Make Create Educate

What is Binary? Binary is a base 2 numbering system. It uses 2 numbers 0 and 1 to count and is used by computers to transmit information. 1 digit is a bit. 8 digits is a byte. More information about Binary How does binary work? This video shows how Binary works. Need another explanation? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD6lcIIOeic Curriculum links There is a requirement for all Australian schools to teach Binary from year 5-8. States not using the Australian Curriculum will have modified versions of what is required but binary is mentioned in both year 5-6 and year 7-8. If you are using a document that is based on the Australian Curriculum try searching your document for the AC codes below. In primary years primary often makes sense when taught following a base 10 lesson. Discuss the structure of the base 10 system and then introduce the binary system. Below there are resources both online and offline that can be used to teach this concept. Year...

Coding the latest buzz word There is an international movement to teach coding in schools, everyone is talking about coding, the media , schools , not-for-profits , summer camps , women's magazines . The difficulty is the responsibility for integrating coding into the curriculum falls on the teachers who are not all equipped with the skills to teach coding.  Why? Teaching coding skills is not about teaching everyone to be a programmer. It is about digital literacy and ensuring all students understand how technology works. It also teaches a thinking style referred to as "Computational Thinking". Computational Thinking  (CT) is the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer—human or machine—can effectively carry out.  (Jeanette Wing 2-14) ( Source ) It was first referred by Seymour Papert in 1980 and then in 1996 and it is an important thinking style for solving complex problems.   ( Sourc...

How do you make the Rock Cycle Interesting? I love geology, I think it is amazing the problem is not many people do. Making the rock cycle interesting without a field trip to Uluru or the Blue Mountains is even more difficult. I based my lesson on a YouTube I found by Chad Ackerson . He explains the rock cycle beautifully as he demonstrates the lesson. During my lesson I played the YouTube and pressed pause at each stage of the cycle. Goal: Investigate the Rock Cycle. Prelearning: 1 lessons Research different types of rocks Preparation You will need to cut up 4 lollies into 9 pieces each for the teacher prior to the lesson. Melt 18 of the pieces prior to the lesson so it has time to cool. Keep 18 pieces for the lesson Materials/Resources 3 packets of star burst lollies (2 lollies per student + 4 for the teacher) Groups of 2 Baking Paper - one piece per student 4 coloured pencils Washed scissors. Washed hands Worksheet  - one per student ...

On Monday the 23rd February I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the K-12 Education program at Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie Campus. How exciting for Port Macquarie to have a permanent university campus for 2000 students.  Current education students and local educators were invited to the launch where Dr Noella Mackenzie spoke on teaching literacy in the K-12 classroom. My notes and thoughts on the lecture. As an educator it is important to understand the continuity of learning.  Any classroom can contain students with a range of reading ages. For example one year I had a year 4 class (9yo) with a reading age range of 5-16years. In secondary there are often students who struggle with reading and there may be students with low reading ages. So, it is crucial that all teachers primary and secondary have an understanding of the continuity of learning in literacy regardless of specialty. Many students can learn to read with limited vocabu...

This is the 3rd post in a series on coding with girls. See  Part 1  and  Part 2  if you would like some background. Over the last few weeks I have had consistent numbers with about 15 students showing up each time. I have launched a website for the students so my resources are in the same place and easily accessed. kodeklubbers.weebly.com . I have now added and will continue to build the teaching resources and some information on our makerspace  facilitated by Matt Richards , teaching resources and apps . These are all works in progress so check back regularly for new resources. Observations The main programs the girls like are scratch and kodu . Both visual programming tools. Some of the girls are enjoying working through the learn.code.org tutorials and blockly , both scratch style programs. I had some boys ask to attend the club last week and not wanting to discourage them I allowed them to get a computer and sit in a separate area. It was inter...