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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023

Creative Computing Project – Final Report

PSC-IT and ISTE-E Standards Addressed in the Project
6.2/6b Managing Technology & Learning
Candidates manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in a variety of environments such as digital platforms, virtual
environments, hands-on makerspaces, or in the field. (PSC-IT 6.2, ISTE-E 6b)
6.3/6c Design & Computational Thinking
Candidates create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and/or computational thinking to innovate and solve
problems. (PSC-IT 6.3, ISTE-E 6c)
6.4/6d Creativity
Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge, or connections. (PSC-IT 6.4, ISTE-E 6d)

Name: Amanda Pack

Grade level: 6th grade

Subject(s): Social Studies

Date of implementation: November 13, 2023

Description of Your Creative Computing Project

Students who completed this Creative Computing Project participated in an activity that
combined the Social Studies standards relating to European History and the use of
Ozobots, an introductory coding mini-robot that was kid-friendly and used colors on
paper to determine its movements. The objective of the plan was for students to create a
timeline of events from World War I to the Cold War, including the assassination of Franz
Ferdinand and continuing to the building of the Berlin Wall. Students were expected to
include significant events vital to the timeline while also incorporating basic coding
commands on the timeline itself. Key points that were covered for the Social Studies
portion of the lesson included the causes and consequences of World War I, the rise of
Nazism, the start of World War II, the geopolitical struggle of the Cold War, and the
construction of the Berlin Wall. Tech key points included a definition of coding, a crash
course of coding basics, and discovery of the processes involved in robotic storytelling.

Inspired by the Georgia Stem Institute’s recent professional development class, Coding
Across the Curriculum with Ozobot Robots, this lesson began with students viewing a
photo of the Berlin Wall, discussing what they knew about it, and why they thought it was
built. The teacher then introduced the key points through a Slides presentation, making
sure to address common misconceptions about the Cold War. Guided practice involved
setting behavioral expectations and assisting students in creating their own timelines
using Ozobots. Students worked in small groups to complete this task. Additionally,
students offered peer feedback for each project by using the “Gallery Feedback” method.
The lesson addressed standards defined and required by the Georgia Standards of
Excellence.
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Use of Technology and Student Learning Strategies (ISTE-E 6b)

ISTE Portfolio Questions

1. What rules, guidelines, and parameters, regarding the use of technology, do you have
for your learners when they are working independently in alternative classroom
settings?

The setting that this computing project took place in was accustomed to technology
usage and independent work due to the mission and vision of the school. As such, the
school set forth behavioral and acceptable use guidelines for all students regarding the
use of technology. Additionally, my students were subject to my own expectations as
well, especially when it came to alternative classroom settings. Furthermore, working with
middle school students required that rules, procedures, and guidelines be explicit, clear,
and concise. Students were taught what was appropriate and what was inappropriate
technology usage as well as responsible and respectful behavior online. Students
understood what digital citizenship was and understood that they were expected to
adhere to common safeguards for online interactions.

In addition to internet safety and digital citizenship guidelines, students were also held
accountable for the proper treatment of the technology, environment, and properties of
others when working in unfamiliar spaces. Students were instructed to return the room to
the state it was in when they arrived and then make it better. Students understood that
they were to take nothing that did not belong to them and to leave nothing behind that
did not belong to the room. The school and I set forth maintenance expectations and
procedures for student technology use as well. I taught procedures for the proper care
and handling of devices, how to handle technology responsibly, including charging
devices, storing them securely, and reporting any technical issues.

2. Do you guide learners to reach out to their peers for support and troubleshooting?

At the beginning of each year, my team held a series of lessons that taught students how
to effectively communicate with adults and peers in an academic environment. We
taught disagreement skills, gave sentence starters for agreement, and encouraged
active listening. In my classroom, I took these lessons a bit further to encourage helping
one another with Chromebook and content troubleshooting. This encouraged learners to
be productive members of our classroom society and fostered a collaborative and
supportive learning environment. In order to achieve this level of cooperation, I first
established a safe and inclusive classroom culture so that students felt comfortable
reaching out to their peers for support. I encouraged open communication, reinforced
the active listening techniques they knew, and modeled respect for diverse learning
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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023
styles. Additionally, my students were given ample opportunities for collaborative
problem-solving activities where they could work together to find solutions and engage
in academic conversations with one another, thereby co-learning technical skills and
error fixes.

