entire pre-history village using only the materials that would have been available during that time.
…Students…demonstrate creativity and showcase evidence of learning through self-created resources.
[Students discuss] the authenticity of their creations with their team, defending their choices as they construct this world together.
The teacher facilitates a rich debate on the types of building blocks, smelting techniques and sustainable materials in their designs.

Did You Know?

Sign up now for TCEA’s Virtual World Builder course and learn more about game-based learning (GBL), design thinking, and more. See how evidence-based instructional strategies, the ISTE Standards for Students and GBL align. Learn more now.

As Michelle Wendt further points out:

“Virtual reality can be incorporated into classroom lessons in so many ways now…I can use any number of tech tools to ignite my students’ curiosity, inspire them to work together and frame their learning in a way that turns them into subject-matter experts.”

Isn’t that what we are all working for?

Did You Know?

Minetest is 100% free, open source. There’s no licensing fee, allows for scripting through the Lua API. What’s more, there are no limits to customization you can do if you want to.

Note the video above is an excellent comparison of the free, open source Minetest and Microsoft’s Minecraft in Spanish. Want something in English? Here are also two tutorial videos (Part 1 and Part 2).

Introducing Minetest

Based on a free software game engine, voxel, Minetest offers access to a cube world. The cubes, like in another popular virtual world-building game, are the building blocks of the world. You can navigate the world, collect items, and make or craft items.

Minetest offers built-in modding capability.

These mods enhance the power of Minetest and what you can do in it. In the video below (credit to u/iketsj), you can see how Mesecons mod can be used to create a decoder. For those who are familiar with Minecraft’s redstone, mesecons are similar.

If you’re looking for visual programming opportunities, Minetest also has Visual Bots (or vbots for short). These are single, block, “turtle” style bots. You can program them, as you can see in the screenshot below. The interface shown works on Android.

You can find a list of a few mods worth starting with towards the end of this blog entry.

Nifty Features for Players and Developers

Minetest also enjoys features for both players and developers. Here’s a short list:

Features for Players

Many games to choose from. There are many games to choose from. You could survive in a harsh environment, build creatively, or fight other players.
Huge maps. With 62,000 × 62,000 × 62,000 blocks, there’s no running out of space. You can mine 31,000 blocks down, or build 31,000 blocks up.
Map generators. There is a wide variety of options to generate maps. The maps generated are stunning and can be shared. There are ways to convert existing Minecraft maps to Minetest, although it will require GNU/Linux access.
Multiplayer support. Play by yourself, locally with your friends, or online with dozens of players on a server.
Texture packs. There is a huge collection of textures for your maps.
Add sensors, lamps, and circuits. Use Mesecons to add all kinds of sensors, switches, solar panels, detectors, pistons, lamps, and sound blocks to advanced digital circuitry like logic gates and programmable blocks.

Features for Developers

Game coding. Create your own voxel game using the Lua API. Write scripts to add items and control game play.
Design content. Publish your creations to an online gallery.
Over 1100 mods available. You can use, adapt, or learn from mods others have created and they are all free, open source.

Get Minetest for Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux, and Android. It’s available in a portable format, making it a great addition to your USB flash drive. (I can see technology directors rolling their eyes at that. Imagine students walking in with their USB flash drive version of Minetest. They are ready to plug in on a school machine and begin worldbuilding).

Creative Mode: Be a World-builder

Minetest enjoys a Creative Mode, which allows for the creation of new worlds you can use. You can add a wide variety of themes and mods to a new world, as well as access seeds from others that can give birth to a new world.

Minetest for Education

“It would be great for a classroom environment to play and teach with as well!” says Clayton Errington. He goes on to say:

“I always like the FOSS programs and saw Minetest was free and thought to give it a try. Much impressed with similarities and ease of use.”

If you’re thinking, “How might this work in the classroom?” You are not alone. While Microsoft’s Minecraft: Education Edition offers a lot of lesson ideas, look again. Minetest has its own education servers as well if you’re not running it in your computer lab. It wouldn’t be difficult to set Minetest up to run as a server in a school district environment. This would enable students to access a school Minetest server from home.

FraMinetest.org offers one vision of an education gaming learning experience. Based in France, they describe themselves in this way:

Framinetest Edu is a sandbox game world Minetest (world of blocks to edit) dedicated to education, pedagogical activities and the serious gaming. (source)

They even offer a guide for server installation (GNU/Linux) you can follow.

