Miss Bee's Books

https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=slj-reviews-kid-friendly-robots-dash-and-dot-test-drive There are countless ways to teach coding to children. Not just websites and apps, but hardware too.  Dash and Dot are two programmable robots created by Wonder Workshop to get elementary-aged children started with coding.  Using the scaffolded apps, users can create increasingly complex code to program the robots to make sounds, flash colored lights, move attachable arms, and navigate paths.  Of the two robots, only Dash is mobile.  The robots have been around for several years and have amassed a satisfying library of lessons available on blogs, the web,  Pinterest,  and Youtube.  In a brilliant marketing strategy, Wonder Workshop has curated much of this content on their own website and social media.  Wonder Workshop also hosts a  virtual competition  every year, which encourages long-term, iterative, and team-based problem solving.  ...

Nothing strikes fear into some people's hearts like the word "coding".  It is enigmatic, complex, and  the new skill for children to learn.  Past ISTE Librarian's Network President, Nikki Robertson, states that teaching coding is "tantamount to teaching reading, writing, and mathematics" (2019).  And she is not alone in that view: Tufts professor Marina Umaschi Bers believes   "coding is a way to achieve literacy in the 21st century". With coding's emphasis on problem solving, it teaches children to manage frustration, to persevere through challenges, to collaborate with others, and to think creatively (2017). In this increasingly technological world, children need to learn coding. School librarians and media specialists, as technological leaders, are in the perfect position to teach it to them. https://ccsuconed.wordpress.com/2017/06/28/5-reasons-kids-should-learn-to-code/ But what if the technological leader doesn't know how to ...

"Being a connector is like being a weaver of a learning web for students." (Cromartie & Burns, 2019). By I, Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3626879 Cromartie and Burns' article in the May 2019 issue of  Knowledge Quest  acknowledges that the role of librarian has been different in the past and calls for school librarians to shift their mindset for the present. Though written about the AASL standards, this article could easily pertain to the ISTE standards.  Both sets of standards focus on supporting learners by helping them create knowledge instead of feeding it to them.  In the past, librarians have been keepers of knowledge, collectors of materials, and enforcers of rules.  The AASL standards, and ISTE standards alike, require more fluidity from educators.  It is the educator's job to provide tools that encourage inquiry, creativity, and exploration.  The ISTE standards for educators ...