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Taking It Up a Notch: Designing the System
After decoding pixel art and recreating it in MakeCode, it was my turn to design both the image and the coding sheet. I created a pixelated solar system using MakeCode Arcade, carefully building the image square by square. But the real challenge was not the artwork. It was generating the binary coding sheet that would…
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From Paper to Pixels
This week, I explored pixel art using the CS Unplugged “Pixel Painter” activity. Before touching MakeCode, I printed out the coding sheets and manually color-coded them. Each square represented a pixel, and each number or binary pattern corresponded to a color. At first glance, it felt simple. Just coloring boxes. But it quickly became clear…
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Decomposing The World Around Us
For our final decomposition activity before moving into code, I chose something very real: my dog’s toy bin. Yes, my dog again. I couldn’t help it. At first, it just looks like a chaotic basket of plush, rubber, rope, and squeaky objects. Once I dumped everything out and began sorting, I realized how much decision-making…
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Decomposing Dance Moves
For this activity, I was asked to decompose something familiar. I chose the Macarena. In case it’s been a while, here’s a refresher! At first, it feels almost silly to break down a dance everyone “just knows.” But once I slowed down and wrote out the steps, I realized how structured it actually is. I…
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Decomposition in Action
Starting Unit 3, we focused on decomposition. Not in theory. Not in abstract computer science language. In real life. The task I chose to decompose was simple: packing my dog’s dinner. At first, it feels like one task. Feed the dog. Done. But when I slowed down and listed the subtasks, it quickly became more…
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Information Processing Model with AI
If you walk into my classroom during math time, you will probably hear us singing. Skip-count songs are one of my favorite tools for teaching multiplication because they really work! Kids connect to rhythm and melody much faster than to a plain list of numbers. I have seen the magic firsthand. A student who struggles…
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Algorithms Are Everywhere
For our Algorithms Unit, I designed a lesson centered on a simple yet powerful idea: algorithms extend far beyond computer science. My artifact, “Get to Class”, presents students with a realistic problem. A new student has joined our class, but they have never been in the building before. The task is clear: create the perfect…
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From Maps to MakeCode
After designing a lesson that highlighted computational thinking in geography, I stepped into something completely different: creating a knock-knock joke in MakeCode Arcade. At first, it sounds simple. It is just a joke. But building it in code forces me to think differently. I have to break down the entire interaction into small, logical steps.…
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Operant Conditioning with ChatGPT
I asked ChatGPT to relate my love for traveling to OC, and I can see how these have played a role in my life! Positive reinforcements could be cheap flights or lodging. Negative reinforcements would be paying for PreCheck or a nice hotel. Positive punishment would be a charge on an overstuffed carry-on, and finally, a negative…
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Classical Conditioning Mood Board
My mood board has a few images reflecting Pavlov’s work with dogs. It was fun to read more about him because I never realized his findings were not his original intention. I have added US + NS → CS → CR to show how CC works. I included a silly little GIF of DK hunched over, grabbing…
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Alexis Flanders 