CERN offers Craft the Web. This describes an event that took place in November 2019. The goal was to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the World Wide Web. CERN members and the Minetest community co-designed “Craft the Web.” This was an open-source gaming experience. It let players re-enact the invention of the Web. The game was played in a classroom setting. An instructor guided students on their journey. You can see a press release online.

Escape the Castle at the Inside the Box server

At Inside the Box, you can solve and create puzzles. If you are into digital breakouts, then this is your Minetest server to explore. It comes with extensive tutorials and information.

Of course, you can always set Minetest up for use in your own computer lab, or district server.

Preventing Online Server Access

Want to prevent access to online servers in Minetest? Edit the minetest.conf file in the Minetest folder. Add this line without a hashtag (#) in front of it. The folks at Minetest suggest you set the IP address for serverlist_url to empty. This will prevent access to external servers:

serverlist_url=

You may need to put a # in front of the line that says “address = ctf.rubenwardy.com”

Classroom Tools

One of the big add-ons that captured people’s attention with Minecraft was the Classroom Mode component. This allowed the teacher to view a map of student locations, limit player damage and use of TNT (explosives), cycle day and night, and the game’s difficulty settings. Minetest offers a similar tool.

Minetest’s Classroom mod offers teachers the ability to…

…move players, grant/revoke privs, and more. A list of built-in actions can be found in the readme, but you can add more actions using the API for this mod.

Actions available include:

Bring Teleports users to your position
Look Rotates the users to look at the teacher
Mute/Unmute Grants or revokes the ability to use chat
Fly/No fly Grants or revokes the ability to fly (key: K)
Kick Remove from the server
Ban Permanently exclude from the server
Audience Move to the crosshair location, spread out and facing you

You can get the Minetest Classroom mod and learn more about it.

Minetest Mods To Get

Stuck in a cave without a torch?

Wondering what are some mods worth getting and adding to Minetest? Here are a few I’ve tele-gathered after a bit of searching (fortunately, not in a cave without a torch). To be honest, there are MANY fantastic mods you can add once you open the game. It’s mind-boggling. My exploration only took me 27 screens in of the over 300 available.

Advanced Trains: build elaborate railways. You will need to get Basic trains, Moretrains, and dlxtrains mods as well.
Awards: This mod adds achievements to Minetest. Use the inventory tab or /awards to see your awards.
Basic Machines: in-game automation.
Basic Robot: programmable in-game robots.
Classroom: An easy way to manage students in-game, with support for bulk actions and macros.
Digilines: Allows in-game programmable controllers to talk to each other.
Farming_Redo: Comes with many new crops. New foods need only be planted on tilled soil, so no seeds are required.
GlowTest: This mod adds a glowing forest biome and decorative crystals to Minetest.
Mapfix: Fix some map errors (light and flow problems) simply by typing “/mapfix <radius>”.
Mesecons: Electronics mod, create electronic circuits.
Mobs_Redo: Mob API for mods to add monsters, animals, and more.
Unified_Inventory: An extensible inventory mod that allows searching crafting and browsing for recipes in the same dialogue.
WorldEdit: An in-game world editor. Use it to repair griefing, or just create awesome buildings in seconds. X-Decor: It adds a bunch of cute cubes, various mechanisms, and stuff for cutting, enchanting, cooking, etc.

Want to learn more about modding? You may want to read the Minetest Modding Book:

Here’s a quick overview of what is covered in the book:

In Minetest, a game is a collection of modules which work together. They provide the content and behaviour of a game. A module, known as a mod, is a collection of scripts and resources. It’s possible to make a game using only one mod, but this is rarely done. The reason why is that it reduces the ease by which parts of the game are adjusted and replaced independent of others. This book will cover the main parts of the Minetest API, and is applicable for both game developers and modders.

The Modding Book explains about Lua scripts that can be used to create mods:

Minetest uses Lua scripts to provide modding support. This book aims to teach you how to create your own mods, starting from the basics. Each chapter focuses on a particular part of the API, and will soon get you making your own mods.

Want to learn more about programming with Lua? Check out this video for beginners. Tutorials for creating Lua scripts for Minetest are also available.

Need Help? Read the Wiki and Follow the Hashtags

You can find quite a bit of information in Minetest’s wiki. Minetest also has an active presence on social media networks. You can find a wealth of educators and others discussing #MineTestEdu and #MineTest.

This image and others below are courtesy of Olm-e.

These conversations are taking place on two popular social media networks. Find links below to see what others are crafting:

The Fediverse (a.k.a. Mastodon)

#MineTest – For the latest on Minetest information.
@Minetest – Follow this account to get regular updates.
@nathansalapat – Check this account to see video tutorials.
@illunaminetest – See details on the world-building project.

