UCET 2025

**Session Title: Integrating Computer Science in the Elementary Classroom** **Description:** Discover how to transform your elementary classroom into a dynamic learning environment by integrating computer science seamlessly into your curriculum. In this session, educators will explore practical strategies to merge computer science standards with core academic subjects, making learning both engaging and meaningful for young students. Participants will gain hands-on experience with innovative tools such as KEVA Planks, BlueBots, Ozobots, and Spheros, all designed to ignite curiosity and foster creativity. Through engaging lesson frames like the \"7-Plank KEVA Challenge\" and \"Fun with Spheros,\" teachers will learn to inspire students to think critically and solve problems collaboratively. Our approach emphasizes the importance of movement and interactive learning, ensuring concepts like algorithms, conditionals, and sequencing are accessible and fun. This session will also highlight the effective use of computer science vocabulary across disciplines, helping students build a robust language foundation that supports their understanding of technology. Led by a team of dedicated computer science specialists, this workshop provides educators with the resources and confidence to integrate CS tools and techniques into their classrooms. Attendees will leave with a suite of high-quality lesson plans and a clear vision for enhancing student engagement through technology. Join us to empower your students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in a digital world, and take the first step in revolutionizing the way computer science is taught in elementary education.

Join me as we explore what computational thinking is and how we can incorporate it in our teaching with elementary students. We'll learn about decomposing problems, examining data sets, recognizing patterns, and algorithms. Sounds daunting, but we will tackle it in a teacher-friendly, hands-on way. Examples from many content areas (math, science, PE, etc) will be shared and we'll generate more ideas together so that we can all walk away with ideas to use with our students the next day.

Slides

Congratulations to Christy from Alpine District who is the Wipebook raffle winner!

This hands-on session will explore the innovative integration of language arts and robotics through the lens of Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, a captivating book about Tony Sarg, the puppeteer behind the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons. Participants will discover how storytelling, creativity, and STEM can merge as students design and program robotic “parade balloons” using simple robotics and coding. Educators will learn to combine narrative writing and comprehension skills with engineering principles, enabling students to animate their own robotic characters, enhancing comprehension, problem-solving, and engagement in both literature and technology.

Poster Location: Table 4 (map)

My session will go over the benefits of giving students the autonomy to take challenges into their own hands and learning how to think critically.

In this interactive session, educators will explore innovative ways to integrate Makey Makey devices into middle and high school curricula, enhancing student engagement and cross-disciplinary learning. The session will provide practical examples and hands-on activities to demonstrate the potential of these devices in connecting computer science concepts to everyday life and various academic subjects. Participants will learn to use Makey Makey to create an interactive cell model, where each organelle is programmed to describe its function when touched. See how Makey Makey could be used to explore the principles of electrochemistry to build a basic battery providing immediate feedback on the battery's success. Examples of how to make interactive posters for any subject. Additionally, attendees will construct their own buzzers for use in classroom review games, showcasing how to incorporate technology into gamified learning experiences. Through these activities, educators will understand the versatility of Makey Makey devices in facilitating interactive and engaging learning experiences, develop skills to create interdisciplinary lesson plans, and gain hands-on experience in constructing educational tools that promote active learning.

Join this session to explore the innovative use of the databot, an affordable handheld sensor capable of collecting 16 types of data including light intensity, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, acceleration and many more. Discover how this versatile tool can revolutionize student engagement through real-world data collection. Databot can be used as a traditional science sensor which will give data outputs in csv format. Additionally Databot will integrate with Microblocks coding website. Students can program lights and sounds on the physical databot. Students can also use microblocks to visualize and graph the data collected. Participants will gain hands-on experience with the databot, enhancing their ability to implement these activities in their classrooms and schools.

Explore coding through hands-on, screen-free activities using everyday materials. This session equips educators with strategies to teach algorithms, sequencing, and problem-solving. Gain ready-to-use activities that develop critical thinking and collaboration in diverse classrooms, enhancing coding skills with analog tools in an engaging way.

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