[Ctrl-Shift] (ARCHIVED SITE)

New Research Website

misrael@illinois.edu — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 02:07:52 +0000

New website highlighting Creative Technologies Research Lab Research Efforts

There is a new research website tied to Ctrl-Shift that we are calling the Creative Technologies Research Lab (CTRL). We envision the continued collaboration between research and practice. The CTRL website will have updates on our NSF projects and activities. We will at the same time also continue to post practical implications from those research efforts on the CTRL-shift website.

We invite you to visit the new CTRL website today!

UDL and Computing Table

misrael@illinois.edu — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 01:28:36 +0000

Check out the table of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and computer science education. It is one tool that you can use in thinking about including academically diverse learners.

UDL and CS table

CSK8 Research Friday Lunch Presentation

misrael@illinois.edu — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 18:54:13 +0000

Here’s the link to the research presentation we did at MSTE last semester. Our doctoral students did a remarkable job presenting all the great research that we are doing in CSforALL.

What do we mean by Computer Science for All?

Michael McKelvey — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 18:44:37 +0000

Maya Israel recently contributed an article as a guest blogger on the Teacher Community blog of Code.org, a nonprofit organization that works to expand computer science in schools and increase participation in the field by women and underrepresented students of color. In her piece, Israel shared how students with disabilities fit into the Computer Science for All initiative by the White House.

Read the whole blog post on the Code.org Teacher Community blog: What do we mean by Computer Science for All?

CTRL-Shift collaboration brings teachers, professors, and students together to bring computing to all students

Michael McKelvey — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 17:48:04 +0000

Unit 4 teachers, MSTE staff, and College of Education faculty and students are working together to bring computing to all grades and all students. Kenwood Elementary School teachers have been collaborating with MSTE staff, other University of Illinois faculty & staff, and community members for several years through CTRL-Shift. As a result of these collaborations, Kenwood adopted a school-wide coding initiative three years ago and Kenwood teachers are now writing new curriculum with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) STEM+C initiative. They are developing new learning modules that embed computer science instruction within the Everyday Mathematics curricula currently used at the school. Everyday Mathematics was developed at the University of Chicago, which is a partner on the grant.

Learn more by reading the University of Illinois News Bureau’s article Project embeds computer science lessons in math instruction for K-5 students.

The Hour of Code in Unit 4

reese@illinois.edu — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 20:37:11 +0000

Lots happening in the Champaign Public Schools with regard to the Hour of Code this week. The best place to read about it is Charles Shultz’s wonderful blog, Citizen4

-George

Revised Collaborative Discussion Framework

reese@illinois.edu — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 13:21:18 +0000

As part of the project to write curriculum modules connecting mathematics and computational thinking, the Kenwood team has revised the Collaborative Discussion Framework to align with the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP). Of course, there will be more changes and we’ll post updates on the CTRL-Shift site.

Congratulations to Todd Lash

reese@illinois.edu — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:28:50 +0000

We just learned that Todd Lash has been asked to serve as the Grades K-6 Representative on the CSTA 2015 – 2016 Standards Revision Task Force. This is, no doubt, a recognition of his incredible work these past three years in leading the Computational Thinking effort at Kenwood Elementary School. Todd has also been part of of an active social media presence for #CSK8 #KenwoodStars #kidscancode @EdCampCU among others.

Computing Research Update Presentation

misrael@illinois.edu — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 19:18:20 +0000

Our research team recently presented an overview of our most recent research findings. You can find a brief overview of this work in the attached slide presentation. This presentation provides information about the use of the Collaborative Computing Observation Instrument, our initial study of students with disabilities, and future directions for research in the 2015-2016 school year.

See Presentation Slides: August 2015 presentation on Computational thinking research overview

CS4H Pilot In the News

reese@illinois.edu — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 21:26:30 +0000

The latest pilot of the CS4H materials is in the news.

4-H Camp Pilots New Computing Curriculum