Edu-Tech Pre Conference Workshop – Computational learning adventures – craft, coding, and creativity

Gary Stager, Founder & CEO, Constructing Modern Knowledge

This hands-on workshop helps educators respond to the growing calls to teach computing and computer science for all children at a time where there is literal clarity on what that means, but there are already millions of BBC micro:bits in schools. Never before has so much power been accessible to children at such a low price. Participants will gain experience programming the micro:bit and model strategies for teaching physical computing. We will also explore and use a variety of programming environments, similar boards, and extensions. A small mountain of materials will be available for use. This workshop is hands-on and welcomes all experience levels. Projects from the new “Invent To Learn Guide to the micro:bit” will be shared in addition to discussions of how the micro:bit may be used to most effectively teach powerful computational ideas from math, science, physical computing, and computer science. This approach animates project-based learning, democratizes experience, and appeals to a diverse population of students than when we reduce robotics to competitive combat.