Standard 6- Candidate Professional Growth & Development
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to engage in continuous learning, reflect on professional practice, and engage in appropriate field experiences.
6.1 Continuous Learning
Candidates demonstrate continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies and apply them to improve personal productivity and professional practice. (PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b)
6.2 Reflection
Candidates regularly evaluate and reflect on their professional practice and dispositions to improve and strengthen their ability to effectively model and facilitate technology-enhanced learning experiences. (PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c)
6.3 Field Experiences
Candidates engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards. (PSC 6.3)
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ITEC 7485 Creative Computing Project- Link to project listed at the end
Use of Technology and Student Learning Strategies (ISTE-E 6b)This section should document how you managed the use of technology and student learning strategies as part of your Creative Computing Project.
ISTE Portfolio Questions
What rules, guidelines, and parameters, regarding the use of technology, do you have for your learners when they are working independently in alternative classroom settings?
Design Process (ISTE-E 6c)In this section you should document the five (5) steps of the design process that you used as part of your creative computing project. Design processes could include:
ISTE Portfolio Question
How do you implement a recognized design-thinking process into your instruction?
Name of Design Process: Creative Learning Spiral
Imagine
Students will have an opportunity to brainstorm ideas on what they feel they can illustrate using the tools provided in Scratch. This will include getting them into the program to explore and looking back at their notes to select an appropriate topic that can be described in this manner. Students will have a brainstorming sheet where they can track their progress through the creative learning spiral.
I will be walking around helping the students brainstorm and think through how that topic/concept can be explained at an elementary school level while also making sure they are selecting appropriate topics for that level as well.
Create
Students will then go into Scratch and start to try their designs out to see if their topics work best in the Scratch environment or if they need to rethink based on how they are building the conversation between the two characters.
I will be monitoring and helping students troubleshoot the creation piece and continue to help with idea development.
Play
Students will play their Scratch for a neighbor/elbow partner to see how the creation developed and came together.
I will also help view and watch the Scratch stories to assist in the process.
Share
Once the students have completed their projects and turned them in, we will watch each of them during class. Each class will select their best ones that will be shared with the elementary school students when they discuss this topic.
Reflect
Students will have guiding questions where they will be able to provide feedback on the project itself, on their own design and creation, as well as a chance to envision what they would do to improve their project.
I will take this information to inform my adjustments when I do this project in the future. This will also help me see students’ though process and reflection on the project, which can be very insightful.
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Evidence of one or more computational artifacts (ISTE-E 6c)This section should provide evidence of one or more computation artifacts developed as part the implementation of the Creative Computing Project. This evidence should include one or more photos of students project and a written description.
Instructions for students:
Using SCRATCH (scratch.mit.edu), create a digital story teaching a historical concept/topic. In the Scratch, you will need to have one character teach another character a specific piece of content. When teaching the content, use common everyday language so that this could be utilized in an elementary school classroom.
Student Project: (Pictures below)
This student used Scratch to teach about the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. They utilized two sprites to illustrate the topic and have the characters interact with each other in the Scratch. There was a bit of overlap between the characters when one would move too early. Prior to sending this to elementary school teachers, I would work with her to clean up the sprites so they did not do that. The language was easy to understand and an upper elementary student who would study the Cold War could understand it from this project.
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Focus on process, not product (ISTE-E 6c)What went well in your design process? What could be improved in your design process?
The imagine, share, and reflect worked best in the design process. Students were able to brainstorm and bounce ideas off of each other in class to develop the topic that they were going to teach. It was great being able to share their projects with the class as they were able to learn from each other as well as appreciate each other’s works. I am excited to share the projects with elementary-aged students next year. A big obstacle that I will address further in the failure section is the fact that Scratch Online is blocked at our school. This greatly limited the create and play pieces of the design process where students would get support from me and be able to collaborate with their peers. This also limited their ability to share their projects with their peers as they were making them. This project had to be widely completed outside of class. While students could share their designs; however, it is unlikely that this occurred.
In the future, I would need to plan more in advance so that the district can approve the download of Scratch to our school laptops. Scratch on the computer is allowed; however, it is blocked on the online version. I did not realize this would be an issue because when I looked it up, it was approved software. It was not until I went to pull up my design online to show them an example did I realized it would not work, which is when I investigated why. Contacting the district to download Scratch to the computers would be necessary and greatly improve the design process as we could do it the way it was intended to be delivered and students could get more support.
