Saturday, January 7, 2017

Welcome to the 21st Century: 45 Resources on Coding

By now you know what coding is, but do you realize that kids as young as kindergarten are learning how to code through online games and activities? When I first began designing websites in 2007, I found HTML to be very confusing. Of course trying to learn on my own pushed me to take two online classes on website design. Today I am hardly a pro, but know enough to get around. After viewing all the programs, apps websites etc. devoted to teaching code, I came up with this conclusion: I was born in the wrong decade. I've always been jealous of all that my students have at their disposal. Let's face it, I'm a tech nerd. Anyway, that admission out of the way, here's a bundle of resources for you on the subject of coding.




APPS
Code School- free iPhone app

Daisy the Dinosaur- for ages 6-8 yrs. old; teaches kids to code

Hopscotch- for iPhone and iPad

Overview of Coding Apps for Mobile Devices- from EdTechTeacher; 16 listed; some free, some $$

M.I.T. App Inventor- students create their own Android apps; uses Chrome browser

Scratch Jr.- for iPad and Android; for ages 6-8 yrs. old

Swift Playgrounds- learn to code on your iPad; from Apple


ARTICLES
3 Steps to Becoming a Coding Teacher- from Edutopia

15+ Ways of Teaching Every Student to Code- from Edutopia; written by Vicki Davis

Coding for Kindergarteners- from Edutopia

Coding in the Classroom: A Long Overdue Inclusion- Edutopia

Fixing the Bugs: Teaching Kids to Code on a Zero-Dollar Budget- by Mary Jo Madda

How Google is Teaching Kids to Code with Toy Blocks- from INC

How I Started an After School Code Club- by Douglas Tarr

LEGO's New Kit Teaches Kids to Code- article from CNN

Now You Can Learn to Code with Minecraft- from Gizmodo

Teaching Kids to Code Using Legos


HOUR OF CODE
Disney Hour of Code Digital Toolkit- downloadable PDF works with the page Disney's Hour of Code.

Disney's Moana- the title character teaches how to code

Hour of Code Resources- from Kodable; free K-5 coding lesson plans

Hour of Code Suggestions by Grade Level- posted by a group of tech-ed teachers

How-To Guide- grades 2-9; download certificates and templates, and tap into the collection of activities

Teacher-Led Hour of Code Lessons- covers K-12; from Education Week

Try an Hour of Code with Khan Academy- includes TEACHER PAGE

Tynker: Coding for Kids- divided by grades: K-2, 3-5, 6+


VIDEOS












WEBSITES 
Code.org- covers K-12; resource listing on classes (partnered with Disney)

Codeacademy- learn to code for free

Code Combat- students learn to code while playing a game

Code Maven- choose from 59 lessons

Code Monster- 59 lessons to choose from for middle schoolers

Code Monkey- educational game where kids code

Coding in the Elementary Classroom- Google slides presentation

Create Pokemon Game- drag and drop interface

Kids Ruby-fun and easy programming; must download program to use

LEGO Mindstorms- educators can order kits for preschool, elementary and middle school; $$

Lissa Explains it All- "the first and original HTML Help JUST for Kids."

Made with Code Google

Scratch for Educators- students can use to code their own animations, games and interactive stories; there are activities, plans and much more.

Touch Develop- create apps on tablet, desktop or phone; a Microsoft product

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Can Your Students Spot Fake News? Here are 72 Links to Help

It's all around us. It's permeated Facebook, Twitter, all social media and the Internet. Yet I have seen adults fall for these hoaxes all the time. It's been hard for me to not say anything when I see these stories repeated and shared daily. Many times I have just referenced snopes.com. Yet people fall for this all the time. What about our students? Are they able to adequately evaluate what they are seeing? As I've mentioned before, when I left my school district after my budget dwindled to zero dollars, they did not replace me. That put the entire student population at risk, because presently the district does not have a single certified media specialist! K-12. No one to teach media literacy. No one there to advise and assist students working on research papers. No one.

