technology
GIRLSONLY CODING CLUB NURTURED LEADERSHIP SKILLS Ruth Eichholtz, DP mathematics Teacher, The York School, Ontario, Canada
iTUNES U ENABLED DEEPER INQUIRY
AP/Press Association Images; Nicholas Jardeleza
Arif Minhal, former MYP-DP Teacher of humanities and history, Choithram International, India My fellow teachers and I used iTunes U to help organize lessons for my MYP class, and I found it to be a great experience for everybody involved. After creating an Apple account, we set up a new course on the iTunes U system and the school ICT team then helped students sign up. As the students joined the course, they received an overview of what they would be studying throughout the year. They also had access to a folder with general information and guides about that particular subject, and a folder dedicated to assignments and homework. We were really fortunate at Choithram International in that everybody had an iPad to work on, so everybody could access iTunes U whenever they needed to. iTunes U also has a discussion button, which loads a virtual forum for a particular assignment or homework task for students to complete. This enabled group discussion, deeper inquiry and collaborative problem solving. Keeping students virtually connected was particularly helpful during their winter break project, where they studied a topic of their choice based on tradition and culture. We posted the instructions and a selection of shared resources they could use onto iTunes U, so everybody had an easy reference point to find out what was
App brings classes together
required of them. It also gave them a platform to collaborate, which was essential, considering this was a team assignment. Each member of the group was able to keep track of what information they were gathering and reflect on how it related to the topic. Using iTunes U made the winter break project really straightforward for the students to complete. All they had to do was connect to the internet and everything was there for them. Having this technology made the collaboration seamless, allowing the students to really focus on and go deeper into the inquiry.
SIDDHARTH JAMAD MYP4 STUDENT
iTunes U enabled us to come together on the project, despite being miles away from each other. The software helped us complete our work without too much stress, which would have stopped us from enjoying our vacations!
Book Creator
ClassDoJo
iTunes or Google Play
classdojo.com
Turn your students into authors using this app, which allows users to create eBooks and PDFs.
As an IB Diploma Programme mathematics Teacher, I am always looking for new ways to engage girls in the STEM disciplines. I was approached by a female student who wanted to study programming. Since our school doesn’t offer computer sciences at IB Diploma Programme level, I decided to start a girls-only coding club called GirlTech, as girls had previously been intimidated by mixed groups. In the first year, 13 students joined the club! At GirlTech, the students learn coding, serve as active leaders within our school community and network with female professionals in STEM careers. The mentorship element is designed to give students an idea of the diverse career opportunities existing in these fields. At The York School, we’re fortunate enough to have an alumna who is now employed by technology company Google and she put us in touch with the local offices. The Google staff were incredible mentors to the girls during our visit. Throughout the day, they were introduced to many female software engineers and managers, hearing about their career paths, courses of study, job responsibilities and daily work lives. They participated in a workshop on sorting algorithms, and had an extensive Q&A session with managers and software
Free to use for teachers, this website makes it easier to communicate with students and parents.
developers. We also got a tour of the offices at the end of the day. Inspired by our visit to Google, our students came up with an idea for an app. So far, they have outlined their initial scope of work, and have started on the initial design. We plan to continue the project into the autumn, with hopes to launch the app in the 2015-16 academic year.
Girls-only coding clubs encourage STEM uptake
JULIE JENKINS GRADE 12 STUDENT
Google does things differently. From the basketball court to the free food, we found Google to be a playful work environment which supported a balanced lifestyle. Google appeared to be not just investing in their product, but the people who worked there, fostering a sense of community which inspired employees to live happier and more productive work lives. Overall, being at Google challenged our perceptions of what a work environment was, and gave us new ideas for what a work environment could be.
Endless Alphabet Google Play or iTunes
Aimed at younger PYP students, this app teaches children basic literacy using lovable animated monsters.
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