Programming on a_shoestring_1

Programing on a
Shoestring
Mr. Keith Golebie and Mr. Matt Skoczylas
Ellwood City Area School District

You don’t have to be a Computer Scientist.

Create an Alice Program
● Lets create a “Frozen” movie scene with
Anna moving around with arrow keys.
● Add snow world, ice pond, castle, Anna and
Elsa.
● Add an event so that Anna can move with
the arrow keys.

● Small Community in Western Pennsylvania
● 40 miles north of Pittsburgh
● North Side Primary School (K-2)
● Perry Lower Intermediate School (3-4)
● Hartman Intermediate School (5-6)
● Lincoln Jr./Sr. High School (7-12)

Mr. Keith Golebie
Computer Science Teacher 9 -12
(BCIT K-12)
Many years in IT prior to public education
kgolebie@gmail.com

Mr. Matt Skoczylas
Elementary Computer Teacher
2nd- 6th Grade
skoczylas.weebly.com

Objectives
● Anyone can teach/learn programming
● (Not just coding!)
● Programming can be implemented by
anyone, in any subject
● Learning - “Thinking” - Computational
Thinking, which is problem solving
● This can be done easily, and for free

Why Computer Science
We are very fortunate at ECASD to have Computer Programming Classes, but
there are gaps in our curriculum. (7th and 8th grades)

Why Computer Science in PA
19,866 open computing jobs (growing at 3.9x the state average)
4,155 computer science graduates
191 schools teach computer science
● CS doesn't count as math or science credit
● No clear CS teacher certification pathways
● No CS curriculum standards

“'Within the Next 20 Years, Half of All Jobs Will Be Taken
Over by Machines” - Frank Sonder on LinkedIn (Tuesday)

“Computer Science projects are opportunities, not
assignments.” - Nikki, 10th grader (Student of the week -
this week)
● Learning opportunities
● Relevance
● Job gap, gender gap, underrepresented groups gap

Break the Bias
“How Elementary School Teachers’ Biases Can
Discourage Girls From Math and Science”
- NY Times yesterday
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/upshot/how-elementary-school-teachers-biases-can-discourage-girls-from-math-and-
science.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&abt=0002&abg=0

The earlier, the better
● Before Bias is formed
● Free Tools - break the economic bias
● Anyone, any age
● Research shows, the earlier we learn programming, the
better - helps with other subjects

The earlier, the better
● Math - logic, problems solving
● Language - It’s a language!
● Reading for understanding
● We could go on….

● CS-First at Hartman Intermediate School
● Our CS-First program is one of only two CS-First Programs
in Pennsylvania.

CS-First at Hartman-Game Design
18 students signed up
12 Boys
6 Girls
10 had Perfect Attendance

● Signed in to the Scratch
Website.
● Watched videos to learn
about Game Design.
● Created Games.
● Shared with their Friends.
● Each day was a different
type of game.

Hartman/Perry Morning News Feature

Day 7-We had a student design
his own Halloween game with
monsters, bullets and
pumpkins.. he wanted to start
with 6 and count down when a
bullet is shot and also keep track
of how many magazines were
used... Finally got him to think it
out on paper.

-I never knew that I
would be able to
program my own game.
-I never thought I’d
ever be able to do all of
this stuff.
-I liked how we got to
program different
things.
-I loved the club, and
learning about how to
make my own sprites.

Emily- Beetle Game
Mark- Platform Game
Molly- Maze Game
Anthony- Falling Objects Game

Computer Science at ECASD
Hour of Code 2013-2014
a movement to recruit
millions to try one hour
of computer science.
“Everybody in this country should
learn how to program a
computer...because it teaches you
how to think.”
-Steve Jobs

Hour of Code Event at ECASD
● Support from our Superintendent.
● Encouraged all teachers to get
involved in the Hour of Code.
● Classrooms participated in a pizza
party contest.
● Created a list of websites for
teachers to learn more about
programming and the Hour of
Code, teachers then selected their
own activity.

Hour of Code on the Morning News

Hour of Code Event -Student Response
It was simple, but not
so easy it was boring.
It was entertaining on
top of being
educational.
- Mallory, 12th grade
It challenged me, but
not so much that I was
overcome by tears
and tempted to bash
my head into a brick
wall
- Nikaya, 12th grade

In my case, it gave typical under-performing students a chance to create something they probably never
thought possible. It gave them a sense of pride and ownership of achieving something important and more
advanced than they are used to. It allowed them to gain useful computer skills that they can apply to utilize
other computer programs that they may not have ever had the opportunity to experience. It also offers
students a hands-on, engaging lesson that keeps them motivated to do work without feeling like work. -
ECASD teacher
Hour of Code Event -Teacher Response
“The hour of code made the students think in a
different way than they normally do. It empowered
them to make decisions and choose their own
outcomes / goals. -ECASD teacher

Programming with Alice
Why Alice?
● Easy and Free
● No Internet Connection Needed
● 3-D Animations
● Local (Developed at CMU)
● Great Support Team
● Tons of Free Resources

Alice 2 or Alice 3
Alice 2 can be taught
for an introduction to
programming course.
Alice 3 can be taught in
advanced classes, or if
the class is moving into a
language by end of
course.

Alice 2: Lets build something!

Resources for using Alice
● CMU
● Duke
● Oracle
● Listserve
● Youtube videos
● Summer courses at CMU

Some other Programming options
● Scratch
● Snap
● Tynker
● Code Monkey
● Code Avengers
● Google CS First
● Code Academy
● Google Made with Code
● Touch Development (Microsoft)

Standards
Programming is connected throughout all
standards
● PA Standards:
● BCIT Standards:
● Common Core (reading and writing)

Programming on a_shoestring_1

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