ACE Global Book Club – Chapters 8-10 – STEAM Power

• In what ways, do you make coding accessible for your students? Are there ways you integrate art with coding?  
  • Before our school started a Computer Science specials, I would try to have a least 2 coding activities per semester. Now that they have coding as a special, I have reduced the number of activities that include coding. B

• How do you encourage peer interaction and feedback in your own digital drawing activities? What tech tools help you make this happen? 
  • I have just started with using digital tools for art. Most of my art activities are low tech. I have students working in groups but on individual projects. I arrange them so that students are able to talk with each other and share ideas. I love hearing students give each other pointers and suggestions. Sometimes it takes some of the students a moment to observe others working to get their creativity juices flowing.

• How can we design professional learning experiences that help teachers see its value and use it more effectively across subjects?
  • I haven't used our 3D printer just yet. However, with other activities I introduce teachers with the tools at the same time I introduce it to students. I do it this way so that they can see how engaged the students are and it helps them see how the tool could be used with any subject. I recently used Book Creator with 1st graders and teachers watched how students were engaged with the program. During the lesson, the teachers commented on difffernt ways they can use it for assess student learning.

I'm completely with you on Tim's approach—integrating art with technology is the key to making both subjects more engaging and accessible. The scaffolding he describes ensures that every student, regardless of their starting point, has a path to creative expression, which I think is absolutely brilliant. My key takeaway from Chapter 8 is that I don't just see art integrated with coding; I see coding as an art form in and of itself. The logic, the elegant construction of commands, and the visual output that results are all profoundly creative acts. I love teaching my students to code because it teaches them structured, analytical thinking while simultaneously allowing for immense personal and artistic expression. We make coding accessible by starting with visual, block-based languages like Scratch to eliminate syntax frustration, and by focusing on immediate, visual results like creating animated sprites and generative art projects where the code becomes the brush. Chapter 9 is spot-on about the power of collaboration and feedback, and I encourage this by using collaboration tools like Lucid for "digital gallery walks," where students add sticky notes directly onto their peers' in-progress work to provide "Glows" and "Grows." .

I love coding and teaching coding! One way I make it accessible is letting students start where they are at. I use micro:Bits and MakeCode Arcade to help with this! They have great tutorials for both block, java, and Python coding languages. This allows my experienced coders to work on their level, while my beginniner can dip their toes into block coding. I love that the same games come with the tutorials because then they all get a chance to make the same while learning differently. I let them make their own characters, enemies, food, maps - the game just has to work as intended! This year I also bought Retro for Education arcades so they can play their games on little Gameboys and it has been a HIT! It's so enjoyable watching them pass the games around, so proud of themselves.

I have recently starting allowing Adobe Express Galleries to talk about digital art! It has been really cool to watch students complement each other (I was initially worried about the making fun aspect but they shocked me!).  It is really great communication activity and gets everyone participating. We talk whole group which one was the most creative and why - they never have the same answers and it's great to have the conversation that creativity looks different for everyone so they shouldn't have all the same answers. Plus it motivates my non-workers to get their design done so it is included in the conversation - double win for me!

This week’s focus on coding, digital drawing, and 3D design reminded me how art can be the bridge that makes technology less intimidating. Tim Needles shows that when creativity drives the process, every student can find an entry point—whether it’s storytelling through code, experimenting with digital art tools, or constructing something tangible with 3D printing.

Coding and Art:
I try to make coding accessible by tying it to creative outcomes using platforms like Scratch, Tinkercad Codeblocks, or Adobe Express animations where students “see” their code come alive visually. When they design a moving digital poster or code an interactive story, the syntax becomes secondary to the sense of creation.

Digital Drawing and Peer Feedback:
For digital art, I encourage peer feedback through shared slides or collaborative canvases. Tools like whiteboards or Sketchpad let students co-create and comment in real time. It shifts art from a solitary act to a dialogue, mirroring what Tim describes as “interactive and community-centered.”

3D Design and Professional Learning:
To help teachers see the value of 3D printing, PD should start with authentic classroom connections: printing ancient artifacts for history lessons, modeling molecules in science, or creating adaptive tools in life skills classes. When teachers experience that “aha” moment of relevance, they start to see 3D design not as a gadget, but as a creative pathway across content areas. I love 3D pens as well because they bring a lot of this to life without the cost of a 3D printer. 

