Day 1

Session 7: Resources and Support

35 minutes

lesson exploration

Purpose

The purpose of this session is for participants to find key tools needed to implement and support a CS Fundamentals classroom.

Objectives

  • Participants will use features in the teacher dashboard to create a class section.
  • Participants will locate and identify curriculum resources.
  • Participants will locate support and help when using the Code.org website and resources.

Supplies & Prep

Room Setup:

  • Participants sitting in groups of four.

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Materials:

Agenda

Overview (2 minutes)

Teacher Dashboard (15 minutes)

Curriculum Resources (11 minutes)

Help and Support (3 minutes)

Next Steps (4 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Overview (2 minutes)

Remarks

During this session we will take a look at what’s available:

  • on the Code.org main website
  • for teacher and student facing curriculum resources
  • for help and support

During this time we will use and explore what’s available to help us prepare with implementing and teaching CS Fundamentals. In addition, we will locate where to find the help and support we may need after the workshop. At the end of the session, we will take some time to think about what steps we may each need to take in order to begin using CS Fundamentals in our classrooms.

Provide participants with a brief overview of what they can find on the Code.org website such as

  • Links at the top left of the webpage: Learn, Teach, Projects, Stats, Help Us, and About
  • Links on the top right of the webpage: Sign in, create, help and support, report a problem.
    • Encourage participants to explore what each link provides during a break or after the workshop to learn more about Code.org.

Teacher Dashboard (15 minutes)

(3 minutes) Teacher Dashboard Overview

Remarks

During this session will access the teacher dashboard (make sure to log in to the Code.org website), identify it's features, and create a class section.

  • Q: What is the teacher dashboard?
  • A: The teacher dashboard contains tools for checking on and evaluating students’ work, as well as managing the students in a particular section.

Facilitator Tip

Consider sharing specific examples of how you use and engage with the teacher dashboard. Invite participants who may be familiar with the teacher dashboard to also share examples.

The teacher dashboard allows you to:

  • Add a new classroom section
  • Choose how to add students
  • Consider students’ ages to use either picture or word logins, school email addresses
  • Connect your Code.org class with Google Classroom or Clever
  • View and manage your classroom sections
  • Access and find courses
  • Access resources
    • Lesson Plans
    • Curriculum standards
    • Connect with the teacher community
  • Share and hide lessons
  • Join a class section - you’re in one now!
    • Share with participants that joining the class section with a code allows them to use the course features and curriculum resources before having a class section of their own.

(12 minutes) Using the Teacher Dashboard

Share with participants that if they need additional support creating a class section, to reach out to you during the Lesson Planning session or part of their break, as well as to reach out to other participants.

(12 minutes) Creating a Class Section

Facilitator Tip

Share with participants more details of the curriculum are shared in the Lesson Planning session.

Help participants with using the teacher dashboard to create a class section:

  • Walk participants through the steps of creating a class section and share the video as a reference to use after the workshop.
  • Video, “Creating Sections”, an additional resource to refer to after the workshop.

In addition, consider the following:

  • Having participants work individually to set up a section.
  • Having participants work in pairs to discuss and share their learning, as they individually set up a section.

Curriculum Resources (11 minutes)

(1 minute) Curriculum Resources Overview

Remarks

This is an introduction to the curriculum resources and we will locate where to access lesson plans and lessons, as well as preview the lesson plans and lessons. You will have more time to further explore the curriculum resources during the next session focused on lesson planning.

  • Lessons on the computer are built into the Code.org site and are where students engage with “levels.”
  • Levels are for students to practice building CS skills, create projects, watch videos, and engage in lesson extras (more to come).
  • Built-in features in the lessons for both the teacher and students include:
    • The teacher panel to view the page as a teacher or student.
    • Translated lessons in multiple languages.
      • Note: The most current version of the translated curriculum will be made available.

(6 minutes) Exploring Curriculum Resources

Participants access and preview lesson plans and corresponding lesson levels on the Code.org website. Walk participants through navigating and locating lesson plans:

  • Sign-in to Code.org
  • Click on “Course Catalog” link on the top left side
  • Scroll down to “Full Course Catalog”
  • Click on “Learn More” within the Elementary School tile
  • Scroll down to the courses and choose a course
  • Click on “View Course” to go to the course overview page
  • Choose the lesson to plan for
  • Click on “View Lesson Plan” on the right side

Remind participants another opportunity to explore curriculum resources is provided during the “Lesson Planning” session.

Invite participants to make notes about:

  • the type of resources they find (e.g. student handouts, slide deck, answer key, videos)
  • any questions or ideas that come to their mind as they explore
  • the links available in the slide deck to use as a reference to further explore after the workshop

(4 minutes) Check-in: Curriculum Resources

(1 minute) Refer participants to the statement, “I found the following lesson plan resources,” and ask for a quick thumbs up or use another way for participants to indicate a response to the statement.

  • Student handouts, answer key, videos
    • Some lessons and courses also include slide decks, assessments, end of course rubrics and project guides.
    • Share with participants that not all courses have the resources listed, as some resources are not appropriate for younger students.

(3 minutes) Help participants with any questions or locating specific resources.

  • Encourage participants who have answers to questions being asked or know where to find specific resources to share out during this time.

Facilitator Tip

Encourage participants to help each other navigate lesson plans and levels. Share with participants more details of the curriculum are shared in the Lesson Planning session.

Invite participants to share any questions or ideas that came up for them as they explored the lesson plans and levels.

  • Segue into the “Help and Support” that follows based on questions to support participants in finding help to answer their own questions and questions they may have after the workshop.

Help and Support (3 minutes)

Remarks

Code.org provides help and support and also appreciates getting help and support from you. One of Code.org’s values is being agile and responsive to feedback. Please feel free to report any bugs you may encounter as you and your students use the website, curriculum resources, and lesson levels. In addition, a teacher forum is available to get ideas, share ideas, and build community around implementing and teaching CS Fundamentals. Lastly, visit Code.org Support Articles to search responses for common issues and questions.

Facilitator Tip

This section of the session is to provide participants with resources they can refer to during and after the workshop, not to discuss each link. Share with participants they can search the Code.org Support Articles for help with a specific issue.

Share with participants the help and support available from Code.org include the following:

Next Steps (4 minutes)

(1 minute) Participants individually think about the following prompt. Encourage participants to make notes or a list to refer to after the workshop.

  • Journal Prompts
    • What resources do you plan to further explore after this workshop?
    • Based on the grades you teach, what course(s) do you plan on teaching?

Facilitator Tip

Invite participants to add remaining questions generated at the end of the session to the Question Parking Lot.

Share when these questions will be addressed throughout the workshop.

(3 minutes) Invite participants to share responses to the prompts.