May the 4th Be With You Day 👨‍🚀 🛰️

For those of us that are Star Wars fans, May 4th always brings an extra smidge of fun into the classroom. I've been collecting resources for several years to use on this day while still staying true to the curriculum (although I do weave in a bit of fun too!) 

I've done my best to curate some of what I've collected into the resource board linked below and will continue to add to this resource as I continue to collect. 😀

You'll find activities for all K-5 grade levels and content areas including Seesaw activities, Kahoots, coding activities, drawing tutorials, escape Rooms, Stick Together Boards and so much more! There are 4 pages of resources organized by content area so be sure to click through all of the pages.

Click the image to access the clickable resources

Malchow's Tech Bytes👩🏻‍💻 ~ Nov 29th

 

Click image above to view larger format with clickable links

Remote Learning~ Learn to Code Choice Board

Here's another Choice Board that your students may enjoy during your school's remote learning timeframe. You'll find a Dr. Seuss choice board that I created in this post

The top row of this choice board would be appropriate for the primary grades while the remainder of the board will likely be more appropriate for the upper grades and students that have an interest in coding. 

**Please Note: The CS First sites (Create a Google Logo, Animate a Name, Code your Superhero) require students to enter a code to access. To get a code, you need to set up a free account. It's super easy & takes less than 5 minutes (I promise!). Once it's set up, your students will simply  enter your code. There's nothing more you will need to do unless you want to track their progress on the dashboard. I've included a video below to show you how to set up your acct.

Click image to access and download this file

For the links to be live, the board which is saved as a pdf, needs to be uploaded as a file, NOT as a link in Seesaw. You'll need to download the file first (click the image to access the file and download) then, watch the embedded video below for directions on how to make it work in Seesaw.

** Please know that sharing settings for all documents are set to Open by Anyone with the Link. **

If you are being asked to request access, please check with you IT department 

as the message below is what I get when trying trying to give you access.

Malchow's Tech Bytes 👩🏻‍💻~ December 2nd~ Hour of Code Edition ⏰📱

Sorry for the late arrival of this week's newsletter. Our most recent snowstorm here in WI messed with my internet and made if difficult if not impossible to upload files last night so I'm playing catch up tonight with my newsletter and EpicPals. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

This week's Tech Bytes has resources for next week's Hour of Code/Computer Science Week. I hope by having these resources a week in advance will give you a chance to investigate and plan something for your students!

Click image to access clickable links

Malchow's Tech Bytes 👩🏻‍💻~ End of the Year

As we send our students off, many parents ask for ideas on things that their child can do. With that in mind, this week's Tech Bytes offers something a little different.....
How about offering your students a variety of coding activities, sites, and resources that your students can access over the summer months? The link image below will take you to the normal Tech Bytes slidedeck where I've also included a pdf file of this page that you can download and then easily share with parents via Seesaw or email. All links are hyperlinked for parents and in PDF format they will still work. 

This is the last Tech Bytes of the 2018-19 school year. 

Malchow's Tech Bytes ~ April 22

Malchow's Tech Bytes ~ April 22nd 

👩🏻‍💻 Malchow's Tech Bytes~ Dec 2nd

It's Hour of Code Week! Take some time this week to introduce your students to the excitement of coding!!! Lots of resources this week that you can implement even if your own knowledge base is limited.

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ Dec 2nd

😎 Malchow's Tech Bytes ~ May 29th 😎

Hard to believe that another school year is coming to a close!! This week you'll find the final edition of this year's Tech Bytes newsletter. Thank you to all that have supported me in this endeavor and who have provided feedback along the way. This "project" has certainly become a labor of love and one that has helped me grow as a connected educator in addition to increasing my bag of tricks, tips and resources as well.
Have a wonderful summer everyone and if you happen to be going to ISTE- let me know!

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ May 29th, 2018

Tech Bytes Vol. 31~ Global Collaboration 🌎

Hi all! Are you looking to connect your class globally? You'll find several resources to help you out this week! Global learning opportunities aren't just fun, they allow your students to learn from others while connecting to an authentic audience and building empathy and understanding!! Global learning doesn't have to be complicated... come see for yourself!!!