3. What ways do/can they troubleshoot their needs, independently?

Students in my class were able to troubleshoot their own problems independently by

visiting our Google Classroom. My students had access to a specially curated catalog of
how-to, DIY, and FYI videos regarding the district provided Google Suite, Chromebook,
and general student issues. In the same section, students could find links to commonly
used resources and tutorial videos for these same resources. We trained our students to
visit these resources frequently and as needed. My students also had access to a media
specialist and could visit the media center during office hours for hardware and update
issues that were not fixable in the classroom. Students asked to visit our specialist daily
and without help.

4. How do you manage the use of technology in these alternative classroom settings?

As previously stated, the key to management of middle schoolers was clear, concise
communication with easy to achieve expectations. In an alternative classroom setting, I
communicated these expectations to my students and ensured they understood the
purpose and boundaries of their technology use. I was clear on when and how students
should proceed as well as any restrictions or limitations to our activity. We discussed the
potential risks and consequences of breaking the rules. I regularly reinforced these
expectations and provided reminders as needed. Furthermore, I mitigated potential
problems by creating engaging, collaborative, structured, and purposeful activities that
leveraged technology and maintained short attention spans.

Design Process (ISTE-E 6c)

ISTE Portfolio Question

1. How do you implement a recognized design-thinking process into your instruction?

Computational design processes are not usually associated with Social Studies, however,
the concepts involved in these design processes were vital to the content. I used design
processes to encourage systematic thinking, problem solving, and self-reflection in my
students. I typically used the Inquiry Design Method but often used the Design Thinking
process since it allowed me to gauge prior knowledge and provided some structure to
an otherwise student choice or student led assignment. I used this in my lessons
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because of the flexibility it provided while also encouraging creativity, collaboration, and
critical thinking.

Name of Design Process: Design Thinking

Empathize The teacher asked open ended questions to facilitate discussions

with students to gauge their prior knowledge of the events leading
from WWI to the Cold War. The teacher actively listened to student
responses and gathered insights into student interests related to
the topic.

The student participated in the discussion, answered questions,

revealed their prior knowledge on the topic, and shared interests
related to the content.
Define The teacher clearly articulated the objective of the lesson (to create
a timeline of events in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War), explained the
purpose of the assignment, and used explicit language underlining
the significance of the sequence of events.

The students listened to the teacher's instructions, explanation of

the lesson, the objective, and the purpose of creating a timeline of
the World Wars. They asked questions if needed.
Ideate The teacher planned time in the lesson for brainstorming, idea
generation, and guided discussions.

The student actively participated in the provided brainstorming

session, shared ideas on the key events, dates, and milestones of
the World Wars. Students discussed, evaluated, and debated the
significance of different events and contributed to the group
product.
Prototype The teacher provided the training for the Ozobots. The teacher
demonstrated the use of the Ozobots and the incorporation of
the technology with student produced timelines.

The student completed timeline research, discussed with group

members how to incorporate the Ozobot, and created a first draft.
The student followed teacher instructions and used examples as
needed for reference and problem solving.
Test The teacher facilitated opportunities for testing, evaluation, revision,
and review of projects.
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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023
The student reviewed their timelines and tested Ozobot coding. The
student reflected on the group's work, made revisions if needed, to
improve accuracy and clarity.
Note: Please use this table to list the steps of your design process and include a detailed description for each step
within the context of your Creative Computing Project.