This week’s chapters may be my favorite so far. I kept coming back to how Tim connects art and technology to make creativity feel accessible for every learner. It isn’t just about mastering tools; it’s about building confidence and curiosity through creation.

For my reflection, I used the drawing tool in Adobe Express for Education to create my own #AdobeAnnotate, a digital reflection where I layered highlights, doodles, and design elements to capture what stood out most.

In Chapter 9, this line stayed with me: “If educators present a belief that they aren’t able to draw but show a willingness and excitement to learn, it gives students license to do the same.”

That word willingness felt powerful. As educators, our vulnerability and excitement to learn alongside students can model creative courage in ways that matter more than perfection. Digital drawing becomes less about art and more about expression: helping students see their ideas take shape and celebrating the process over the product.

Creating this reflection reminded me that tools like Adobe Express don’t just open access to technology. They open access to confidence, collaboration, and self-expression.

 In what ways, do you make coding accessible for your students? Are there ways you integrate art with coding? 

• I teach high school and a variety of differnt things, however, I always pause my various content during the Hour of Code week and have students code. I think it is important for students to get experience in coding due to the fact that coding is all around us and havng student appreicate that is exists is important.   I remember last year how many students remember some of the coding games they remember using in middle school.   Since we are a Mac district, I have the students play with the Swift Playground which is free on their Macs.   I remember many moons ago, I had to learn how to code in HTML to create our own webpages.   This was prior to easy access to Webpage generators.  Although Coding is not for everyone, you never know if exposing a student to code will prompt them into a career.   I have not had experience with coding and art, however, I will keep my eyes open and look for an opertunity to incorporate it somewhere .

How do you encourage peer interaction and feedback in your own digital drawing activities? What tech tools help you make this happen?

• The exent of my students using digital drawing is having students use Adobe Express for the 12 Days of Creativity.   I often assign students to complete three of the twelve activities.   Some students choose some of the digital drawing activities, while others shy away from them.   I usually have the galleries on when I assign students work so that they can see what others are doing.   Often some students feel "stuck" the galleries allow students to gain some insight on how they might do something and gets them started.   I usually don't often have the students give formal feedback on peer's work.   I teach video editing and photography (new to me this year) and in both classes I have students to a peer critque/review of other students work.   I always have students provide feedback on other students' projects.  They need to provide what they like and what they think they could improve on.   It is a great way for students to develop some critical thinking skills.  How can we design professional learning experiences that help teachers see its value and use it more effectively across subjects?
• I think Tim was right in chapter 10 regarind 3d printers.  They were thrown into classrooms with little or no training to the staff.   I know that we were given a 3D printer that had PETG filament which emitted VOC's and due to the lack of ventalaton.  There was all this money spent and I don't think it was ever used.   As an personal owner, I know that some of the earlier 3D printers needed proper set up in order to work properly and give good prints.   I know many 3D printers are now better with less errors, but the frustrating feeling of allowing a print to go overnight and waking up to see a mess of filament is unmatched.  I know that as popularity and acceptance of 3D printers has increased, the price has gone down and it seems that they are becoming more "error free."  I think that professional learning experiences are important to allow teachers to see what is possible and how it might benefit students.   I think just like with 3D printers, the financial cost can sometimes be prohibitive.  I have seen schools using laser cutters and engravers for student projects.   As these devices are coming down in price, they are still expensive and out of reach for some schools.   The abilty of providing hands on learning experiences for students is still a crtical skill needed for many students.   I have seen in my 20+ years in education, many of the "shops" closed up and turned into classrooms when the teacher retired.  I have seen the graphic art shop, auto shop, electronics shop, and drafting shop all close up in the high school.  I have also witnessed the wood shop (the only one in the district)  close in the high school.   We have added a robotics shop in the high school in the past 3 years, but some of my fondest educational experiences was is some of the "shops" in school.   I have my own wood shop in the garage most likely since I has the experience in school and not at home growing up.  

• In what ways, do you make coding accessible for your students? Are there ways you integrate art with coding?  This is something that happens more time than teachers realize. If we change 'coding' and computer science terms in the classroom they will see it occurs all day long. Now thinking of the tools available in my school, two of our newer ones picking up traction with students. The Sphero Indi cars are small cars that drive by color. Each case has one car and 20 vinyl color tiles. The color will 'tell' the car what to do. We have used these to drive to letter sounds for young students and created a large world map where the car has to drive around the world in a specific way. 

