Seeking pilot schools for CSJumpstartr, a Scratch "content templates" offering
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Jason Innes
Member
January 10, 2017
Hi ScratchEd folks:
We're looking for help from teachers of grades 4-6 in the greater Boston area, to pilot a Scratch-related curriculum product. (http://www.csjumpstartr.com/schools)
More info:
A collaborator and I - both Scratch enthusiasts in informal-ed settings - have been working on a Scratch-based product we call CSJumpstartr. The driving purpose is to make it easier for teachers (and homeschool parents) use Scratch for "show what you know" projects in existing curriculum units, without themselves needing to teach coding.
CSJumpstartr is a self-contained build of the open-source Scratch 2.0 editor and a collection of templates for content projects (slideshows, quizzes, poster-boards, etc.) with integrated step-by-step guidance delivered in the browser. Each template is supported by PDF worksheets, documentation, and "take it further" challenges. Kids can work through completing a template independently, so the teacher can integrate the project into an existing curriculum without needing to teach coding too. Using our templates, kids with no Scratch experience can create a finished project; and kids with more experience and/or a penchant for tinkering can expand on the template.
We know there are a lot of teachers who would like to integrate creative coding, but they face barriers like lack of curricular flexibility, or lack of expertise, or lack of IT support. We think our approach can help, by supporting teachers to use Scratch to deliver traditional end-of-unit summary projects. We'd love it if our product resulted in Scratch getting used in more schools by more teachers.
In that vein, we are looking for teachers and schools - ideally in the Boston area - who are interested in piloting CSJumpstartr with 4th to 6th graders. We'd get you set up and advise you on implementation, and in return we'd ask for feedback and ideas for improvement. If you're interested, please get in touch with me here on ScratchEd or via our website (http://www.csjumpstartr.com/schools).
(FYI, no student data is saved online with our tool, so there are no privacy/security concerns.)
Thanks!
-Jason Innes
jason@CSJumpstartr.com
We're looking for help from teachers of grades 4-6 in the greater Boston area, to pilot a Scratch-related curriculum product. (http://www.csjumpstartr.com/schools)
More info:
A collaborator and I - both Scratch enthusiasts in informal-ed settings - have been working on a Scratch-based product we call CSJumpstartr. The driving purpose is to make it easier for teachers (and homeschool parents) use Scratch for "show what you know" projects in existing curriculum units, without themselves needing to teach coding.
CSJumpstartr is a self-contained build of the open-source Scratch 2.0 editor and a collection of templates for content projects (slideshows, quizzes, poster-boards, etc.) with integrated step-by-step guidance delivered in the browser. Each template is supported by PDF worksheets, documentation, and "take it further" challenges. Kids can work through completing a template independently, so the teacher can integrate the project into an existing curriculum without needing to teach coding too. Using our templates, kids with no Scratch experience can create a finished project; and kids with more experience and/or a penchant for tinkering can expand on the template.
We know there are a lot of teachers who would like to integrate creative coding, but they face barriers like lack of curricular flexibility, or lack of expertise, or lack of IT support. We think our approach can help, by supporting teachers to use Scratch to deliver traditional end-of-unit summary projects. We'd love it if our product resulted in Scratch getting used in more schools by more teachers.
In that vein, we are looking for teachers and schools - ideally in the Boston area - who are interested in piloting CSJumpstartr with 4th to 6th graders. We'd get you set up and advise you on implementation, and in return we'd ask for feedback and ideas for improvement. If you're interested, please get in touch with me here on ScratchEd or via our website (http://www.csjumpstartr.com/schools).
(FYI, no student data is saved online with our tool, so there are no privacy/security concerns.)
Thanks!
-Jason Innes
jason@CSJumpstartr.com