Twitter

Minetest WorldBuilding

Can’t afford Minecraft EDU for your school or lab? Check Minetest as an alternative. You can add Mineclone to Minetest via mods, and get a Minecraft-like experience. What’s more, you can take advantage of some powerful project ideas shared in the past. And, while you are unable to use Minecraft world seeds in Minetest, you can adapt some of the lesson and project ideas on Minecraft’s education site.

Feature Image Source

Image credit: https://mastodon.uy/@jorge/108153430975562511

July 5, 2022 0 comment

Advocacy Coding/Computer Science Curricular Standards Professional Learning Technology Applications TEKS

Technology Standards Approved at June SBOE Meeting

by Jennifer Bergland June 20, 2022

written by Jennifer Bergland

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) met during the week of June 14-17. At this meeting, the board heard from the Commissioner of Education and dealt with several issues that pertain to technology in Texas schools.

Commissioner Update

At each meeting, the Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath, updates the board on things pertaining to Texas schools. He usually provides the board with pertinent updates and then answers questions posed to him by individual board members.

He began the meeting by discussing the shooting in Uvalde. He acknowledged how difficult the past four weeks have been for all involved, including the agency that is dedicated to the well-being of all children in Texas. One of the ways the agency is responding is to create a team at TEA led by a Chief of School Safety and Security. This individual will report directly to the commissioner and will work to improve the safety of our schools.

The Commissioner then highlighted the agency’s work on improving the teacher pipeline. This discussion included the recruitment, retention, and preparation of Texas teachers. He also discussed the work of Teacher Vacancy Task Force that was launched on March 10.

I always find the commissioner’s update to be insightful. You can learn a lot about the agency’s priorities and the priorities of the SBOE members. His update was given on June 15 at the beginning of the SBOE’s agenda. It lasts about an hour and twenty minutes.

Technology Applications and Computer Science Standards Revised

On Friday, June 17 the board voted to approve on second reading the revised K-8 Technology Applications TEKS. For background on the revision process, see the blog post I wrote on May 16, 2022. A vote taken on second reading is the final vote which means these standards have been approved. However, because it takes several years for the instructional materials to be created and selected, they will not be used in Texas classrooms until the 2024-2025 school year.

The board also approved on second reading the revisions made in seven CTE computer science courses: Fundamentals of Computer Science, Computer Science I, Computer Science II, Computer Science III, Foundations of Cybersecurity, Digital Forensics, and Cybersecurity Capstone.

A proclamation seeking instructional materials for each of these courses will be issued which means they, too, will be implemented in Texas classrooms in the 2024-2025 school year. This is the next step for most of the high school courses listed above. However, the changes made to Fundamentals of Computer Science and Computer Science III do not require new instructional materials, so they will be implemented in the 2022-2023 school year.

TEA Provided an Update on the Long Range Plan for Technology Update

At the April SBOE meeting, TEA gave an update on their progress on the Long Range Plan for Technology. At that meeting, the board provided TEA staff with some specific suggestions of things they wanted to see in the plan. During the June meeting, TEA provided a very brief update on their progress with the plan and their inclusion of the board’s recommendations.

The plan will change the device refresh cycle from a recommended seven years to a much shorter range of two to three years. During the pandemic most districts provided devices to their students that were taken home. Districts have reported that the wear and tear of devices that are used 24/7 prohibits their ability to extend their usage to seven years.

At the board’s request they added a stipulation that all districts must ensure compliance with CIPA. Currently, only districts that participate in the E-rate program are required to abide by the CIPA regulations. Very few districts do not participate in the E-rate program but there are a few that do not.

The plan will also include provisions that deal with cybersecurity. It will also address the need to ensure that students have access to high speed Internet both at school and home. And finally, the plan will address school safety, including the need to use technology to provide physical security to school facilities.

TEA indicated they would bring the final draft to the board for their approval at the September meeting.

In Conclusion

This the second consecutive SBOE meeting that has dealt with major issues that pertain to the use of technology. As always, TCEA is committed to monitoring these items as they make their way through the process. It is important to remember that issues that involve teaching and learning are not only decided by the Texas legislature but also the State Board of Education. I encourage each of you to identify who your board member is and reach out to them when you have questions or concerns. They work for you! If you don’t know which board member represents you, use this form to find out. Make sure you use your home address, not your school address.

