How did you start using CS in your classroom?

I always integrated technology in my class session to facilitate students' learning and mastery of the contents. The Book Creator app was one of the first tools I used to help students enhance and take charge of their learning process. Students could work in small groups in class or online, and were able to demonstrate their knowledge using audio and/or video clips. I also used multiple educational platforms such as Quizizz, Kahoot, Pear Deck, Google Slides, and Google Classroom to enhance their 21st century approach to learning.

What's something interesting that has happened?

The first semester that I introduced  "Your Voice Is Power" to my Middle School students, one of their assignments in Module 0 was to listen to the 'cha cha slide', write the sequence of steps, and then create their own sequences. One of my students created a very interesting set of steps, videotaped it, and provided the algorithm for anyone interested in learning his sequence. I asked him to teach the students who were struggling with how to create their sequences of events. This process introduced them to the kinds of steps that needed later in coding.

What's going well for you?

This school year (2022-23), I introduced unplugged programming to my Pre-K to Grade 7 students. Then, I went to the next level and I subscribed to code.org. I had 4 clubs, 2 at each of my 2 schools. A few months later I introduced them to the CoderZ Cyber Robotics Challenge and knowledge. By the end of March 2023, I had 133 students actively participating in acquiring coding skills, alone and in small groups. 18 of those students participated in the CoderZ International Computer Science Spring League Competition, which lasted 2 months. I also integrated the Computational Thinking (CT) concepts in all my music lessons, where students became familiar with vocabulary words such as: Algorithm, Abstraction, Patterns, Decomposition, Debugging & Testing, Collaborating, etc.