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December 2022 Updates

12/19/2022

 
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CodeJoy FREE interactive virtual field trip sessions for students!

Join Kelsey and Matt the Robot from CodeJoy for an interactive virtual field trip session for STUDENTS - scheduled at YOUR convenience! Student participants watch as their code controls real robots in the CodeJoy studio - LIVE!
 
WHO: 3rd – 8th grade classes
WHAT: CodeJoy Student Sessions
  • There's still space available for Robot Rovers in January 2023!
  • No coding experience or robots needed – just Chromebooks or computers
WHERE: Online. You’ll be sent the link to connect after you register
WHEN: January 2023

LEARN MORE: Head to CodeJoy Virtual Student Sessions to learn more about the sessions and read testimonials from teachers.

REGISTER: Click HERE to view available Robot Rovers sessions and learn how to register.​​

CodeJoy Teacher PD

Virtual PD with Hummingbird, Finch, and Micro:bit
Looking for some entry-level teacher PD (no prior coding experience needed) to learn some basic computer science, coding and robotics? Join Kelsey and Matt the Robot from CodeJoy for this FREE, online professional development opportunity!

WHO: ABC CREATE and ARIN IU 3rd – 12th grade educators 
WHAT: CodeJoy is offering a variety of 3-hour, entry-level PD sessions for teachers who are new to CS, coding or robotics
WHEN: Sessions available January - March 2023! 
WHERE: Online on Zoom

WOW: Stipend and free Robot for ABC CREATE and ARIN IU educators who participate!
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

Using Hummingbird Bit Inputs

Have you already introduced your students to Hummingbird Bit and basic programming of LED’s and servos? Are you interested in learning more about Hummingbird Bit inputs like light sensors, distance sensors and accelerometers? Join Kelsey and Matt from CodeJoy for this FREE, 3-hour, online professional development!

WHO: ABC CREATE and ARIN IU 3rd – 12th grade educators who have already been introduced to Hummingbird outputs, such as LED’s and Servos, and want to further explore using Hummingbird inputs, such as light sensors, distance sensors and accelerometers
WHAT: CodeJoy, 3-hour, online professional development 
WHEN: 
  • Distance and Light Sensors: Wednesday, March 1, 5:45 - 8:45 PM
  • Dial Sensors and Accelerometers: Tuesday, March 14, 4:00 - 7:00 PM
WHERE: Online on Zoom

​WOW:  Stipend for ABC CREATE and ARIN IU educators who participate!
LEARN MORE
REGISTER

BOTLUCKS: ROBOT POTLUCKS 

Please join us for this FREE, 2-hour professional development to meet up, in-person, with other teachers who are using micro:bits, Hummingbirds and/or Finch robots in their classrooms. Share your ideas, ask questions and learn more about coding and using these resources in your instruction. You’ll be glad you came!

WHO: ABC CREATE and ARIN IU educators (any grade level) who who are using or planning to use micro:bits, Hummingbird Bits and/or Finch robots in their classroom instruction
WHAT: 2-hour, in-person “meet-up” 
WHEN: There are 5 sessions available; 3 at PSNK and 2 at ARIN IU. All sessions are scheduled for February, March and April 2023.
WHERE: You choose the location that works best for you: Penn State New Kensington or ARIN IU
WOW: Stipend for ABC CREATE and ARIN IU educators who participate!
LEARN MORE
REGISTER

XR Foundations for Educators

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XR Foundations for Educators is a hands-on and engaging professional development opportunity designed to give you the confidence to use new technologies to engage your students and prepare them for the future
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Upon completion of the course, educators are issued a certificate indicating 16 contact hours. XR Foundations for Educators can be completed at your own pace over the 2022-2023 school year and into the summer.

Live support is available as you continue to work on projects you can share with your students.

Discover how XR positively impacts education, learn how to create Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences for students, and begin incorporating new technologies into classrooms.

​This course is for you
  • if you are searching for new strategies to engage and inspire students
  • ​if you are interested in personally experiencing XR apps and platforms
  • if you want to build familiarity with new technology to help improve students’ learning experiences and outcomes
  • if  you are interested in joining a community of like-minded teachers

​XR Terra, in partnership with the Verizon Foundation, is excited to bring this professional development opportunity to educators at no cost. We invite you to learn about XR (Extended Reality) and how it fits into our classrooms.
LEARN MORE AND ENROLL

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Empowered Educators 2023 - Save the Dates!

Carnegie Museum of Art is excited to announce the 2023 Empowered Educators series. Empowered Educators is a forum where educators discuss issues of race, equality, and bias through visual art, literature, and personal writing and reflection. The primary objective of Empowered Educators is to build a community of informed teachers as learners who benefit from resources and an exchange of ideas with guest experts and each other to better serve Western Pennsylvania's students. Carnegie Museum of Art is pleased to partner with the Western Pennsylvania Writing Center, the Center for Urban Education at Pitt, and the PittEd Justice Collective to make this program possible.
 
