Tech+notes+2010

//Suggested topics will be proposed by Dr. Hrabowski. //

What's the standard for working with our privileged girls.

GPS Pleased with how much Dr. Hrabowski mentioned computer science and its importance. Tried for years to build a program in the schools, and it is difficult to get enough girls to participate in the classes. Sometimes computer science isn't considered part of STEM. Classes are small and they are usually electives. Introduced more computer science in 7th grade when everyone participates, and try to build their interest at that level. December 5-13 is National Computer Science Education Week - celebrate it in the school to build awareness. Using Scratch first making games, structured as a contest. Teaching basic algorithms through Scratch. Then a robotics unit - Lego robots. Goal to work toward more students in AP computer science class. 8th - digital storytelling (start with Movie Maker then move into Alice) and robotics class. In 9th/10th grade use HTML code from scratch. Used some Java applets. 100% electives. Also a media arts class through the Fine Arts department. In US use Alice and move into Poor Man's MovieMaker, Poor Man's Photoshop, Poor Man's Audacity. Would prefer to remove all electives and have one mandatory CS class. Out of California is a new program - Exploring Computer Science developed by Jane Margalis (sp?).

St. Mary's Offers computer science classes in US - using Paralax currently, but wants to move to Legos. 6th grade also participates in a robotics Lego NXT class. Some into after school programs are going to be offered in the Lower School.

Hockaday Had classes until 3 years ago. Had difficulty getting girls to sign up. Paired up for awhile with a boys school to offer classes. Joined up with OSG and had one girl take the class.

Marymount School Latin teacher taught himself Ruby, they recreated the required tech class to be computer science using Ruby. He changed it to bring in basic HTML, Java and working toward Ruby in 9th grade. Also has a Senior elective programming class.

Harpeth Hall 5th grade created animated movies with Alice. 6th grade uses Alice for another project. No time for an actual computer science class. 5th graders so excited about making animated movies that a club began. 7th grade does robotics with Lego Mindstorms. Glad that OGS offers the CS class online.

Loise S. McGehee School 5th, 6th & 7th required robotics class. 70 minute periods to teach robotics. Collaborated with the math teacher to make sure they have the math skills necessary. Developed a STEM elective club with 5th & 6th grade with lots of interest from the girls.

Problems with finding quality faculty to teach the CS classes in addition to getting the girls interested. Another problem is they have so many courses, there is no room in their schedules for electives.

Maybe we need to have a standard in the schools of what computer science requirements there should be to standardize it. Finding time is a major issue. There is a difference between being able to use a computer, and understanding computer science. Students need to have a basic understanding of how programs are written and the technology behind the tools they are using. We need more diversity in the students who are pursuing computer science.

Dot Diva - still a work in progress; click on your passion and it helps you use computing in that area http://www.dotdiva.org/

How can we make sure group work is challenging and incorporated into classes?

GPS - middle school has many multi-disciplinary projects; read book Rifka, project goes between lit, tech, history, etc. 8th grade is required to do a science project - writing the project in English instead of science. Jets club for STEM. Celebrate Engineering week. GUI interfaces - not on AP so it has to be covered independently.

Hockaday - used group work in AP math classes; groups of at least 2; work problems and share with class; movie class under Fine Arts, change it to Film rather than Broadcasting - will have students for 1/3 of year and pair up with an English teacher; no set idea - very flexible Digital Storytelling - wide open venue

St. Paul's English - build a search engine on Greek theater; divided into teams and had to build a model of a Greek theater using tape, white paper, scissors - great engineering project in English class Digital Stories from Charlestown - ran it as a club http://www.umbc.edu/oit/newmedia/studio/digitalstories/ctds.php

Innovation Conference at Hathaway Brown - need to develop a spirit of innovation in our schools and a spirit of collaboration within our faculty

St. Mary's - Ensemble class - drama, creative movement, filmmaking - focus on creative process, not a set idea

Middle school is a great environment for collaborative work. Make sure the projects require high-order thinking and are quality. May need math teachers to think outside the box that robotics incorporates mathematics. Need support of colleagues. Want to see more application level experiences incorporating technology and other disciplines.