June 20, 2022 0 comment

Coding/Computer Science STEM/STEAM

3D Printing Projects Can Bring Learning to Life

by Demosesneeds Punchard June 10, 2022

written by Demosesneeds Punchard

There are occasions when you can use what you’ve learned and what you know to be impactful. It’s an important part of learning for students and educators alike. Recently, one of these moments happened when our Special Education Department reached out to the Technology Department to see if it would be possible to 3D print some Play-Doh stampers. In all honesty, the first thing I thought was, “Oh, great. Another opportunity to print toys.” But after digging deeper, this was not at all the case.

What to Teach in 3D Printing Class

To preface the story, it is important to note that I was teaching an after school 3D printing class called Just Print 3D. In this class, my students ranged from 3rd grade to 8th grade, and we were using an inexpensive FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printer, which is a gantry-style, open-source 3D printer (around $150 each). The purpose of the class is to allow students a real-world view of what they are likely to come across if they purchase their own printer.

Students learn about types of filaments (PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, etc.) and their potential design usage. We also teach how to use the physical printer– everything from loading and unloading the filament, preheating the bed and nozzle based on the type of filament and its specs, to manually leveling the print bed using a complicated calibration tool (a single piece of paper). There is a focus on the design element of 3D printing using free resources such as Tinkercad. We go through the various tools and techniques and learn to accomplish some basic and complex 3D design operations. Additionally, we cover the last mile of how to get the designs from Tinkercad to the printer. Why am I mentioning this? I was unknowingly about to hit the jackpot with this stamper project.

3D Printing Knowledge in Action

My students were about to have the opportunity to apply their knowledge of 3D printing to make an impact in a very real way. For the Play-Doh stamper project, let me tell you– what we were actually printing was not a toy at all. It was a tool, and an educational tool at that: braille Play-Doh stampers. You might be asking, “Braille letter stampers? What are those?” It’s one letter of the braille alphabet situated on top of a stamper.

3D Printing Letter Z Braille Stamper — *Letter Z Stamper (top/side view)*

A student who is blind or visually impaired may use the stamper to feel the braille representation of the letter. Pressing the stamper into Play-Doh creates an impression of the braille letter equivalent, in this case, the letter Z.

You can imagine the potential of using these not just to learn the braille alphabet but also for spelling out words, etc. Let’s not forget playing with Play-Doh. How fun is that? Talk about learning engagement! Now you see why my response changed to excitement when I realized the usefulness and impactfulness of this project. I took this opportunity to turn this into a project for my 3D class, and we used the various stages of the design process mentioned earlier to get this project done. The coach in me took over and hyped up the kids and parents as to the impactfulness this project would have on classmates and others. How can we use what we are learning, have learned, and know to make this happen?

The Process of 3D Printing the Braille Stampers

The Special Education Department already had the STL (stereolithography) files designed by ActiveAcessEdu. But one of the big issues? My students did not know braille. We used this as a problem-solving challenge and decided to label each braille stamper with the corresponding written letter. We also placed a position arrow to easily orient the stamper. To move forward with this design, we had to do what is called “remixing.” Remixing is when you take someone else’s design and change it up to meet your needs. The kids used what they had learned in Tinkercad to accomplish this.

A brief outline of tools and design elements the students had to accomplish:

Export and import the ActiveAccessEdu STL files into our Tinkercad project.
Use a text tool to create the letter.
Use a box and triangle tool to build an arrow and use a combine tool to group the shapes.
Use a hollow tool to make the letter and arrow a negative space (cut out tool).
Position the letter and arrow on the upper and lower areas of the stamper using the duplicate tool, and raise and lower controls of the object to set the correct level.
Use the combine/group tool to group all the selected objects so they will appear as one. This also cut out our letter and arrow from the solid stamper since they are negative space.
Design Problem: How can this be recreated for the rest of the letters and with consistent letter and arrow placement?
Ungroup the previous stamper.
Use the alignment tool to center the next braille letter stamper over the previous one. Remove the previous stamper’s main body and leave the letter and arrow negative space once alignment is achieved.
Select the letter negative space and change the properties of the letter so it reflects the current braille stamper.
Group and make a copy.
Repeat the previous design steps again for the entire alphabet.

Once it was all said and done, we added a little twist. We printed the stampers based on our school colors which are blue, white (and sometimes black depending on athletic uniforms). The consonants were printed in black and the vowels in blue. We did the opposite for a second set. Each student had two sets, one for home and one for school.

In Conclusion

This is where the rubber hit the road for me. I am not a degreed teacher, this is why my students call me Coach Punch. But coaches and teachers have similar jobs trying to accomplish the same result– putting learning into action and showing it’s application to life. In this case, I was able to show students how they could use what they know to help others and get some enjoyment along the way. For me, this is one of those personally gratifying moments. There’s nothing like seeing something I taught the kids come to fruition. This was a special session for me, and this project is still having an impact. I hope it will have an impact in your district as well.

