Highlights from the PD+ Community October 2023
Once October rolls around, students and teachers alike have had some time to adjust to the routines of the new school year. However, activity in the VEX Community is never routine! Read on for highlights of a few of this month’s vibrant PD+ Community conversations!
CS Inclusivity with VEX
This post features work being done in Broward County, Florida to help make technology tools more accessible for learners with disabilities. Check it out to discover how University of Florida professor Dr. Maya Israel is working to bring computer science to all learners using VEX 123. Follow this link (also shared in the article) to the PD+ Video Library to experience Dr. Israel speaking at last April’s VEX Educators Conference.
Teachers and VEX Experts Solving Problems Together
One of the best things about the PD+ Community is the opportunity it offers for educators to collaborate directly with VEX Experts to solve their individual classroom challenges. These posts not only help the teachers who asked the original questions, but anyone who might have similar issues in their own classrooms!
To see this in action, read this post about Using the EXP Bumper Switch. VEX Expert Lauren Harter helps teacher Tina Dietrich advance her coding knowledge and create a workaround when her EXP robot isn’t behaving as expected.
In another great example of this kind of collaboration, a question about setting Drivetrain Velocity using C++ in VEXcode EXP is quickly answered by VEX Expert Alaina Caulkett.
October Fun
October brings opportunities for Fall and Halloween fun for students of all ages. This post presents a collection of the most popular VEX Halloween resources. Read how PD+ Community teachers have incorporated robotics into their spooky holiday celebrations, using them as the perfect opportunity to motivate students to apply and advance their coding skills and engineering creativity.
And, this VEX GO post offers some fun ideas for easily creating a variety of classroom robotics challenges using candy corn! This is a great resource for making sure your Halloween celebrations are also learning opportunities for your students.
New Resources
Several new and useful resources have been added to PD+ this month. First of all, check out this post for links to some hot-of-the-digital-presses K12 Computer Science research presented at the 2023 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VLHCC) in Washington, DC. VEX 123 users might be especially interested in Dr. David Weintrop, Jimmy Lin and Jason McKenna’s paper “Coder and Coder Cards: A Novel Tangible Programming Approach to Support Young Programmers”. This paper was awarded Best Short Paper at the conference!
The PD+ Community is a great way to keep on top of new PD+ Courses as well. This post announces a new VEX Masterclass - Making the Most of Teaching with VEXcode VR. Give it a read for a detailed description of course chapters.
Exclusive Tips and Tricks
Another advantage of being a part of the PD+ Community is all the tips and tricks Community members share that you can’t find anywhere else.
Did you know that you can pair an IQ (2nd gen) or EXP Controller to a GO Brain, and use it to drive your GO Code Base? Read all about it in this post! Looking for ways to integrate more literacy into your STEM classes? This post shares a great idea for writing robot introduction stories with young students and even includes an example of a graphic organizer you can use in your own classroom.
If you visit any of these posts, don’t forget to leave a thought, question or comment! Your idea might be exactly what another Community member is looking for. And don’t hesitate to sign up for a 1-on-1 Session with a VEX Expert to explore any of the above topics more fully!