Greenwich Academy - with 7th grade STEM Challenge using Scratch http://stemchallenge.org/

Also take a look at (Google) Sketchup for architecture / history / art history projects.

1:00 Session Goal at St. Mary's to incorporate STEM more in the Upper School. Implemented the STEM Society - higher level club with STEM related activities. They have done Barbie Bunjee jump in Physics. http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=L646 Can Construction project
 * //How can we overcome stereotypes and negative self-assessments that keep girls from considering STEM fields? //**

5th & 6th grade STEM club at Louise S. McGehee, have students create Flowcharts

Sneaky method - approach it from an area they already have an interest in, then bring in the skills; girls are emotionally invested, so they need to have situations that allow for that

Logic problem on board, break into groups and solve without computers - takes less than 5 min. at the beginning of class, building SAT and reasoning skills, could be done during advisory time
 * Geometrical Riddles by Mindtrap** - cards with problems on them; on Amazon

Bringing in real problems, apply to equations (Algebra II); if factors are changed, how does that change the equation

National Lab Day - a place for STEM people to share http://www.nationallabday.org/
 * //Share ideas for role models. //// What can we do when we get back to our schools to address this? //// Any way to collaborate on ideas? //**

Field trips to see women in their environment in STEM fields - St. Mary's went on a field trip to Medtronics Talking to US physics teacher, talking about the need to have female speakers to come share their fields; could be a career day (St. Mary's has done this) or have alum come back to share what they are doing as women in STEM fields (GPS does this); panel of the different fields and then breaking out into small sessions based on interests

Tap your Development office for alums in the field to come speak

Fixed vs Growth Mindset - you can teach people to go a new way; possibly focusing on faculty reading, sharing and applying what is in Carol Dweck's book; teachers shape the attitudes of students based on our own attitudes

Daniel Pink RSA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Lisa Demour - learning about how their brain pathways work; you might not can do it YET; it will still come

Maybe look beyond just female role models, but look for quality role models - many dads of the students are in STEM fields and would make great speakers, University professors

Have the role models share with smaller groups instead of presentations to large groups

St. Mary's is trying to establish a mentorship program with the girls; starting in science fields; have to have guidelines and communication with the mentors; students must have a drivers license to participate; Hathaway Brown does several weeks during the summer then follow up with time during the school year - some girls have to leave during the day, which can be a problem with AP classes

Louise S. McGehee - Seniors use their 2 weeks after exams time that they do a placement; it is required

Like the idea of encouraging girls to mix their fields of study

Hockaday - built a list of places that have had good experiences; Senior placements; also use parent connections; share their experiences with the student body; 10 day placement at the end of school; all day, keep a journal; faculty member who mentors the student

Marymount has a STEM internship; keep a blog, get partnered up

Can require that all community service it completed by Junior way so that it leaves the Senior year open for placements

Engineering class at Foxcroft School - open to 9-12th -

IP Videoconferencing equipment -bring in quality people virtually; CILC has many resources for small fees; 45-60 min. http://cilc.org/

Skyping is also a possibility because it is more flexible.

Have a list of people who are experts in specific fields that you could contact as needed. Possibly create a Google Doc or Windows Live of people and organizations in different fields.


 * 3:15 Session**
 * What should the learning environment be in the 21st century for girls? **
 * - What role does hands-on and project-based learning take? **
 *  - What types of facilities will we need to create great classroom experiences and what types of technology will we need? **
 *  - What role should online learning play within girls’ schools? **
 * o What role can “blended learning” classes play? **

Girls at St. Mary's want to know how to use the tools that the teachers use, such as the SmartBoard, Projector, etc. Students are interested in how it works. Teachers use Screencast for instruction. Another way is to allow students to create the Screencasts of the material. Students can be taking the notes on the SmartBoard and then at the end of class, the notes are reviewed, then saved for the students to access later. Give students ownership of their tools.

