Here you will find various insights from teachers and programmers on how to approach teaching in computer science and a project-based perspective. Borrow, adapt and curate the ideas presented to help you develop your unique approach. Don't hesitate asking question in Slack on any of these ideas.

Dylan Follett

Dylan is a computer science teacher at the McKenzie Center for Innovation & Technology at the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township in Indianapolis.

Programming with the Arduino Desktop

Angela Jones

Angela is the CT Instructional Coach at Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis and an experienced Computing by Design teacher as part of the iDEW program.

On Enjoying the Journey

Luke Jones

On Developing Content Knowledge

On Managing Student Success

Matthew Baron

On Scaffolding and Scrum

Travis Faas

On Practical Approaches to Programming for Beginners

Agenda (1 hour)

• Welcome

• Quick Survey

• Review Instructions for Final Deliverables

• Discuss Progress and Concerns Identified During the Week

  • TBD

  • TBD

• Open Discussion and Wrap Up

All programming workshops will use the same warm up, linked below. While the robot uses the Arduino programming language, the programming warm-up uses JavaScript. It is still highly recommended to go through the warm-up since the concepts demonstrated map very well across languages.

For the programming workshops we simply request that you submit the following two items.

1. A link to your working code (e.g. Arduino browser editor) that demonstrates completion and customization of tutorial material.

2. A summary of your classroom plan

   • Consider how you will approach classroom management when students are completing a tutorial like this one.

     • What will be your expectations?

     • How much will be individual work versus team work?

     • Will you assign any code champions to help you support students with questions?

   • How will you supplement it with other programming content or experiences?

     • Will you use any online tutorials?

     • Will you supplement with any CS unplugged activities?

     • Will you create any custom programming exercises yourself?

Submit using the link below...

Agenda (1 hour)

• Welcome

• Quick Survey

• Introductions

• Review of Workshop Format and Sequence

• Key Pointers

  • Sharing Code via Slack

  • Feel Free to Use Video Too

  • Look for Patterns and Analogies You Can Identify With

• Information on School of Informatics and Computing Degrees

• Open Discussion and Wrap Up

👉 As you work through the following activities don't hesitate posting questions on Slack (#ws-programming-robot) and include a link to your Arduino code when needed (or even a short video).

1 Complete Tutorials A & B to Get Started with the Robot

2 Complete Tutorials C, D & E to Practice Three Key Modes of Operation

Optional: Learn How to Program for More Scenarios

Planning for Student Success

Now that you have experience with programming for this project...

• Consider how you will approach classroom management when students are completing a tutorial like this one.

  • What will be your expectations?

  • How much will be individual work versus team work?

  • Will you assign any code champions to help you support students with questions?

• How will you supplement it with other programming content or experiences?

  • Will you use any online tutorials?

  • Will you supplement with any CS unplugged activities?

  • Will you create any custom programming exercises yourself?

If you are participating in the Innovation Workshop you will consider similar questions for broader project activities.

Background and Recommended Classroom Approach

Background on Computing by Design Framework

This workshop is focused squarely on the programming component of a CxD Project. For a little bit of background, you will find that the Computing by Design framework is project-centric in the approach.

Each project has three phases, where programming is a very important component of all three. Our Innovation Workshop covers the breadth of the Computing by Design framework. We have found that the programming in any project presents a fine line between a wonderfully empowering experience (when students struggle and get things working) and a sometimes frustrating experience that becomes a missed opportunity. Therefore we are offering these programming workshops to provide a solid foundation on building the applications.

Learning to Program: A Two-Pronged Approach

We encourage you to offer students a two-pronged approach to learning to program. Computing by Design projects provide an "application first" approach to programming where students are provided direct guidance on creating a specific type of application through templates and tutorials -- like with trivia , a chatbot, IoT etc. This approach complements the many great tutorials available online that provide a "concept first" approach by stepping through concepts in programming. Facilitating both approaches for students provides a varied experience -- strengthening knowledge and offering more opportunities to ignite interests.

Getting Started with Slack

Slack will be our primary communication platform for the workshop. The video above provides a brief introduction on the features of Slack, but more help and tutorials can be found at https://slack.com/help.

Getting Started with Arduino Create Editor

Our robot will be programmed using the Arduino programming language. We recommend using the Arduino Create web-based programming environment through the browser. There is an option to download a native application as well. This is just a quick intro. We will cover much more later in the workshop.

👉 Use these instructions to setup your Arduino account for the web editor.

int LED = 13;

void setup() {
  pinMode(LED, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
  delay(500);
  digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
  delay(500);
}

Welcome 👋

Programming Workshop Sequence (June 7 - 11, 2021)

This workshop is largely asynchronous, providing you flexibility to complete things on a schedule that works for you. Below you will find the sequence of events and videos for the workshop. Notice the two live Zoom sessions on Monday at 2:30 pm and Thursday at 11:30 am. Otherwise we will use Slack for discussions and impromptu Zoom meetings as needed. Please don't hesitate posting a message on Slack for help.

Workshop Resources

• Slack Channel: #ws-programming-robot in the CxD 2021 Slack Workspace

• Zoom Video Conferences: A link will be provided on Slack