VSTE partners with Big Deal Media to bring you the "best of the best" of web-based resources, classroom competitions and teacher grant programs. The December, 1, 2017, newsletter offers resources that Encourage Coding, Foster Inquiry, Make Molecules, Support ELLs & More.
Here are a few of our favorites. Be sure to check out the complete newsletter using the link below. The archives have some great stuff, too! Bookmark the page for your next snow day.
Interactive Quiz on Global Awareness
The New York Times Learning Network’s “Country of the Week” feature helps to build students’ geography skills. A weekly interactive quiz introduces students to a country via a recent video or photograph and then asks them to find that place on a map. The quiz then focuses on the demographics and culture of the country.
Gameplay Using Programming Commands
Designed for iOS, Cato’s Hike puts students in a hiker’s shoes (either Cato’s or his friend’s—students’ choice) on an odyssey to find a way through the magical world they’ve stumbled into and to get back home. As they engage in the game, students use programming commands to tell their character where to move and how to get past such obstacles as water, rocks, and trees.
Challenge to Code Open Source Projects
Google’s eighth annual Code-in challenge calls on students aged 13–17 to complete coding tasks on open source projects, with the aim of exposing teenagers to open source software development. To date, some 4,500 students have participated in the Google Code-in challenge, completing more than 23,000 tasks.
Big Deal Book, December 1, 2017
