December 8-14 was Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code was in Kansas City! Belvidere joined the HoC community by hosting a building wide Hour of Code event last week. All students, grades K-5, at Belvidere Elementary participated in the HoC event. 

Belvidere is one of the few elementary schools in Missouri who hosted a school wide Hour of Code event.

The Hour of Code is organized by Code.org, trying to expand participation in computer science by making it available in more schools. HoC reaches tens of millions of students all over the world, providing an introduction to computer science. HoC gives students the opportunity to learn about the basics of computer science, helping nurture their problem-solving skills, logic and creativity.

On Friday, December 12, Belvidere Elementary organized an HoC event for their students during their school assembly. The first part of the event included a live demonstration of how code works and how it plays a big part in the games that kids play today, like Angry Birds. After the introduction/demonstration, students returned to their classrooms to access the HoC tutorials on the Code.org website.

Participate in the Hour of Code by hosting an HoC event. Sign up here and start planning!

Teachers all over the Grandview District are starting to flip their content.  Flipped classes allow for students to learn content, at their own pace, outside of school. Students are engaged and classroom time is freed up for more in depth practice and application of knowledge. Take a look at the statistics for Clintondale High School in Clinton Township, MI who started flipping their classes.

But flipping your classroom doesn't need to happen all at once. Once you have picked your learning management system, start out with a few lessons for you and your students, to get comfortable with the idea. This is exactly what Elizabeth Reicher, a music teacher at Martin City, is doing.  She wanted a way for her 4th grade students to learn and practice their recorder at home. She decided to use Edmodo as her learning management system to post helpful websites, documents, and lectures for her students to access. She uses Explain Everything, an app on her iPad to record her lectures. Check out Elizabeth's first attempt at flipping a lecture, all decked out with music!

Since this is something new for both the students and Mrs. Reicher, she is taking it one step at a time. She first asked students to simply log in and post that they have logged on and now she is currently taking it one step further by posting review videos for their next music assessment. What about the students that don't have internet access at home? Mrs. Reicher is creating DVD's to send home with students that include the videos they will need to watch.  Mrs. Reicher will tell you that flipping her classroom has been a slow process, but will continue to add more elements throughout the year.

What are your thoughts on flipping your classroom? What ways have you flipped your classroom?  We want to hear your experiences; the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Click comments below to respond.

Diane (Stephanchick) DeLaTorre