This is a post for the Student Blogging Challenge! Let's get coding!
Hour of Code is an annual event to promote Computer Science. According to their website:
The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2018 Computer Science Education Week will be December 3-7, but you can host an Hour of Code all year round. Computer Science Education Week is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).
We're starting Hour of Code and changing the name to Hours of Code!
Thank you, Hadi Partovi for creating this project!
Computer Science week coincides with the birthdays of two computer science pioneers. A pioneer is a person who is one of the first to enter a field of study or explore a new area of thought.
1. Ada Lovelace, born in England on December 10, 1815, is considered the world's first computer programmer.
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2. Grace Hopper, whose birthday is December 9, 1906, was an American computer programmer and Navy rear admiral. She contributed to the development of the COBOL language and is credited with popularizing the term "computer bug" in the programming community.
Grace Hopper said, "To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge."
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One of the important things about problem-solving is persevering. Sometimes you try an algorithm, or list of steps used to solve a problem, and it fails, adjust your algorithm. Try again! This strategy is called trial and error.
Check out this group below who worked collaboratively to solve a very difficult puzzle. First, they tried to solve it online. The code failed. Next, they tried to write the steps out on paper to look for a loop. That helped, but the code still failed. Finally, Mrs. Yollis gave us a small hint using the solution. That did it. The zombies ate the sunflower!
As a surprise for the class, I booked Mrs. Minnicozzi, our district tech expert, and she taught a robotics class! We applied our Blockly coding to robots!
Mrs. Minnicozzi showed us how to link blocks together on the ipad to make the robots dance.
We worked in small groups to get the bots to boogie.
After the dance competition was over, Mrs. Minnicozzi hit the road with her wagon of bots!
Students, on our Blogger blog, you can use HTML code to level up your comments. Here is some information about HTML code. Here is the HTML code for some fancy shapes. There are many more!
What do you like about coding?
What did you learn about robots from Mrs. Minnicozzi?
What are you creating?
Posts
@ Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about coding is that we can control things like robots. The app that we used is called Blockly. We used Blockly to make Dash dance. There were eleven teams. In the end, team one won and we synchronized all four of the robots to do team one's dance. It looked amazing!
What did you like about coding?
Do you like hour of code?
Your blogging pal,
Lily
@ Lily,
DeleteWhat I liked about coding was commanding robots to do cool dances on Blockly. My group forgot to test it before we went up to the rug to see all the other dances so we accidentally repeated it three times!
I would really like a Dash for Christmas.
Speaking of gifts, what was your favorite gift you got for Hanukkah?
Your blogging buddy/coding buddy,
F★ith
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post about Hour of Code. I will feature it in the next Student Blogging Challenge post.
I participated in Hour of Code with my students in grade 4/5 yesterday. We tried the Dance Party project. If you get time, you should give it a try. I think you'd love it! Here is the link https://code.org/dance
Your robots look like a lot of fun! I haven't tried using things like this myself, however, my husband is a high school teacher and he teaches robotics. It sounds like his students have a lot of fun. They use a special type of Lego. Are there any Lego fans in your class?
Best wishes from Australia,
Kathleen Morris
@Mrs. Morris,
DeleteI like to play with Legos. I have many bins filled with Legos.
I might try out the Dance Party coding. It sounds like a lot of fun. In my Girl Scout troop a guest from NASA came. We did an activity to practice coding where we had to write commands for one of my troop friends dressed up like a NASA astronaut to finish tasks that they would have to do in space. Also if I do an hour of code, it will help me earn a Girl Scout badge!
Are there any Girl Scouts in Australia?
And what are some of the most beautiful sites in Australia?
Sincerely,
Faith
Hi Faith,
DeleteThanks for a great reply! You're lucky to have so much Lego.
How exciting to have a guest from NASA! That sounds like a fun activity. I hope you earn your badge.
There is Girl Scouts in Australia, however, I don't know of anyone who does it. I think it may have been more popular in the past when I was a child. Is it a popular activity where you live?
There are many beautiful sites in Australia. I work at a school that's right near the Great Ocean Road. Perhaps you could look up a picture. It's quite stunning!
Kind regards,
Mrs Morris
@ Mrs. Morris,
DeleteI looked at pictures online of the Great Ocean Road and it is so beautiful. When my mom and I were looking at the photos we saw pictures of something called the Pole House which is a real house right on the water. Do you know who lives in that house? I also noticed on a map of the Great Ocean Road that it is on the perimeter of Australia.
Girl Scouts is a very popular activity here. We have several different Girl Scout troops at our school. Other popular activities for students are gymnastics, soccer, theater, baseball, and instruments.
Well, tomorrow is our last day of school before winter break. I'll talk to you next in 2019!
Sincerely,
Faith
Dear Faith,
DeleteI hope you're enjoying your winter break!
I'm so glad you saw pictures of the Great Ocean Road. You're right -- the Pole House is quite a talking point! I believe you can rent out the house on a site like Air BnB. That would be quite an experience!
I look forward to seeing what you get up to on your blog in the new year.
Best wishes,
Mrs Morris
Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,
ReplyDeleteWow! Programming those robots to dance looked like fun! After I found out that you guys were/are doing code, I got excited, so I started blogging. Want to know why? Because love Hour of Code and coding! When I was in Mrs. Yollis' class, Me and my friend Elie, who is also one of Mrs. Yollis' former students, made games with Javascript and code. Our classmates enjoyed them. There is so much behind coding, and some people just don't realize it. It's fun to explore the coding world. So, to sum it up, I like coding, and I think it is fun. I hope you do too.
Have fun coding and blogging!
Sincerely,
Nolan D.
@ Faith
ReplyDeleteTough choice!
My favorite gifts are Dash the robot, science kits, Harry Potter T-shirts/ backpack and other clothes.
@ Class and Faith,
What did you get for Hanukkah?
What do you want to get for Christmas?
What did you get for Christmas?
Your coding buddy,
Lily
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteCool coding! I remember doing coding in your class, and it was spectacular. And wow, robots too, that sounds fun.
Today in 5th grade we are working on all types of fun art and writing. We are looking up facts about our grandparents and their culture. Soon we will be doing a play and making food that describes where we are from.
How is Buck doing? What other fun things are you doing in your 3rd-grade class?
Sincerely,
Brianna