June 10, 2022 0 comment

Advocacy Coding/Computer Science Curricular Standards Cybersecurity Digital Citizenship Digital Literacy STEM/STEAM Technology Applications TEKS

SBOE to Consider Tech TEKS and Computer Science Update

by Jennifer Bergland May 16, 2022

written by Jennifer Bergland

The Texas Education Agency, at the request of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), has been working with various groups of educators to review and revise the K-8 Technology Applications TEKS and four high school computer science courses. At the April board meeting, the SBOE approved the revisions on first reading. This triggered a required period for the public to provide comments on the new TEKS. The board will vote to approve the revised standards at their June meeting. Below is a brief summary of their work with instructions on how you can provide feedback to the board. I have also included a link to the proposed TEKS at the bottom of this post.

Review of the Process

In order to facilitate the review and revision of a set of standards, the SBOE nominates educators, parents, business and industry representatives, and employers to serve on TEKS review work groups. Work groups make recommendations to the SBOE for revisions to the TEKS.

K-8 Technology Applications TEKS

The K-8 Technology Applications were last revised in 2011. Since then, several pieces of legislation have passed that have changed the scope and direction of the standards. In 2019, the passage of HB 2984 (86R) required the SBOE to include “coding, computer programming, computational thinking, and cybersecurity” into the K-8 Tech Apps curriculum. Also in 2019, SB 11 (86R) required the inclusion of digital citizenship and cyberbullying into the curriculum.

Overview of the K-8 TEKS Changes

From their inception, the K-5 Technology Applications standards were grouped into grade bands (K-2; 3-5). The reviewers have recommended that the K-5 standards be broken into single grades just as they are in other content areas. Each grade level has its own set of TEKS. The different work group documents for the K-8 TEKS can be found on this TEA web page.

The work groups also combined strands, added new ones, and even reduced the number of strands. There are now five strands instead of six. I have listed them below and provided the group’s rationale for their proposed changes.

The primary change is the direction and rigor of the standards. The former TEKS were primarily teaching students how to use technology. With the introduction of computational thinking, coding, computer programming, and cybersecurity the TEKS are substantially more focused on building the academic skills that are involved in computer science.

My advice to teachers and school districts is to begin reviewing and studying the standards now so you will be prepared for their implementation in the 2024-2025 school year. These standards will take a much more concerted effort to implement than the ones they are replacing.

Strand Changes for the K-8 TEKS

Below are the strands the work groups have recommended. I’ve inserted the comments from the work group documents that gave rationale for their recommendations. I have also included those strands that were recommended for elimination.

Computational Thinking – New

This strand aligns with the Computational Thinker strand in the ISTE Standards for Students and CSTA concepts for Algorithms and Programming in accordance with recommendations from the content advisors and Work Group A. Programming, coding, and computational thinking are also required to be included in the K– 8 technology applications TEKS by the Texas Education Code §28.002(c3).

Creativity and Innovation – Current

This strand promotes creating original works that showcase the knowledge students have acquired. It aligns with the Creative Communicator strand in the ISTE Standards for Students, CTE Programming and Software Development TEKS Work Group recommendations, and Work Group A recommendations. Creativity is the process and creation is the product

Data literacy, Management, and Representation (New)

This strand encourages students to use critical thinking skills and digital tools to create visual representations of gathered data or knowledge to display, analyze, and evaluate results. This strand vertically aligns with the CTE Programming and Software Development TEKS Work Group recommendations.

Digital Citizenship (Current)

Work Group B reviewed current law and determined that this strand was still necessary.

Practical Technology Concepts (New Name)

This strand was previously titled Technology Operations and Concepts. It addresses the fundamental skills that students will need to use or create with technology across the curriculum and future courses. These are transferable skills in school and life. Addressing computer systems and operating systems aligns with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) standards.

Deleted Strands:

Communication and Collaboration:

Work Group D eliminated this strand because they didn’t feel that a stand-alone strand for Communication and Collaboration is necessary. Communication and collaboration are woven throughout the design process and there are explicit examples in other technology application strands.

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

This strand was deleted by Work Group B because these skills are incorporated across the standards.

Creativity and Innovation

This strand was deleted by Work Group B because these skills are incorporated across the standards.

