The Scratch as Genre Writing module introduced you to the idea of algorithms. You practiced creating an algorithm using the Scratch software and did some reading.

On this discussion thread, reflect by responding to one or more of the prompts below.

• What is an algorithm?
• Explain in your own words a step-by-step process that you already employ in your classroom. How does it start and end? What is the problem it solves?
• Consider Scratch as a tool for teaching computational thinking and eventually digital story telling. What opportunities and challenges do you see for you and your students?
• What new questions emerged for you after reading the study?
• Discuss possible affordances and limitations of using Scratch in a language arts class

The Scratch as Genre Writing module introduced you to the idea of algorithms. You practiced creating an algorithm using the Scratch software and did some reading.

On this discussion thread, reflect by responding to one or more of the prompts below.

• What is an algorithm?
• Explain in your own words a step-by-step process that you already employ in your classroom. How does it start and end? What is the problem it solves?
• Consider Scratch as a tool for teaching computational thinking and eventually digital story telling. What opportunities and challenges do you see for you and your students?
• What new questions emerged for you after reading the study?
• Discuss possible affordances and limitations of using Scratch in a language arts class

[Dina López (she/her/ella)]

Cultural and Linguistic Banner Activity: An Algorithm for Getting to Know My Students

Steps

1. I model the activity by sharing my own cultural and linguistic banner I created using Google Slides.
2. I guide students to a template they have accessible in our Google Classroom.
3. Students are instructed to create their own cultural and linguistic banners using images, emojis, gifs, or free drawn art.
4. Students have 15 minutes to work on their cultural and linguistic banners independently. Ambient music is playing in background while they work.
5. Each student presents their Google Slides and shares the cultural and linguistic banner with the class.

This activity aims to help everyone get to know each other, share their linguistic and cultural backgrounds with the class, and begin building classroom community.

[Naliza Sadik (she/her)]

I facilitate a workshop for student teachers during their clinical semester on how to record their practice for observation purposes. During the workshop student teachers are provided with steps from how to obtain their accounts to sharing/commenting on their videos.

Step 1: Complete Google form to obtain your account.

Step 2: Check your email for directions on setting your account.

Step 3: Download the video observation platform app on your mobile device.

Step 4: Log-in to your account on the app.

Step 5: Record video.

Step 6: Share video with clinical faculty by creating a group.

Step 7 (Optional): Comment on video.

This process helps student teachers to reflect more in-depth about their practice by reviewing the videos. It also helps faculty with providing specific and detailed feedback grounded in video evidence to their student teachers.  Reflecting on algorithms I feel this process is an algorithm made up several other algorithms because each of the steps above have their individual step-by-step process in order to complete them.

[Jennifer Ochoa (she/her/hers)]

I love that I have learned through all of our work together that I now understand that an algorithm is simply a set of step-by-step directions that leads users to a completed task.

An algorithm I use in the course I teach every fall, Methods of Teaching Secondary ELA, is the process of students completing their literacy maps at the beginning of the semester.

1. I begin by guiding students through a set of Writing Relays (idea generation) in which they think about significant events, people, circumstances that shaped their literacy development.
2. Then students look at the specific criteria for creating a literacy map in small groups.
3. Next, students look at my examples and the examples of past grad students and 8th graders to consider project design.
4. Finally, students are left to tinker with their own designs, and content creation.