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Failure (ISTE-E 6C)
What type of failures did you experience with the project? This could include failures that you had with planning and teaching your Creative Computing Project in addition to failures that you observed with students.
As I mentioned in the above section, the biggest issue was the fact that the online version was not accessible at school. It was on the approved software, which is why I thought I could use it. It was not until further investigation that the approved Scratch program was the download version. I can use that, but by the time I realized this, it was too late to get it requested to be downloaded on all of my laptops in my classroom. As I mentioned, if I were to do this again next year, I would get the program downloaded at the beginning of the school year or semester so we could have this tool as an option for students for different projects throughout the year. Since I was not able to offer in-class assistance, I relied heavily on Scratch help tools and videos to help students create their projects. I did offer an alternative assignment for students who were not able to understand the Scratch because I was limited in what I was able to help them with since I physically could not see their project at school. I wish I would have realized this early. The students who did complete the project did a great job and understood that this was my first time doing a project like this and worked through the issue of not working on it at school. They asked questions that I could help them with when I got home and could utilize Scratch to assist. When it came to the design of the Scratch, the content was great! Most students were able to work through this with limited glitches with their characters. I was proud of them working through the adversity.
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Computational Thinking (ISTE-E 6c)Using language such as abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, algorithms, and debugging/testing, describe the computational thinking that you observed as part of your Creative Computing Project. If you could redesign you lesson, what would you do to encourage more computational thinking?
ISTE Portfolio Question
ISTE NOTE 1: To meet this criteria you must show how you provide opportunities for your learners to engage in the Design Thinking or Computational Thinking process, just presenting on what it is, is not enough.
ISTE NOTE 2: Please specifically identify each of the steps of which process you identify in your artifact, as well as how the details of the lesson/activity as it fits into the Design Thinking or Computational Thinking process, in your artifact.
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Nurturing Creativity (ISTE-E 6d)Explain how you intentionally modelled and nurtured creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge, or connections as part of your project. Consider using the 4P framework (Projects, Peers, Passion, and Play).
ISTE Portfolio Questions
How do YOU demonstrate creativity and creative problem solving for your learners, and how to you provide them with opportunities to obtain feedback and showcase their final work?
What opportunities are you providing for your learners to express their own creativity?
How do your learners share their work with others?
Do you provide opportunities for peer feedback?
Do you encourage this creativity using technology resources and/or tools?
6.1 Continuous Learning
Candidates demonstrate continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies and apply them to improve personal productivity and professional practice. (PSC 6.1/ISTE 6a, 6b)
6.2 Reflection
Candidates regularly evaluate and reflect on their professional practice and dispositions to improve and strengthen their ability to effectively model and facilitate technology-enhanced learning experiences. (PSC 6.2/ISTE 6c)
6.3 Field Experiences
Candidates engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards. (PSC 6.3)
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ITEC 7485 Creative Computing Project- Link to project listed at the end
Use of Technology and Student Learning Strategies (ISTE-E 6b)This section should document how you managed the use of technology and student learning strategies as part of your Creative Computing Project.
ISTE Portfolio Questions
What rules, guidelines, and parameters, regarding the use of technology, do you have for your learners when they are working independently in alternative classroom settings?
- Students will be provided class time to work on the project. During that time, students are expected to use their assigned laptop to work on this assignment. Students are expected to report any issues to myself to report on our school system to ensure our devices are updated regularly. Students know to handle the device with care and to navigate to Canvas to access project materials. These are procedures that we go over at the beginning of the school year when we first use laptops.
- Yes, I highly encourage students to reach out to their peers for assistance when need, especially in situations such as these. During projects, I either have my desks arranged in group or pairs so they have someone nearby that they can bounce ideas off of or troubleshoot with. Additionally, I know some students have experience in Scratch, so I would speak with them ahead of time and see if they would be willing for me to send students to them if they need assistance as well.
- Students can watch YouTube videos and seek out resources on the Scratch page. Additionally, I will provide troubleshooting videos and instructions on their Canvas page that they can reference. Students can also test out scenarios in Scratch prior to building their project to see what would work best for them. We will also work through a practice Scratch as a whole group so they can see how one is made as well as how to troubleshoot one.
- I am actively walking around the room monitoring student use of devices and answering any questions they may have. Additionally, I will have their computer screen set up with Go Guardian, which is a tool that I can view their devices from my computer as well. This will allow me to assist remotely if I am not at their desk in the moment.