Evidence of one or more computational artifacts (ISTE-E 6c)

Posted here is evidence of my Creative Computing Lesson. Students worked in small groups,
only one of which is documented here, to demonstrate ability of the following:

1. identify and describe key events and turning points in European history from the
end of World War I to the collapse of the Soviet Union
2. indirectly analyze the causes and effects of major historical events, such as the
Treaty of Versailles, the rise of fascism, and the Cold War.
3. demonstrate an understanding of the political, social, and economic changes
that occurred in Europe during this time period.
4. create a visually engaging and informative timeline that accurately represents
the sequence of events and their significance in European history.
5. integrate Ozobots into their timeline assignment by programming the robots to
traverse the timeline, stopping at key events and providing audio or visual
representations of the historical significance of each event.

Focus on process, not product (ISTE-E 6c)

What went well in your design process? What could be improved in your design process?
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During the implementation of this lesson, I was surprised by the considerable number of
students who already possessed prior knowledge and proficiency in utilizing the Ozobots.
To gauge the students' level of confidence in both Social Studies standards and
technological proficiency, I conducted an informal survey. The results of this survey
revealed a positive correlation between students' confidence in working with the
technology and their familiarity with the Social Studies standards. This pairing proved to
be highly effective, as all students demonstrated a level of comfort in some aspect of the
project.

The lesson planning and execution process also proceeded smoothly. I was able to
develop a lesson plan that provided flexibility and creativity during the lesson. At each
stage of the lesson, students were given the autonomy to make choices, including:

1. Self-assessment of their understanding of the content and their technological

skills.
2. Selection of a time-period for research purposes.
3. Determination of the desired path, motions, codes, and patterns to be
incorporated into the timeline.
4. Testing and revising of lines and commands for the Ozobots.

Though most of this process went well, there are some areas of improvement that I will
use for future iterations of this lesson. To start with, the level of mastery needed for both
elements (content and technology) was substantial. The process highlighted the
learning gaps of many students. To accommodate students with varying levels of prior
knowledge and proficiency in utilizing Ozobots, the lesson could include differentiated
activities or resources. For example, for students who may not be as familiar or confident
with technology, the lesson could include explicit instruction and scaffolding to support
their learning. This might involve providing step-by-step guides, video tutorials, or
opportunities for hands-on practice before implementing the Ozobots in the lesson.
Additionally, for students who may not be as familiar or confident with the content,
offering a more structured list of key events and dates for students below content level.

Failure (ISTE-E 6C)

Every project has its flaws, and this one was no exception. There were shortcomings
observed during the stages of lesson planning, teaching, and implementation. When
planning, I neglected to consider how the project would be evaluated and neglected to
develop a grading criterion to assist the students. While the self-assessment component
was valuable, the design could also include other formative assessment strategies to
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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023
monitor student progress and understanding throughout the lesson. This could involve
check-ins, exit tickets, or quick quizzes to gauge comprehension and identify areas for
further instruction or support. I underestimated the necessity of a strong and inclusive
instruction sheet that offered explicit instructions for students. I was concerned that
having strict guidelines would limit flexibility and creativity, but I was proven wrong, which
posed a challenge when attempting to teach the project's boundaries.

During the activity I observed that students encountered difficulties and challenges when
choosing the time period they wanted to research. This had a negative impact on the
project's overall quality and accuracy because some students had to settle for time
periods they were already familiar with, resulting in them finishing early. On the other
hand, some students had to work with time periods they had no knowledge about,
making it difficult for them to determine which events or conflicts should be considered
significant enough to be included in the timeline. Lastly, I saw many problems in testing
and revising lines and commands for the Ozobots, potentially leading to errors and
malfunctions in the project execution. Despite the students getting everything right, a
simple variation in lighting conditions could cause the robot to veer off track or
completely halt. Due to this, we were unable to capture a comprehensive video
showcasing both the timeline details and the Ozobot's trajectory simultaneously.

Computational Thinking (ISTE-E 6c)

Incorporating computational thinking into the development of a European history

timeline using Ozobots requires a structured and systematic approach. This project
involves various strategies used in computational thinking, which are evident in the
following tasks:

1. Students will utilize abstraction skills to simplify and extrapolate specific events
of European history into distinct historical events and notable moments. This
simplification helps to manage the complexity of the project.