Research and Information Fluency

This strand was deleted by Work Group B because these skills are incorporated across the standards.:

9-12 Computer Science and Cybersecurity Standards

I asked John Owen to provide a brief review of the revisions that were made to the high school courses. He is the Computer Science Project Manager for We Teach_CS at the University of Texas. He was involved in the revision of the four high school computer science courses.

“The four high school level computer science courses now under the CTE umbrella, Fundamentals of Computer Science, Computer Science I, II and III, underwent a revision process this past year which included a slight modification to the strand structure and adjustments to several student expectations in each of the courses. For the most part each course retained its original structure with wording changes to several Student Expectations to provide better clarity, relocating and consolidating several Student Expectations to under the various strands to improve the clarity and flow of the course, and a few Student Expectations added that needed to be deleted for being no longer relevant or beyond the scope of the course, or consolidated with other Student Expectations due to some duplication instances.

A significant effort was made to provide a seamless transition through these four courses to make for a seamless and logical vertical progression for the student taking two or more of these courses in sequence. Also, several of the Student Expectations from the existing topics were too closely aligned with specific languages, particularly Java, and efforts were made to create more general language describing the student expectation. For example, there were several Student Expectations that alluded to the use of object reference variables, a particular aspect of Java not always common to other languages, and broader language was used instead to enable use of other language choices.”

The different work group documents for the high school courses can be found on this TEA web page.

Providing Feedback

The deadline to provide feedback on the revised K-8 Technology Applications TEKS and/or the high school computer science and cybersecurity courses is 5 p.m., June 10, 2022. You can provide your comments using this form.

My advice is to be very specific about what you propose. If you want to recommend the removal or insertion of text in the standards, you should create a document that can be uploaded. Copy and paste the text you want to change. Then, strike the language you want to be deleted and underline the new text you want to include.

Here are the revised standards for Chapter 126, the K-8 Technology Applications. Here are the revised standards for Chapter 127, Subchapter O, the high school computer science and cybersecurity courses

Photo Credits:

Photo of students pointing to laptop by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Photo of teacher helping student with coding by Mars Sector-6 on Unsplash

Photo of secure phone by Dan Nelson on Unsplash

May 16, 2022 0 comment

Advocacy Coding/Computer Science Cybersecurity Technology Applications TEKS

Technology Was a Hot Topic at April’s SBOE Meeting

by Jennifer Bergland April 11, 2022

written by Jennifer Bergland

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) met the week of April 5-8. At this meeting, the board heard from the Commissioner of Education. It also dealt with several issues that pertain to technology policy that affect Texas schools.

Commissioner Update

At each meeting, the Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath, updates the board on items pertaining to Texas schools. He usually provides the board with pertinent updates and then answers questions posed to him by individual board members. At the April meeting, he provided them with a summary of the TEA’s 2021 Annual Report. The report focuses on key areas of achievement based on the Agency’s Strategic Priorities:

Recruit, Support, and Retain Teachers and Principals
Build a Foundation of Reading and Math
Connect High School to Career and College
Improve Low Performing Schools

Morath began by reviewing the historical performance data. As most people already are aware, COVID had a negative impact on student academic performance. One noteworthy observation is that, in the past, the commissioner tied the negative academic performance to virtual learning. In my opinion, in this review, he properly attributed the learning loss to the COVID pandemic. Although virtual learning is a part of that calculus, it is a false assumption to blame the academic struggles our students exhibited during the pandemic entirely on virtual learning. A myriad of factors contributed to our student’s learning loss, and each one needs to be addressed.

Morath also discussed the Teacher Vacancy Task Force, which was launched on March 10. He provided the board with the data the task force will use to frame their discussions.

I found the commissioner’s presentation and the questions that some of the board members asked after his presentation to be very enlightening. The board members’ questions seemed to reflect the issues facing teachers and the board’s constituents.

Technology Applications and Computer Science Standards Revised

*Photo created by **Patrick Amoy** on Unsplash*

The board had two agenda items related to the proposed revisions to K-8 Technology Applications TEKS and four high school computer science courses. They considered and voted to accept the proposed changes to the K-8 Technology standards on first reading. This triggers a period for public comment. When this time is published in the Texas Register, TCEA will communicate where and how individuals can provide their input through the TCEA Community and our social media accounts. This public comment period is the last chance practitioners have to provide feedback before the board votes to approve the standards in June.

The board also considered and voted to approve the proposed changes to Fundamentals of Computer Science, Computer Science I, Computer Science II, Computer Science III, Foundations of Cybersecurity, Digital Forensics, and Cybersecurity Capstone on first reading. A public comment period will also be announced in the Texas Register. TCEA will communicate this via our communication channels as well.