Design Process (ISTE-E 6c)In this section you should document the five (5) steps of the design process that you used as part of your creative computing project. Design processes could include:
- Creative Learning Spiral (Imagine, Create, Play, Share, Reflect),
- Creative Play (Inspire, Imagine, Create, Play Share),
- Engineering Design Process (Ask/Define, Understand, Plan, Create, and Improve), or
- Design Thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test)
ISTE Portfolio Question
How do you implement a recognized design-thinking process into your instruction?
Name of Design Process: Creative Learning Spiral
Imagine
Students will have an opportunity to brainstorm ideas on what they feel they can illustrate using the tools provided in Scratch. This will include getting them into the program to explore and looking back at their notes to select an appropriate topic that can be described in this manner. Students will have a brainstorming sheet where they can track their progress through the creative learning spiral.
I will be walking around helping the students brainstorm and think through how that topic/concept can be explained at an elementary school level while also making sure they are selecting appropriate topics for that level as well.
Create
Students will then go into Scratch and start to try their designs out to see if their topics work best in the Scratch environment or if they need to rethink based on how they are building the conversation between the two characters.
I will be monitoring and helping students troubleshoot the creation piece and continue to help with idea development.
Play
Students will play their Scratch for a neighbor/elbow partner to see how the creation developed and came together.
I will also help view and watch the Scratch stories to assist in the process.
Share
Once the students have completed their projects and turned them in, we will watch each of them during class. Each class will select their best ones that will be shared with the elementary school students when they discuss this topic.
Reflect
Students will have guiding questions where they will be able to provide feedback on the project itself, on their own design and creation, as well as a chance to envision what they would do to improve their project.
I will take this information to inform my adjustments when I do this project in the future. This will also help me see students’ though process and reflection on the project, which can be very insightful.
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Evidence of one or more computational artifacts (ISTE-E 6c)This section should provide evidence of one or more computation artifacts developed as part the implementation of the Creative Computing Project. This evidence should include one or more photos of students project and a written description.
Instructions for students:
Using SCRATCH (scratch.mit.edu), create a digital story teaching a historical concept/topic. In the Scratch, you will need to have one character teach another character a specific piece of content. When teaching the content, use common everyday language so that this could be utilized in an elementary school classroom.
Student Project: (Pictures below)
This student used Scratch to teach about the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. They utilized two sprites to illustrate the topic and have the characters interact with each other in the Scratch. There was a bit of overlap between the characters when one would move too early. Prior to sending this to elementary school teachers, I would work with her to clean up the sprites so they did not do that. The language was easy to understand and an upper elementary student who would study the Cold War could understand it from this project.
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Focus on process, not product (ISTE-E 6c)What went well in your design process? What could be improved in your design process?
The imagine, share, and reflect worked best in the design process. Students were able to brainstorm and bounce ideas off of each other in class to develop the topic that they were going to teach. It was great being able to share their projects with the class as they were able to learn from each other as well as appreciate each other’s works. I am excited to share the projects with elementary-aged students next year. A big obstacle that I will address further in the failure section is the fact that Scratch Online is blocked at our school. This greatly limited the create and play pieces of the design process where students would get support from me and be able to collaborate with their peers. This also limited their ability to share their projects with their peers as they were making them. This project had to be widely completed outside of class. While students could share their designs; however, it is unlikely that this occurred.
In the future, I would need to plan more in advance so that the district can approve the download of Scratch to our school laptops. Scratch on the computer is allowed; however, it is blocked on the online version. I did not realize this would be an issue because when I looked it up, it was approved software. It was not until I went to pull up my design online to show them an example did I realized it would not work, which is when I investigated why. Contacting the district to download Scratch to the computers would be necessary and greatly improve the design process as we could do it the way it was intended to be delivered and students could get more support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure (ISTE-E 6C)
What type of failures did you experience with the project? This could include failures that you had with planning and teaching your Creative Computing Project in addition to failures that you observed with students.