2. Students will employ decomposition strategies by breaking down the

assignment into manageable parts, such as specific historical eras or geographic
regions within Europe. This approach allows for differentiation to accommodate
diverse learners.

3. Students will engage in pattern recognition to identify causes and sparks of

each of the World Wars, historical trends, political changes, and significant events.
This skill helps students create a logically structured timeline.
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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023
4. Algorithms play a crucial role in this lesson as they form the core of the
Ozobots' navigation along the timeline. They also determine the Ozobots'
interaction with student-designed historical markers. Additionally, the coding
experience itself involves the use of algorithms.

5. Students will learn troubleshooting and debugging processes as they test and
retest their codes and observe the Ozobot's reactions. This iterative process helps
them identify and fix any issues or errors.

To encourage more computational thinking in this lesson, I would incorporate additional

opportunities for students to practice these strategies. For example, I could provide more
challenging abstraction tasks, such as asking students to identify the underlying
patterns in historical events and use them to make predictions. I would also include
open-ended algorithmic challenges, where students can explore different ways to
program the Ozobots' interactions with the timeline. Additionally, I would emphasize the
importance of thorough testing and debugging, encouraging students to analyze their
code and experiment with different solutions when issues arise.

ISTE Portfolio Question

1. How do you provide opportunities for your learners to apply the components of
computational thinking?

As a matter of routine, my students were given opportunities to apply computational

thinking in the form of data analysis, visualizations, and algorithmic tasks. Time lines,
graphs, and charts were used in my classes for such activities as economics research,
imports/exports data collection, and GDP comparisons. Students were often asked to
create visualizations from a set of given text passages, key terms' definitions, or
scenarios. Students were encouraged to create their own political cartoons given a set of
environmental parameters or a historical situation. Such activities regularly required
students to provide an outline or step-by-step explanation of their thought processes.
This allowed me to ensure that students were thinking in algorithmic terms and to
encourage them to continue fostering their problem-solving skills and critical thinking
abilities. By providing opportunities for students to apply computational thinking in social
studies, they developed a mindset of breaking down complex problems into smaller,
manageable steps. This not only enhanced their understanding of social studies
concepts but also equipped them with valuable skills that could be applied in various
aspects of their lives.

As it pertained to this lesson plan, the opportunities for students to use computational
thinking were evident most in the abstraction skills and in the algorithmic skills needed to
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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023
be successful with the Ozobots and the timeline. During both the empathize and ideate
stage, students could analyze their research and use abstraction to identify the most
important events to include on their timeline and the fundamental components needed
for chronology. During the ideate, prototype, and test stages of this design, students were
given opportunities to use algorithmic thinking by testing, revising, and systematically
programming the Ozobots.

Nurturing Creativity (ISTE-E 6d)

ISTE Portfolio Questions

1. How do YOU demonstrate creativity and creative problem solving for your learners, and
how to you provide them with opportunities to obtain feedback and showcase their final
work?

To demonstrate creativity and creative problem-solving for my learners, I modeled

creative expression skills by approaching problems with a creative mindset and shared
glimpses of my own creative processes. I was open with my students about
brainstorming and trial and error attempts at lesson planning, classroom decor, or
content designing. I encouraged divergent thinking by providing open-ended prompts
and challenges that allowed for multiple interpretations and solutions as well as
modeled for students how to respectfully and creatively disagree or agree with peers
during discussions. I fostered collaboration among learners to spark creativity through
the exchange of ideas via silent debates and anonymous discussion boards.
To provide opportunities for feedback and showcase final work, I encouraged peer
feedback and taught learners how to give and receive constructive feedback effectively.
I utilized the known peer feedback strategy, "Sticky Note Feedback" which gave students
a chance to critique and complement their peers without fear of retribution or
embarrassment. I had established a classroom (and teamwide) culture of positivity and
expression of that feedback by adopting "big ups." Students celebrated each other
positively by giving each other "big ups" as recognition of in-class impressiveness and all
other students reacted approvingly. Furthermore, at the end of a project, I organized time
for presentations, exhibitions, or showcases for learners to present their work to peers,
teachers, and parents via Open House. Additionally, I created ample opportunities for
students to create digital portfolios and presentations.

