More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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At the beginning of the school year, I asked all of my students to tell me what excites and inspires them to be creative and excited about life. Not only did they come up with playing during recess and eating lunch ninety percent of the time, but none of them said anything about building, creating or working with technology other than playing games on their XBox or Play Stations.
When I researched different types of educational resources for ten to eleven year olds that inspired creativity and added an excitement with programing, gaming and learning, LEGO Mindstorm had it all. Not only Is this a well known brand among my students, but it is a product that is versatile. So, my next step was to take some classes on LEGO robotics and it was interesting to see that there were as many women teachers and men teachers that were having fun building and then programing their robots to complete a series of missions. It was also exciting to see there are high school teams in Salem working in Robotic team competitions with this same product. I want to add this to my STEAM curriculum and then take this new background knowledge to be successful in high school.
This year I have been able to borrow some iPads so my kids are familiar with coding software and applications. They have been completing assignments and studying for tests as I provide additional time on iPad coding games to those who work or receive a good grade on a test as a positive incentive. They have been designing their avitars to move, jump and play sports, which is done through basic coding. Now, I want to teach robotics which encompasses both creativity and programming.
About my class
At the beginning of the school year, I asked all of my students to tell me what excites and inspires them to be creative and excited about life. Not only did they come up with playing during recess and eating lunch ninety percent of the time, but none of them said anything about building, creating or working with technology other than playing games on their XBox or Play Stations.
When I researched different types of educational resources for ten to eleven year olds that inspired creativity and added an excitement with programing, gaming and learning, LEGO Mindstorm had it all. Not only Is this a well known brand among my students, but it is a product that is versatile. So, my next step was to take some classes on LEGO robotics and it was interesting to see that there were as many women teachers and men teachers that were having fun building and then programing their robots to complete a series of missions. It was also exciting to see there are high school teams in Salem working in Robotic team competitions with this same product. I want to add this to my STEAM curriculum and then take this new background knowledge to be successful in high school.
This year I have been able to borrow some iPads so my kids are familiar with coding software and applications. They have been completing assignments and studying for tests as I provide additional time on iPad coding games to those who work or receive a good grade on a test as a positive incentive. They have been designing their avitars to move, jump and play sports, which is done through basic coding. Now, I want to teach robotics which encompasses both creativity and programming.