Wrapping It All Up

Reflecting on the Apple/Lamar Coding Initiative

Summer 2019-Spring 2020

The past year has been one of the most refreshing of my educational career in so many ways, most of which have come directly from my participation in the Apple/Lamar Coding Initiative. From the very first informational meeting in April 2019, I felt energized in a way that I had not felt in years of teaching. The passion the representatives from Apple and Lamar had was infectious. As they shared all that we could and would accomplish over the course of the next year, I thought to myself many times, "Yes! THIS is what I've been looking for!" For practical purposes, the access to resources (iPads, coding software, innovative lessons) was what I had been asking for over the past year and a half as I struggled to get a coding club started at my school in the absence of funds. But for my own health and happiness, I needed this spark. I was desperate for something to make me feel like what I was doing mattered to someone. I'm not someone who can teach the same lessons the same way year after year and be content. I always want to make my class better. I want to try new things. From Day 1 of learning about the Coding Initiative, I knew THIS was what I had been looking for.

I hesitantly began the Apple Teacher Coding Academy in June, wondering if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. While I had been an iPhone user for a while, my personal experience with iPads was minimal and non-existent in the classroom. How would I learn to use this device AND be able to teach with it after only a five-day training? I quickly came to understand that most the participants in the summer academy were very much like me: we wanted some excitement; we weren't afraid to learn (a lot of) new things (very quickly), and we were supported. After the first day, I was no longer worried. I was just excited!

The week was amazing. You'd think that "working" a full week of eight-hour days in the summer might bum some teachers out, but not us. We loved learning and planning on how we'd use these resources in our classrooms. We enjoyed bouncing ideas off each other and switching our response of "yes, but..." to "yes, and..." We even began to look forward to our final app design presentations on Friday. The representatives from Apple and Lamar supported us and made us excited about the difficulties we'd face.

Hosting coding camp on my campus in July was fun, but a little stressful. I think most of the stressors were due to some miscommunication in our district. Access to technology, scheduling complications, and limited support during the day made it a long week. I expect that future summer coding camps will run much more smoothly after our first experience. The students were great and it was incredible to see their ideas and have the opportunity to go through the lessons outside the constraints of the school day.

In November, I was blessed to attend the Apple conference in November in Arizona. Not only was it an awesome opportunity to get in touch with my cohort and the supportive team at Apple, but it was also a great refresher during a time in the school year that can sometimes make teachers feel like we've hit the "fall wall." The conference re-energized our commitment to the resources and curriculum provided by Apple and left us with that excited feeling again. We were reminded of new ways to invigorate our classrooms and students.

Over the course of the school year, I really enjoyed working with my Coding Club/Girls Who Code groups and using the iPads in my classroom lessons. My students were so creative and appreciated the opportunities to use the devices. One of our constraints was the lack of student IDs to log into the iPads. We were told our new student information system was the reason for the delay. Then we were told our MacBooks couldn't be updated due to the software used at the elementary level. We finally got our MacBooks updated in February. We also got a shared student ID to use between all students, which meant all students had access to all the files saved to the account-- not ideal. We never did get the student IDs before we began distance learning, so I'm very hopeful we'll have them for the next school year.

The switch to distance learning has really interrupted a lot of the work I've been doing with the Coding Initiative. My Innovation Plan has been interrupted, and I'll have to start over next year with students. My use of the iPads for lesson plans was halted. My Coding Club and Girls Who Cody Club were halted without being able to make significant progress on the lessons. While the reason for this interruption is understandable and no one's fault, I'm still a little disappointed with the feeling of incompleteness. I have to remind myself that I now have a lot of experience to try again next year and be more successful that I was this year.

While it is unclear what the next few months bring, I really hope to continue this partnership with Apple and Lamar. This whole experience has made me look at my class, students, and career in a new way. I feel very fortunate to have participated in the Coding Initiative, and I am willing to put in the work to keep it going at my school.