The Long-Range Plan for Technology Is Getting an Update

TEA is in the process of reviewing and updating the Long Range Plan for Technology. They provided the board with an update on their progress. The plan was approved by the SBOE in 2018. And state law requires it to be updated at least every five years. TEA has chosen to begin that process now because of two issues.

Device Refresh Cycles

Due to the COVID pandemic, most Texas school districts have provided each student with a device they can take home. For years, having a device for every student has been in the Long Range Plan for Technology. However, before the pandemic, it seemed almost unobtainable. COVID suddenly made this a reality due to the need for school districts to provide instruction virtually. TEA wants to update the plan to include guidance on methods for refreshing these devices. TEA and school districts have discovered that a device receives significant wear and tear when transported between home and school every day. To maintain the 1:1 device-to-student implementation, districts will need to make plans for a device refresh cycle.

Cybersecurity and Ransomware

The other issue TEA wants to update in the LRPT is the issue of cybersecurity and ransomware. School districts have increasingly become a target for cyber and ransom attacks. Therefore, it’s important for the state’s plan for technology to address this vital safety concern.

Some of the SBOE members had additional questions about at-home wi-fi access and protecting students from objectionable content. TEA indicated these issues are being addressed through other initiatives, but, more than likely, they will also be included in the LRPT.

Internet Safety Policy

There has been an increased interest in ensuring that students do not access pornographic content via the Internet. Chairman Keven Ellis announced that he plans to include an agenda item at the June SBOE meeting. This item would add a requirement to the Texas Education Code (Chapter 66.105) for districts to certify they have an Internet safety policy. This would be included in the required certification districts make to access their Instructional Materials and Technology Allotment.

He referenced the federal code that requires districts to have an Internet safety policy before accessing and using E-rate discounts. Chairman Ellis said that TEA staff indicated that 85% of Texas school districts utilize the E-rate discounts and, thus, currently certify they have such a policy. He wants to include such a requirement in the Texas Education Code. This would ensure that 100% of school districts are mandated to have and enforce an Internet safety policy.

In Conclusion

As you can see, technology policy was one of the major topics of discussion at this month’s SBOE meeting. TCEA is committed to monitoring these items as they make their way through the process. We will let you know when and how you can let your board member know what you think about these issues.

April 11, 2022 0 comment

Android Chromebooks Coding/Computer Science Educational Research iOS Tips and Tricks Science Social Studies STEM/STEAM

Build Coding Self-Efficacy with CoSpaces EDU

by Miguel Guhlin February 26, 2022

written by Miguel Guhlin

There are many benefits to encouraging students to build and create in 3D and craft code or script. But with so many options available, what is one solution you can focus your students on? Luckily there are augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) tools available to encourage 3D, coding, and collaboration. Before exploring some AR/VR tools, let’s look at some benefits.

What Are the Benefits of AR/VR, and Coding?

In the workforce, there are several uses of AR/VR apps:

Providing information in real time
Facilitating training and mirroring real-life experiences
Enhance creativity in design and development

In addition to benefits for the workforce, some researchers suggest that AR/VR apps can assist with the following in the classroom:

Reduce cognitive overload
Assist students in developing higher-order thinking capabilities (source)
Potential to help autistic children in navigating academic and social situations (source)
Positively impact self-efficacy

There are several more applications but these reflect educational goals, don’t you agree?

Self-Efficacy and Coding

According to the Visible Learning MetaX database, self-efficacy is:

A sense of confidence or the set of self-perceptions that influence thought, actions, and emotional arousal. It accomplishes this since it enables people to make decisions. The decisions they make are about what course of action they intend to pursue.

Self-efficacy enjoys an effect size of d=0.65. Since the hinge point for one year’s academic growth is d=0.40, this makes self-efficacy worthy of consideration. This 2020 study connecting self-efficacy and coding found:

The results of the analysis of quantitative data indicated that the model developed for coding education had a positive effect on students’ programming self-efficacy and attitudes towards technology. Students expressed positive opinions about coding education.

Their positive opinions included students thinking that:

Coding education facilitates the teaching of many different subjects such as mathematics and science.
Reflected their self-perception that they can do many activities

Those activities include code and program writing, designing games and robots, and solving problems with their coding education. With these benefits in mind, it’s important to ask, “What digital tools might work well in K-12 education?”

Digital Tool: CoSpaces EDU

As you might imagine, there are a great variety of digital tools that are the answer to that question. The tools for AR/VR and coding vary from year to year, as the technology improves. One tool that you might consider boasts the following features.