LMS - Learning Management Systems Moodle - not as aesthetically pleasing Haiku - very well liked, used by OGS, user friendly, easy for students to use

Teach students to seek out how to solve problems for themselves; how to teach themselves how to find answers to their questions independently; life skill of how to adapt to new technologies and learn how to manage/use them Send out reminders of help menus, resources to find the answers for yourself, whether it is faculty or students. Teach self-sufficiency. Harpeth - used Word Press for a newspaper; gave the girls the accounts and let them teach themselves; also gave them Prezi and had the girls share how to do it with the class Let students pick the tool they want to do the project. Teachers have to let go of control - they don't have to be the fount of all knowledge. Empower the girls by allowing them to teach each other.


 * How should professional development look within our schools and departments to support new learning objectives? **
 * - How can we create and e nable 21st century professional learning communities? **
 * - How can we cultivates teachers’ ability to identify students’ particular learning styles, intelligences, strengths and weaknesses? **
 * - How can we helps teachers develop their abilities to use various strategies to reach diverse students and to create environments that support differentiated teaching and learning? **

<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Have teachers share at faculty meetings - 5 min. on what they are doing with tech in their discipline area. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Teachers teach teachers <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Students teach faculty - sessions on specific topics <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Playground sessions - minimum of 2 hours of hands on time across divisions and disciplines Professional Development is more one-on-one Topical discussions - higher level topics; show a video or an example; show the possible tools and then have discussions; teachers see first where they would plug that into their curriculum, then got into details on how to learn the tool they chose Utilize librarians when working with teachers - sometimes the databases and tools they have can be a springboard to interest in other areas.

Friday 11:15 Session //<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">How well are we doing with the recommendations Dr. Swarlis made for girls and technology? What more can/should we do? //

Robotics is very spatial. Graphing is important to continue through all grades. For example, using chalk to graph on the sidewalk. Girls use different parts of their brain during adolescence so they have to relearn some of the skills that they have learned when younger.

Jets club (national club) - supported by physics and science teachers, similar to Science Olympiad - there is a competition they are building a project for; high school girls

Easier in middle school to do interdisciplinary activities; ideally having a STEM class would be great utilizing the different teachers Compact the curriculum so that there is more time available to include more spacial activities

Mindtrap geometrical riddles Use real world models; creating models

Suggest to parents that over the summer they do the types of activities that allow them to work with building, spacial (rather than a workbook) Video games helps with spacial reasoning Gives parents suggestions of how they can work with their children at home on fun activities that increase their skills - educate the parents Google Sketchup

Girls in Technology Strategies for Success - girls are better prepared when they have regular access, social relationship building is included, have skilled and passionate role models, etc. http://www.ncgs.org/news/girlsandtechnologystrategiesforsuccess_348/~nationalcoalitionforgirlsschools_30

OGS - taking online classes is an opportunity to offer courses that a school may not have the faculty to support

Laurel School -tinkering centers Lisa Demaur

Incorporate spacial activities into filmmaking Use PBL in the classroom

STEAM - STEM with the arts included

Ace Mentorship - architect, engineer, project manager http://www.acementor.org/

Dr. Swarlis's research gives validation for giving time to spacial skills

Use blended classes as a platform to give students the opportunity to do things that can't be covered in the class We need to learn how to ask the right questions in order to make online discussions more valuable Socratic Questions http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm

Request donations from parents about games to put in the student commons

Portal - Steam - game http://store.steampowered.com/app/400/

Book - Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing; also Stuck in the Shallow End - by Jane Margolis http://www.amazon.com/Stuck-Shallow-End-Education-Computing/dp/0262514044/ref=pd_sim_b_1