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Carpool Karaoke Edu Edition Episode 4
If I Don’t Hand in My Work, It Is Still Good
Last week I listened to 14 educators from Ontario who were brave enough to stand in front of 100+ and give a five minute Ignite Talk. I am truly inspired by the passion that radiates from these fine folks. Members of the audience travelled from afar, some even came after work just to listen […]
The Value of Genius Hour
This week I was reflecting on my experience with Genius Hour and whether or not a scheduled one hour per week was sufficient. If you are familiar with the work of Seymour Papert, he didn’t much care for computer labs as scheduled events. Papert would make claims like “we don’t go to the pencil […]
Carpool Karaoke Edu Edition Episode 1
Why not. I hope to capture my learning as well as the reflections of others across the country and beyond. A few have reached out via twitter to offer a passenger service and some have even emailed. If I am going to be in or around your city, let’s go for a drive! Subscribe to […]
Makey Makey Whack A Mole
It really is amazing what you can accomplish with a simple idea, a few alligator clips, tin foil, some curiosity and a sense of wonder. Check out the Makey Makey Whack A Mole game! For more lessons, activities and ideas, grab a copy of my book, Code Breaker, on Amazon here! TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedinemailReddit
Become a Certified Makey Makey Educator!
We love seeing the things educators and their classes invent – they bring us closer to a world built by everyone exploring their ideas and reinventing the things around us. Makey Makey is perfect for the classroom. Students can invent projects that combine the tactile materials of the classroom with the coding projects they’re […]
Meet Avusta – My Assistive Technology Micro:Bit Robot
Happy Computer Science Education Week
Genius Hour – Looking Back to Move Forward
The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it. Source: http://www.aneverydaystory.com/beginners-guide-to-reggio-emilia/main-principles/ […]
Hello World – A Coding Journey!
Follow me on a year long journey exploring coding in Canadian schools. This video is a part of the requirements for my MPED Capstone project at Western University. This documentary will recount a full year in review from my perspective (and recording on my phone) and will explore the grassroots coding movement across Canada from […]
The Importance of Mental Health: Remembering Amy Winehouse
When Back to Black landed 10 years ago today (October 27, 2006), some dismissed Winehouse as little more than a novelty. Here was a tatted-up, boozed-out Brit bringing hip-hop vernacular into vintage American R&B. Even her name — conveniently abbreviated to “Wino” by the U.K. press — made her appear a cartoon character, a switchblade […]
So long, Vine
Coding an Unfair Coin Simulator With MicroBit
In this activity we will code an unfair coin to demonstrate probability with the MicroBit. It was announced this morning that MicroBit is launching an educational foundation and educators across the globe will be able to get their hands on this gadget. As such, we will build a quick app to demonstrate an unfair coin. […]
Coding an App: Perfect Squares and Square Roots
In this activity we will build an app that 1) generates the first 10 perfect squares and 2) prompts the user to determine the square root of one of them, chosen at random. To begin, create a variable. I have named mine counter. Set counter to 1 to begin and setup the loop structure as […]
Coding an Interactive Map of Canada
In this activity we are going to code an interactive map of Canada. Thanks to Ryan Smith (@ryan_psmith) for the lesson plan. This. Totally This. https://t.co/bDapD4WPxM — Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall) October 16, 2016 The Scratch app will detect what colour your mouse cursor is hovering and reveal the appropriate Province or Territory. In […]
Coding the Pythagorean Theorem #CodeBreaker
In this activity we will build an app that determines the hypotenuse when given side lengths of a right angle triangle. Check out the activity below: For more lessons, activities and ideas, grab a copy of my book, Code Breaker, on Amazon here! TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedinemailReddit
Maker is a Culture, Not a Space
Makerspace is a growing trend in education that requires aligned pedagogical beliefs and philosophies, but unfortunately gets implemented without much foundation, research or understanding of constructivism. Maker culture leans heavily on the idea of constructivism – that is, the notion that learning is best done through doing. “I am convinced that the best learning takes […]
#HackLearning – Tabletop Arcade Project #STEM
In this activity we are going to mod a Ms. Pac Man TV game, iCade, batteries and wire to make a tabletop arcade. Materials: Ms. Pac Man Plug N Play TV Game iCade Speaker Wire Speaker Paint 5″ LCD Monitor To begin, I had to disassemble the Pac Man toy. I was careful not to […]
Brian Aspinall on STEM and Transformative Learning #FCLedu
Coding a Simulator: Particle Theory & Heat
In this activity we are coding a particle theory simulator using Geometry that shows how particles speed up when heated. Source: http://static.nsta.org/files/ss1403_10.pdf Big Ideas: Computational Thinking (Debugging, Logical Reasoning, Spatial Sense) Geometry (Location & Movement) Science (Viscosity, Flow Rate, Particle Theory) TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedinemailReddit
Connect – Canada’s Learning & Technology Conference
Technology Gives All Kids a Fair Chance
Sigh. Last week someone very near and dear to me reached out for some advice. Her son has just begun High School and is adjusting to the new workload. He hadn’t experienced much with regards to homework in elementary school so this was a bit of a shift, among everything else. The homework assignment he […]
For all the kids who grow up in a small town and think they don’t stand a chance. You do. I was once that kid.