Summer School

In job applications and interviews I stress my technical abilities and desire to serve as a role model for lifelong, independent learning. To back this up, this summer I have plans for a number of independent learning activities. The first of these is learning Moodle, a free, open source Learning Management System used in many schools. I've installed it on my laptop (along with the associated software that makes up the platform on which it runs) and set up my first course: Python for Informatics. This is a just a copy of PythonLearn - Self-Paced Learning Python that I made for myself as an exercise in learning Moodle concepts and functions, but I will actually use the course to learn the Python computer language. At several recent interviews the schools have expressed interest in my programming background and if I'd be qualified to teach programming or other computer-related skills. From what little I've seen of it so far, Python seems well-suited for the high school classroom.

The next candidate for a course on my Moodle site is an adaptation of Bits, a free online computer science course offered by the Harvard University Extension School (From the course description: "This course focuses on information as quantity, resource, and property. We study the application of quantitative methods to understanding how information technologies inform issues of public policy, regulation, and law.") I've listened to all the lectures (on two long road trips to Ohio) and skimmed the book, and want to re-mix this material and update it for a high school level course. Again, the main purpose is to learn Moodle while taking the course for myself.

Finally, I've had it in the back of my mind for awhile to structure a course in Geogebra, which I learned in a somewhat haphazard fashion during the Traders-to-Teachers program. A major upgrade - version 4 - has recently been released, so this is a good time to learn it in a more organized manner, as well as an opportunity to create my own resources for online learning (audio and video files, interactive Geogebra demonstrations) instead of just repackaging other people's.