           A second, and favorite, coding activity is using the Root robots to create a Macy's Day parade. However in this parade group of students will build a float that must tell the story of a section of Virginia history with no words while they code the robots to parade all at once around the perimiter of the full classroom. 

• How do you encourage peer interaction and feedback in your own digital drawing activities? What tech tools help you make this happen? My interaction will occur through PD, videos and teacher conversation. I will share ideas then explain how creating a variety of rubrics in AI can offer a map of reflection statements. One easy tool to use for all of our students is an app called Chromebook Canvas. It acts as a white board and is not attached to any website. It is simply a built in white board. This is a low stakes way to build teacher confidence in their students using it as well as give it a purpose prior to adding more options that are available in Wixie, Canva, Adobe, etc. 

•  How can we design professional learning experiences that help teachers see its value and use it more effectively across subjects? Thinking of the best way to answer this question brings me to a few things I highlighted in these chapters: it helps to have lofty goals because you often accomplish them, coding is one of the most important goals of the future, ...often before teachers were fully trained and knew how to use them in the a meaningful way. After reflecting on them, there is a throughline where intrinsic learning must be in place. Leaders of all forms are motivated to learn, reflect and grow however not all teachers feel this way. This is a common conversation with some of my colleagues and it comes down to adding some kind of prize for attending such as a gift card, extra coverage or logo-ed cup/shirt. Just like we design learning for our students who are minors the same process has to happen for the colleagues. In recent years, the biggest successes have been creating micro learning opportunities and reaching teachers through students where ideas are shared on our news show and the students talk about it. 

@mskelcan Wow! I am obsessed with all the projects you are doing with your students. They are so interactive. 'Unplugged Cossin' is such a wonderful idea. It gets students practicing computational thinking and the process without having to be in front of computer. I can only imagine the amount of collaboration and peer interaction that takes place. I totally want to buy that book. That would be such a great project to do with your librarian. 

These chapters were my favorite BY FAR this week! Here are my thoughts on each one! 

• Chapter 8- Coding: I love how Tim Needles mentions how easy it is to start teaching students the basics of coding. Part of my role in my district is to help train teachers on Computer Science and the programs Tim mentioned (Blockly, Scratch, and in our district, SkillStruck) help kids learn how to block code. It's very intuitive and as Tim mentions, kids are able to do way more with this than we think they can and at earlier ages. In our district, we also focus a lot with our elementary students on "Unplugged Coding". We've created unplugged coding lessons that help students learn Computational Thinking (alogrithms, decomposition, abstraction, patterns/data sets) by stacking plastic cups, create bead projects, binary bracelets, etc. and also through the use of robots like Qobos, Indis, Sphero Bolts, etc. The tile cards help students learn to create events, conditonals, sequences, etc. in a fun and engaging way. There really are so many things you can do with this at a young age to prepare students for coding in the real world!  
  
• Chapter 9-  Digital Art: I love the ideas in this section!  haven't tried very many of the tools mentioned in the chapter except using Canva and Lucid's digital whiteboards for brainstorming/PD sessions. I had fifth graders who loved Procreate though and it made them feel like professional artists. My favorite idea was to create STEM infographs because it combines both art and STEM topics and can be done digitally. One of my favorite lessons in upper elementary is to do a "Numbers About Me" project. I read the book "Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives" by Lola Schaefer and talk about numbers that are special in an animals' life and then they use a digital tool to create a self-portrait with thought bubbles full of numbers about them (age, sports jersey number, address numbers, lost teeth, pets, lucky number, siblings, etc.) It's a fun get to know you activity for the beginning of the year too! 

• Chapter 10- 3D Printing: This is my favorite of all the chapters in the book. My whole master's project focused on 3D printing and the deisgn thinking process in the upper elementary classroom. My favorite printer for elementary students is the "Toybox" because it's easy to print anything from their (school appropriate!) catalog, as well as offering a very beginning entry level CAD software. Kids can make beads, dolls, cars, etc. with pre-made building blocks and learn to create right away! Plus, the filament is called "food" and there are lots of colors like "grape", "apple", "mint", "banana", etc. so it's a cute way to introduce 3D printing to younger students. As a Girl Scout leader and a mom, this Toybox 3D printer has been a great way to introduce kids in the community to the STEM as well!