All Empowered Educators sessions are free. Registration information for January will be coming soon. Teachers who attend are eligible to earn Act 48 hours.
 
SAVE THE DATES:
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Thursday, May 18, 2023

TIME: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
PLACE: Carnegie Museum of Art

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​AI and STEAM - Insights and Recommendations
Rachelle Dene Poth (a Spanish and STEAM teacher from Riverview -
​and so much more!)

OpenAI and ChatGPT are having an impact in education with their uses for generating essays, writing code, and so much more.  Rachelle has been testing it out and recently co-authored a blog post for Getting Smart "Education is about to radically change: AI for the masses" and also recorded a quick podcast episode about ChatGPT that explains it and its implications for education and work. 

You can also check out Rachelle’s Learning as I go this Thursday for the upcoming guest blog post by Dr. Torrey Trust, an Associate Professor of Learning Technology in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The guest blog post will focus on Teaching History/Social Studies in the Era of AI Writing Tools.

Rachelle’s Recently Recommended Resources


AI Coach from Edthena is great to work with for personal observations and learning; it’s  definitely an awesome way to interact and get support for teaching. It allows you to see how the chatbot works and how it pulls your reflections together.  I also really like how it helps us to better understand the capabilities of AI as far as collaborative learning and coaching. Here is the link for a free trial access to AI Coach: edthena.com/try/aicoach/rachelle.  Please share it with your colleagues and also any student/pre-service teachers.

​Another great resource is Marty the Robot, a humanoid that can be coded screen-free with color cards but also using the app with text-based and block-based coding. This is another great opportunity to bring in STEM, PBL, SEL and better understand how AI is programmed.  You can also request to try Marty out too!   I have Marty and absolutely love it!  I just did a few sessions in TN this past week and everyone loved seeing the AI Coach and also Marty's moves! ​


​Teachers and Administrators, apply for a FREE Community of Practice series of webinars to better understand the shift required in implementing the new PA STEELS, 3D Science Standards
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ENGINE 3D STEELS Educator Community of Practice
ENGINE of Central PA is leading a STEELS Community of Practice to support 3-dimensional teaching and learning for K-12 teachers.  We’d love to have someone from ABC CREATE​ join in - especially if you’re able to share back your learnings with ABC CREATE educators.  Feel free to mention ABC CREATE in your application!

    * Are you excited to learn about the new PA STEELS standards?
    * Are you eager to engage your students in STEM research-based learning?
    * Are you looking to build and test phenomenon-based lessons?
    * Are you ready to be a trailblazer in shifting K-12 science instruction?

Then, we encourage you to apply to join the ENGINE 3-D STEELS CoP.

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Logo Foundation Upcoming Saturday Morning Workshops

Creative computing workshops. Small fee to attend.  ABC CREATE district teachers, email [email protected] to cover cost. Our partner, Tom Lauwers from BirdBrain Technologies, will lead the sessions on January 7 and 14.

January 7, 2023 - 10:00 am to noon EST
Hands-on Artificial Intelligence for middle schoolers: Using Machine Learning models to control games and robots in Snap!Click here to find out more...

January 14, 2023 - 10:00 am to noon EST
Remote Programming of Finch and Hummingbird Robots.Click here to find out more...

January 21, 2023 - 10:00 am to noon EST
TurtleArt: Techniques and Styles.


Student Opportunity


What:
 BUILD’s Design Challenge and Youth Pitch Competition


Why: Fantastic opportunity for students to build entrepreneurial skills and to dip their toes into entrepreneurship along with a chance to win prize money to support their business idea!
​
Who: Seeking small (2-6 students) teams of 9-12th graders + a faculty member who are interested and able to participate in this competition!
​
When: Pitch Deadline - March 15  and Pitch Competition - April 20

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Wow: PSNK is actively supporting BUILD Pennsylvania as they seek to grow their presence in their Southwest Pennsylvania. In addition to support provided through BUILD, PSNK, through the Corner Launchbox, can provide supplemental coaching & mentoring to ABC CREATE and other local teams.

Anyone interested in participating, or who is curious and wants more information, please reach out directly to Joanna Sutton, [email protected], Innovation Coordinator, Corner LaunchBox, Penn State New Kensington.

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    REGISTER SOON!

    CodeJoy FREE Summer PD with Infosys
    Space is Limited - Register Soon!
    ​REGISTER


    Animatronics Unleashed with CodeJoy and BirdBrain
    April 15, 2025
    ​REGISTER


    CodeJoy Creative Circuits
    May 13, 2025
    ​REGISTER

    Practical AI in the Classroom with Robotics
    Register by May 31, 2025
    REGISTER
    ​
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Connect with us:

 Melinda Spampinato
ABC CREATE Educational Consultant
​
[email protected] | ​724-334-6138
Penn State New Kensington
3550 7th Street Road
New Kensignton, PA 15068
  • HOME
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