Denison Elementary approaching five years since start of new initiative

Easton Ogren reacts after Leiza Mendez programs a Bee-Bot to go forward the correct number of spaces during an introductory lesson in a preschool class at Denison Elementary School. Students learned how to erase the Bee-Bot’s memory and program it to move forward and to hit the start button. Later on they will learn how to make it go in reverse and to the left or the right. PHOTOS BY GORDON WOLF

In the world of computer science education and coding, the earlier the better.

That is something instructors at the Denison Community Schools took to heart. This is the third year that preschoolers have been doing computer science and coding.

Originally a K-3 initiative, computer science also expanded upward to include the fourth and fifth grades at Broadway Elementary.

It was just about five years ago that a new computer science initiative started at Denison Elementary School, Darin Johnson, technology integrationist, told school board members during a presentation last week Monday.

A $50,000 grant from the Computer Science is Elementary project was the springboard for the computer science initiative at the school.

For the initiative, the computer lab layout and method of learning were redesigned, and the K-3 curriculum was rewritten. Tables with older desktop computers, all facing forward as the teacher delivered content, went away. The lab now features new tables arranged so that students can communicate and collaborate with classmates to do projects and solve problems.

Johnson said many misconceptions exist about what computer science is.

It is not just using a computer and using applications.

It is not keyboarding and not always screen- or robotics-based.

It is not only coding and programming.

It is developing technologies that solve problems.

“We all know that our students, with TikTok and social media and even the apps that we use here at school, are very good at consuming technologies that have been made for them, but computer science kind of flips that on its head and encourages them to develop the technology,” Johnson explained. “So it's a whole different way of thinking, and the very basic definition is computer science is using the power of technology and other tools to solve real-world problems.”

Johnson said that prior to the initiative that started five years ago, the tech classes at the elementary level were predominantly tool based.

“We showed students how to use Google Docs, how to create slide shows and how to use our other applications, and while those applications are important and good for them to know how to use, they're not computer science,” he explained.

“Computer science is not just for older students, anymore,” he continued. “One of our employers here in town, bluespace creative, told us that the time to get students turned on to this kind of thinking is not in high school. That’s too late, so we start all the way down at the preschool level where they are learning how to code.

“It's really cool to see the preschoolers in action there, and it's not always screen based, so we have activities that are considered plugged, which are online activities that require technology, and then we also have activities that are unplugged because it's more about the thinking than it is the technology.”

Most important is problem solving using the four Cs – critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity, Johnson said.

Another change required by the $50,000 grant was to incorporate computer science into all subjects.

“Here’s where we’re at right now: our vision is to continue to increase teacher awareness and expand computer science integration in grades preschool through fifth grade,” Johnson said. “Originally, the grant was intended for us to revamp things at the 20th Street school, but now we’re starting to push that into fourth and fifth grade at Broadway Elementary.”

The school has always tried to emphasize the importance of computer science. For the past seven years, students at Denison Elementary School have participated in the Hour of Code.

The annual Hour of Code campaign, organized by Code.org, is a celebration of computer science with activities for students of all skill levels. It is a global movement, involving more than 180 countries. This year, 13,272 Hour of Code events have been registered so far.

Hour of Code at Denison Elementary will be celebrated the week of December 4-8. This year’s theme is “Put the Pieces Together with Computational Thinking” which involves decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithms.

To assist with the incorporation of computer science in all subject areas, Steph Prussing, technology teacher, and Johnson developed an engineering cohort in 2019. At that time, 15 teachers, representing nearly every grade level, got together in their free time once a month on Fridays before school to develop ideas to integrate some of the new equipment and new technology into the core subject areas.

**Preschool students in Megan Meyers’s class gather around Darin Johnson, technology integrationist, as he introduces them to the use of a Bee-Bot. Pictured at right is Jesica Martinez, an associate.**

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**Darin Johnson, technology integrationist at Denison Elementary School, shows preschool students a Bee-Bot.**

Last year, the cohort grew to 27 teachers with every grade level and every department represented.

The engineering cohort is on hold for now because the school received a $14,000 computer science professional development grant. The money will be used to purchase professional development training from the NewBoCo consortium, based in Cedar Rapids.

“We carve out a couple of hours on every professional development day where 22 volunteers come together and think how they can integrate computer science in math, reading, science and social studies without it becoming an extra thing,” Johnson said.

Teachers also receive help through computer science learning labs offered by the Area Education Agency.

To sum up the presentation on the computer science initiative, fifth graders Seth Ullrich and Tay Grover were at the school board meeting to explain their coding project, using Scratch. Students were given a common problem that a fifth grader would have. They had to use Scratch to program how to describe the problem and the solution. Their problem was bullying, and they created a scenario in which a character is bullied and then seeks to solve the situation. The bully calls a kid a mean name. The kid feels sad and asks for help from a teacher, and an apology is extended by the bully.

“Each part has a different piece of code,” Seth explained, adding that Tay chose all the characters. “So we kind of went in there together, and we have to make it go together and so all the timing and everything fits together.”

“It’s hard for us to get how they (the characters) move,” said Tay.

He explained that they had to redo some of the coding.

“It took a while for us just to fix it because we had to be able to time it right, and we had to go back and fix the time because sometimes it wouldn't work,” Seth added.

“Otherwise, they (the characters) talk way too early, and it will go out of order,” Tay continued.

Both boys said their favorite part of the project was being able to work together.

“It's hard to code but at the same time it's fun,” Tay said.

He added, “We have to at least know how because we're fifth graders and we have to be great role models.”

**Tay Grover (in front) and Seth Ullrich watch the animation they programmed during a presentation to the Denison School Board on November 20.**

How students learn computer science and coding

According to Darin Johnson, technology integrationist at Denison Elementary School, students in grades K-5 are formally introduced to computer science/coding concepts in the second quarter during the Ed Tech specials, which meet once every six to seven days.

Deanne Drees (4th and 5th grade) and Stephanie Prussing (K-3rd grade) are the specials teachers. They both use the code.org site, which is a free comprehensive coding curriculum. Students complete a series of lessons for coding concepts such as loops, debugging, events, and algorithms/sequences. This site also hosts the global, annual Hour of Code which corresponds to Computer Science Week.

Transitional kindergarten and preschool students are introduced to coding with the free Kodable site, which teachers at that level feel is more user-friendly and accessible for early readers.

In the second semester of the Ed Tech specials classes, K-3 students gain experience with other coding platforms such as Scratch/Scratch Jr. and coding apps that pair with robots such as Finchblox (Finch robots) and Blockly (Dash robots). Students in grades four and five gain experience with BirdBlox (Hummingbird robots).

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