Malchow's Tech Bytes, Volume 31~ April 30-May 4th

Malchow's Tech Bytes, Edition 30 ~ April 23rd

Edition 30 of Malchow's Tech Bytes~ April 23-27

Tech Bytes~ March 12-16th

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ March 12th

Tech Bytes~ ❤️ Valentine's Day Edition ❤️

Malchow's Tech Bytes ~ Valentine's Day Edition

Made With Code

Coding is such an integral part of what we should be teaching letting our students experience! Unfortunately, many of us (myself included) are intimidated by what we don't know. This shouldn't stop us from giving our students the experiences that may open doors to their futures!

As I was digging around looking for additional resources to enhance our coding curriculum, I came across Google's Made With Code website. (You can also follow on Twitter, @madewithcode). 

This site offers a variety of projects that give students the opportunity to utilize coding skills by creating things such as a holiday emoji, coding a Yeti to dance, helping a robot to care for his plants, creating a soundtrack, and SO. MUCH. MORE!! 

Here's an example of the holiday emoji project. I love how the block formatting offers plenty of support for early coders, but also allows students the ability to investigate how changes in the code affect their creation. When students finish their creation, they not only have the ability to share it with others, but they also are shown what coding concepts they have utilized.

Holiday emoji project

Martin Luther King Day Resources~ Tech Bytes Jan 8th

Tech Bytes~ Jan 8th

Next week Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

How can you make the world a better place? Check out this weeks' Tech Bytes for a variety of resources you can use in your classroom including a collaborative Flipgrid that your students can add to. Responses are moderated to be sure that content is appropriate. I hope that you'll check it out! 

Tech Bytes Dec 11-15

Have you tried the new Seesaw Activities feature? Did you know that you can now share your activities with others simply by sharing the Activity link? Check out two fantastic coding resources that you can add to your Seesaw activity library this week. Just click on the images to see how easy it is!!

Malchow's Tech Bytes ~ Dec 11-15

Hour of Code 2017

Is your class participating in the Hour of Code next week? Not sure what it's all about? Check out the video below and then commit to having your class take part next week.  

Ready to jump in? Try a one hour tutorial designed for ALL ages in over 45 languages!! My first graders loved taking part in the Hour of Code and really enjoyed working through the Minecraft activity. (The one on the Code.org website has been updated and is now listed for grades 2+). 

If you're not familiar with coding, DON'T let it hinder you from giving your students a chance to try it. You'll be surprised at what your students will figure out on their own. You may even be surprised at which of your students grasp the concepts right away. It never ceased to amaze me how some of my struggling students were the ones that excelled at coding. What a wonderful opportunity for ALL students to experience growth mindset, critical thinking, and problem solving... all while opening doors to their futures. 

Check out this week's Tech Bytes newsletter for a variety of resources to get you going. Who knows, you may decide that you'll even want to continue beyond next week! If that's the case, Code.org has a wonderful, FREE curriculum that you can use. Check out the Beyond an Hour of Code website.

Malchow's Tech Bytes~ Hour of Code Edition

Still wondering why you should invest in the time to teach coding? Check out the 10 reasons below by Brian Aspinall.

Malchow's Tech Bytes Sept 18-22

This week brings with it some resources for the Global Read Aloud. If you're not familiar with it, please check it out. It's a fantastic way to enjoy great literature with your students while also creating connections and collaboration opportunities outside of your classroom walls. Here are some of my prior posts about the Global Read Aloud.

Malchow's Tech Bytes

Setting up your Code.org class

Are you wanting to get started with coding but forgot how to set up a Code.org class? Click on either of the images below to access the How To posters I've created to help you out. (If you are not in the Pulaski school district, these posters will still be helpful but you'll need to adjust Step 4 to the course that your district/grade level utilizes.)  

Click image to access the How To poster

I'll also be offering two Apple Core sessions on Getting Comfy with Coding where we'll go over these directions and give you time to set up your class in addition to giving you a few tips and tidbits as well as some time to dig into the curriculum and plan for your upcoming lessons. The first Getting Comfy With Coding class will be held on Tuesday, October 3rd at 3:30 in the Glenbrook library.

Code.org shortcut for littles

Are you using Code.org with your kiddos? Are you a Seesaw loving & using class?

If so, follow these simple directions to find your code.org classroom specific code and add it to Seesaw. This is a great way for younger students to easily access your code.org account. For an added bonus, have your kiddos take a picture of their login picture and save it to the Seesaw folder. Now kiddos can easily access Code.org from home as well and if they forget their code they can easily find it in their Seesaw folder.