As I mentioned in the above section, the biggest issue was the fact that the online version was not accessible at school. It was on the approved software, which is why I thought I could use it. It was not until further investigation that the approved Scratch program was the download version. I can use that, but by the time I realized this, it was too late to get it requested to be downloaded on all of my laptops in my classroom. As I mentioned, if I were to do this again next year, I would get the program downloaded at the beginning of the school year or semester so we could have this tool as an option for students for different projects throughout the year. Since I was not able to offer in-class assistance, I relied heavily on Scratch help tools and videos to help students create their projects. I did offer an alternative assignment for students who were not able to understand the Scratch because I was limited in what I was able to help them with since I physically could not see their project at school. I wish I would have realized this early. The students who did complete the project did a great job and understood that this was my first time doing a project like this and worked through the issue of not working on it at school. They asked questions that I could help them with when I got home and could utilize Scratch to assist. When it came to the design of the Scratch, the content was great! Most students were able to work through this with limited glitches with their characters. I was proud of them working through the adversity.
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Computational Thinking (ISTE-E 6c)Using language such as abstraction, decomposition, pattern recognition, algorithms, and debugging/testing, describe the computational thinking that you observed as part of your Creative Computing Project. If you could redesign you lesson, what would you do to encourage more computational thinking?
ISTE Portfolio Question
- How do you provide opportunities for your learners to apply the components of computational thinking?
- Students work on the creative computing project work through computational thinking and the creative learning spiral. Students will develop their ideas on paper using the imagine step before transferring them to Scratch where they will utilize various skills of computational thinking. Students will start with abstraction as they decide how they will execute their idea on to the computer using Scratch, especially since they are writing this to be used by elementary aged students they need to make sure it is accessible to them. Students will utilize abstraction with decomposition as they break down the concepts into the storytelling of Scratch. This will lead to pattern recognition as they are asking the two characters to talk to each other, they could perhaps utilize some of the elements for one character with another character they design. As they go through the development of the story in Scratch, students are creating the sprites and instructions for the program to follow also known as algorithms. Students will practice testing to ensure the story conveys the correct message in the correct order and tells a compelling story of the historical information. These stories also need to loop at the end, so they will need ensure that this is setup properly to do so.
ISTE NOTE 1: To meet this criteria you must show how you provide opportunities for your learners to engage in the Design Thinking or Computational Thinking process, just presenting on what it is, is not enough.
ISTE NOTE 2: Please specifically identify each of the steps of which process you identify in your artifact, as well as how the details of the lesson/activity as it fits into the Design Thinking or Computational Thinking process, in your artifact.
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Nurturing Creativity (ISTE-E 6d)Explain how you intentionally modelled and nurtured creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge, or connections as part of your project. Consider using the 4P framework (Projects, Peers, Passion, and Play).
ISTE Portfolio Questions
How do YOU demonstrate creativity and creative problem solving for your learners, and how to you provide them with opportunities to obtain feedback and showcase their final work?
- For this lesson, students will be watch the Scratch I created in this course as an example. From there, we will brainstorm ways that we could create historical concepts into the Scratch environment. I will then show students an additional Scratch that I made using the requirements that they will have for their project so they have one to directly reference. I will walk them through the process of how this was designed and give them a chance to practice on their own. During the design process, students will be given opportunities to receive feedback from their peers and myself as well as give feedback to each other. Since these are being shown to elementary students, it will be important to make sure they are written to their level as well as the technical piece of it is working properly. Everyone’s projects are shown at the conclusion of the project to the class. From there we will select the best ones to be shared with elementary schools when they discuss these similar topics.
What opportunities are you providing for your learners to express their own creativity?
- Students can utilize all aspects of Scratch to create this project. They have complete creativity over the character selection, scene, sound/text, etc. when they are creating this project. Students also get to select their own piece of historical content that they will utilize in the Scratch.
How do your learners share their work with others?
- Students will share their work with others through the process as they seek feedback and troubleshoot. We will all turn in the projects and view them as a class. Upon viewing, students will select the top ones from the class to share with elementary school students/teachers for them to utilize in their content when they discuss these topics.
Do you provide opportunities for peer feedback?
- Students provide feedback through the design process. As they are working in a student-centered group, they have people who they can bounce ideas off of through each piece of the process. During the create and play phase, they will show their project to their elbow partner to receive feedback and get a chance to improve their project before they turn it in for a grade.
Do you encourage this creativity using technology resources and/or tools?
- I highly encourage creativity through the use of technology such as this Scratch project. Students are welcomed to utilize any of the characters and backgrounds available. They have student choice over the content that they cover as long as it is school appropriate, especially for elementary aged students. The types of sounds, voices, and texts is completely up to the student to decide when they are designing this project. By this point in the year, students know that when possible I prefer for them to be creative and explore their ideas when portraying content with a specific guideline or program such as Scratch.
Creative Computing Project- Hudson | |
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