Below I have collected a slew of resources to aid teachers and their students with the task of spotting fake news. The articles, guides, lesson plans and videos deal with the importance of evaluating websites. If you have any more to add, please comment below.

UPDATED: 8/31/20



ARTICLES
4 Steps Schools Need to Take To Combat Fake News- Huffington Post

5 Ways to Spot Fake News- from Common Sense Media

The 5 Types of Fakes News- from Huffington Post

6 Ways to Spot Fake News- from Snopes

10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Article- from EasyBib

The Classroom Where Fake News Fails- from NPR

Fake News Fooling Millions- from Scholastic's Up Front Magazine

Fake News Sites to Watch Out For on Facebook

Fighting Fake News- American Libraries

Google and Facebook Take Aim at Fake News Sites- N.Y. Times

Higher Ed Takes on Fake News Epidemic- from Education Dive

How Photos Fuel the Spread of Fake News

How Savvy Are Your Students? 7 Fake Websites to Really Test Their Evaluation Skills-EasyBib

How to Spot Fake News (and Teach Kids to Be Media Sayvy)- Common Sense Media

Most Students Don't Know When News is Fake, Stanford Study Finds- Wall Street Journal

A News Literacy Tool Kit for a "Post Truth" World- Joyce Valenza's blog

The Real History of Fake News- from The Columbia Journalism Review

The Smell Test: Educators Can Counter Fake New with Information Literacy- SLJ

Students Need Our Help Detecting Fake News- from MiddleWeb

Three Historical Examples of "Fake News"- Scientific American

What are You Doing to Teach Students to Spot Fake News Stories?- by Bill Ferriter

What Stands Between Fake News and Students? Educators- from NEA


GUIDES TO WEBSITE EVALUATION
Misc.
Checklist for Evaluating Web Resources

Credible Sources Count- view a 10-minute interactive tutorial about how to find sites you can trust. EXCELLENT!

EasyBib Website Evaluation Guide








































Finding Reliable Information Online- slide presentation from middle school teacher Sean Hinger

How Savvy are Your Students? 7 Fake Websites to Really Test Their Evaluation Skills- EasyBib

*Kathy Schrock
 *The 5 W's of Website Evaluation

 *Critical Evaluation of a Website- high School

 *Critical Evaluation of a Website- middle school

 *Critical Evaluation of a Website- elementary school

News Literacy Project- "NLP, a nonpartisan national education nonprofit, provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy."

Ten Questions for Fake News Detection- infographic checklist


University of Berkeley Library- an excellent tutorial on finding information on the Internet

Website Evaluation Guide- from EasyBib


INFOGRAPHICS












NEWS BIASES CHART by Vanessa Otero



Ten Questions for Fake News Detection- infographic is in PDF form





LESSON PLANS
Brain Pop: Fact and Opinion- interactive fun for the younger kids

Evaluating the Purpose of a Website- from EasyBib

Evaluating Sources in a 'Post-Truth' World: Ideas for Teaching About Fake News- NY Times Lessons

Fake News vs. Real News: Determining the Reliability of Sources- NY Times Learning Network

Fighting Fake News- includes Common Core standards

"He Said, She Said"-Reliable Sources- from School Journalism site

Hoax or No Hoax? Strategies for Online Comprehension and Evaluation- from ReadWriteThink; grades 9-12

Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide- lesson for high schoolers

How to Teach Your Students About Fake News- from PBS NewsHour; grades 7-9

I Heard it 'Round the Internet: Sexual Health Education & Authenticating Online Information- grades 7-9

Media Literacy and Fake News- from C-SPAN; grade not specified, but probably 9-12



VIDEOS




 











WEBSITES

FactCheck- project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center

Fake News Sites to Watch Out For on Facebook-

Fake News Watch- updates regularly; lists Fake/Hoax Websites, Satire Websites and Clickbait Websites.

Politifact- checking U.S. politics

Museum of Hoaxes- bogus web sites from A to Z

News Literacy Project- assists students in discerning real vs. fake news

Snopes- fact-checking site





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