In this lesson, I modeled a creative mindset by demonstrating attempt versus failure

when using the Ozobots. For example, I drew a series of tracks and codes as a "how-to,"
started the robot on the track, and worked through corrections and fixes in errors found
with the students present. Demonstrating the "imperfection" of my process allowed
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students to problem solve and fix their own errors in a now seemingly risk-free
environment.

2. What opportunities are you providing for your learners to express their own creativity?

I provided opportunities for my students to express themselves through a variety of

activities involving creative elements that did not hinder their learning. Some examples
included RAFT Writing prompts (role, audience, format, topic) that required students to
fictionalize characters and apply them to historical topics and scenarios. I provided
students with opportunities to create infographics or posters that visually represented
content standards. They were able to use colors, images, and decorative fonts to convey
their message effectively. My end of unit choice board assessments frequently gave a
choice for students to write a song, rap, or rhythmic poem about certain topics.

3. How do your learners share their work with others?

I encouraged my students to share their work with others in various ways. They could
present their work to their classmates through classroom presentations, a gallery walk in
the school hallways, or in an online photo sharing folder. Additionally, students had
access to Google Drive and had the ability to create digital portfolios which could be
shared with teachers, peers, and parents. Collaborative projects also offered
opportunities for students to share their work with other groups, as did jigsaw
presentations and "expert" sharing.

4. Do you provide opportunities for peer feedback?

In addition to teamwide student recognition such as "Dawg of the Week" and "big ups" giving
students positive feedback, I provide regular opportunities for peer feedback and reflection in
my classroom. Some of the strategies used for feedback are the Sticky Note Feedback System,
discussion sentence starters, and Gallery Walk reflections. Each of these strategies encourages
students to engage in meaningful discussions and provide thoughtful feedback to their peers
especially when coupled with proper training of feedback techniques and constructive
criticisms. Before allowing students free reign of peer feedback, I establish feedback
expectations and procedures that students practice regularly.

5. Do you encourage this creativity using technology resources and/or tools?

Peer feedback in my classroom is also occasionally given in the form of online discussion boards.
Programs such as Nearpod, Poll Everywhere, Kami, or Socrative provide opportunities for
students to use their feedback and discussion skills while also demonstrating their ability to
navigate online interactions successfully. These opportunities also allow students to show their
level of digital citizenship knowledge and netiquette. Technology resources for peer review and
discussion provides flexibility from location, proximity, and levels the academic divide among
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CCP – Final Report Template –Revised 08-10-2023
students with disabilities and those on RTI Tiers. In this lesson, students used their Ozobots to
test each other’s coding lines and to give feedback on how to creatively integrate the timeline
element with the tech component.

Final Thoughts

The Creative Computing Project successfully integrated my 6th grade Social Studies
standards and the use of technology, providing my students with a unique and engaging
learning experience. However, there were opportunities to enhance creativity within the
lesson to improve the overall learning experience. One way to achieve this would be to
encourage students to use visual storytelling techniques to represent historical events on
the timeline. This could involve incorporating illustrations, symbols, colors, and AI
generated images to visually depict the significance of each event, fostering creativity
and deeper engagement with the content.

Another avenue for fostering creativity is through the design of the interactive timeline.
Allowing students to explore creative ways of designing the timeline using digital tools
would enhance their learning experience and expand the footprint of the lesson.
Students could experiment with different layouts, multimedia elements, and interactive
features to make the timeline visually engaging and reflective of their understanding of
the historical events.

The fusion of coding and content presented an opportunity for creative expression. I
encouraged students to think creatively about how coding commands could be used to
tell a story within the timeline. For example, programming the Ozobots to follow a specific
path on the timeline and using color codes to trigger different speeds or visual cues for
their audio narration of their event fostered creativity and critical thinking skills. These
creative approaches enriched the learning experience and provided students with
opportunities to express their understanding of historical events in innovative and
imaginative ways.