IPS Computer Science Champions Lead #CSforIPS

This week the team at 1st Maker Space led one of the most innovative professional development experiences I have had an opportunity to be a part of. Teachers at Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) embraced #CSforIPS this week and jumped into computer science with Dash, Dot, and Cue from Wonder Workshop.

Like many professional development workshops this summer, our team worked to create a digital professional development experience for the Computer Science Champions. Each IPS Computer Science Champion received a Dash Home Learning Bundle to complete the professional development at home, and we created a course that blended synchronous and asynchronous learning to allow educators to play with the robot and share what they learned throughout the week while learning the basics of block-based programming with Wonder Workshop.

What happened next amazed me. The IPS Computer Science Champions now only showed up on the week that the school reentry plans were announced, but they went above and beyond. They posted videos of themselves making the robot move, light-up, and making fun sounds (like barking at the cat) at all hours of the day. They included their own kids in their professional development experience and learned alongside them.  They encouraged each other and showed up for virtual office hours when they ran into a roadblock. More than anything else, they found the gold in this opportunity and discovered that the point of #CSforIPS wasn’t to create a generation of coders, but it was instead to foster growth mindset, creativity, and to give students a voice in a crowded curriculum.

Educators, thank you for continuing to be amazing. Our students are counting on you, whether they are at home or in a classroom. 1st Maker Space will be here to support you, regardless of where the next few months takes us. #keeponkeepingon #madeinamakerspace