Technology Adventures
Laura Sudak
SLMS
John Hill School
Boonton NJ
Laura Sudak�School Library Media Specialist�John Hill School in Boonton, NJ��JHS is a 3rd-8th grade school with amazing students from a mixture of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. �I teach classes for 3rd,4th and 5th grade and try to cultivate a love for literature and technology. �My 6th grade coding group that I facilitated during an enrichment period is inspirational and they have helped me with younger grades using Sphero minis. �I have been a SLMS for 15 years and before that I taught in a first-grade classroom. �I am new to technology and in no way an expert. �But having fun with my students.
Where it all began…
Sixth Grade Coding Club Highlights
Students worked independently on coding projects…
Letting them lead and admitting that at times they have more knowledge was key
Debugging through sharing projects with classmates
We used Sphero Mini and Sphero Spark
Borrowed from public library
Did two sessions…6th grade coding club and interested 7th and 8th graders
Virtual visit with Google Employee. Coding and discussion of opportunities with Google /CS
Can also participate in livestream presentation
How we ended the year…
We had a visit with Louis Mednick, a graduate student from FDU.
He led three sessions using Micro:bit. Each session was tailored for each group based on grade level and experience with CS. This visit was valuable for both myself and my students to learn from someone with an extensive knowledge of CS.
I borrowed 13 Micro:bits from the Public Library System to use the entire week so all of my classes could code with this pocket sized computer.
Micro:bit
Sphero
Two members of 6th grade coding club facilitating lesson with 4th