3D Modeling

3D avatar and model creation
The ability construct 3D models that improve on solutions like Minecraft and others
Adding images, videos, sounds (including background music) to 3D models
Cross-platform capability (smartphone, tablet, desktop, Chromebook)

AR/VR Support

Move 3D creations into VR
Supports use of a VR headset
Allows for collaboration among students
Hologram interaction
Focus on creation, not consumption

Coding and Scripting

Block-based coding or programming like Scratch
Support for scripting languages that add interactions, events, and allow for game creation
Create simulations of physical phenomena that allow for visualization of abstract scientific concepts

CoSpaces EDU offers a few other features including MERGE Cube mode. You can also manage your class roster in it. Student management can interface with Clever, as well as Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

CoSpaces EDU Pricing

While CoSpaces EDU sounds great, how much does it cost? It enjoys a free tier with basic features, but the PRO Plan with five seats costs $74.99 per year. Each Pro Plan offers all features for a number of seats. You will have to decide if this best meets the needs of you and your students. Limited Pro Plans are also available for your consideration.

The CoSpaces EDU has an ambassador program, and you can see “getting started” resources. Also, explore their YouTube Channel. Give it a whirl!

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author, Cospaces

February 26, 2022 0 comment

Chromebooks Coding/Computer Science Google Tips and Tricks

Eight Chrome Extensions and Sites You May Not Know (January 2022)

by Sara Qualls January 17, 2022

written by Sara Qualls

Is anyone else inching into 2022 with a bit of cautious optimism? You can’t see it, but I’ve got two hands up. I’m ready to make up for the past two years! I really am hopeful for the future, and I challenge everyone to approach 2022 with a glimmer of hope and a renewed focus on things that will bring you joy in life. After all, it’s all about perspective.

Without further ado, let’s jump into some new favorite finds for the month.

Chrome Extensions to Try

Tab for a Cause. With every new tab, choose a charity, and give back all year long. If you are anything like me, you may be reading this article with 27 tabs open. That kind of tab action can really add up! To date, they have raised over $1.3 million for charity. Fair warning, though, they have ads on the new tab page. It’s how they collect revenue to donate to the cause you are supporting.

Rubiks Cube for Google Chrome. Want to impress your friends and family? Learn to solve the Rubiks Cube. Practice makes perfect in this classic favorite. The Rubik’s Cube was invented by an architecture professor in 1974 but did not arrive in America until the early 1980s. Mathematicians joined forces to determine that there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 ways to arrange the squares, but the solution is only one of those combinations.

Newsela. Many of you are aware of this site, but did you know there is an extension for it? The great thing about Newsela is that they align their content to state standards. The extension allows teachers and students to search and preview Newsela content within Google classroom. You can also add content links to assignments, quizzes, and discussions.

Water Walk Extension — *Water Walk Chrome Extension*

Water Walk. If you are a walker like me, or if you are trying to get a little healthier in the new year, this extension is for you. It will remind you to get up from your computer and move around. You can set the timer to remind you every 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Not So Fun Fact: For each hour that you sit, it increases the chances of heart disease by 14%. Get walking, my friends!

Dark Reader. Dark Reader does what its name implies. It can put every website into dark mode. If you are spending more and more time on your computer, you should start protecting your peepers and enable a dark theme for your daily browsing.

Roster Extras. I came across this one while reading Alice Keeler’s blog. She’s teamed up with Schoolytics to help you do even more with your roster. This extension can assign a student a slide, randomize, send it to Docs so you can create customized student reports, and more.

Must-Visit Websites

Windows93. If you’ve been reading this series for a while, you know I love throw-backs. There is just something about reminiscing my AOL days and recalling having to wait to connect to the internet for a good five minutes while hearing screeching noises in the background. This site is a parody of Windows 93. It will load in the same manner and ultimately bring you to the memorable desktop with way too many icons and folders. Click on a folder or icon, and a random screenshot or sound from the Windows 93 days will appear. My favorite icons were Cat Explorer, which had me nostalgic for my old friend Tom, and Solitude, where I did play a round of a classic game. If you are now a Mac user, don’t forget to double-click!

Coding Game. This free website will help you improve your programming skills while having fun. You can learn new concepts by solving fun challenges in more than 25 languages. You can challenge your friends, climb a leaderboard, and find plenty of tutorials and help from their large community of users. If you or a student want to improve basic coding skills, give it a whirl.

If you find any of these useful, drop me a line in the comments. Wishing you all the best in the new year!

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January 17, 2022 0 comment

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