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Lesson begins on page 34 of the document accessed via the resource link.

Students will:

- understand how copyright laws apply to creative works of authorship.

- create a work to be registered.

- define the terms: copyright, public domain, plagiarism.

- identify where on websites copyright notices are displayed and what information is included with the notice.

- identify what copyright does not protect.

-learn how to register a copyright notice.

Grade(s)

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Find out how artificial intelligence could impact the future workforce with this video and educational resources from PBS NewsHour. This video comes with a handout the includes discussion questions. This video can be played during a lesson on researching the impact of computing technology on possible career pathways.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Using user profiles, the class explores how different users might react to a variety of products. Role-playing as a different person, each member of the class will get to experience designs through someone else's eyes.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

7, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Many computer users are familiar with compressed formats such as zip, gzip, or gif images. These are based on a method called Ziv-Lempel coding, which turns out to be an interesting exercise in finding patterns in text.

Children’s rhymes and stories are good examples of text compression because they often involve repeated words and sequences.

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

We've all seen and shared a few LOLCats and Internet Memes in our time, but is it possible that these images and videos are actually a new form of art? It may seem strange, but Rage Guys, Advice Dogs, Trollfaces, and Philosoraptors are ways for people around the globe to express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions with others - and isn't that the core principle of art? We think some of history's greatest philosophers and artists might be inclined to agree.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this activity, students will use "Fuzz Bugs - Counting, Sorting, & Comparing" from ABCya that provides a fun and educational interactive game that gives students the opportunity to sort, count, and compare the fuzz bugs. The interactive helps students learn to sort objects by colors, count the objects, then compare the different fuzz bugs.

After students interact with "Fuzz Bugs - Counting, Sorting, & Comparing" from ABCya, students will then collect and organize data about the number and attributes of the "Fuzz Bugs" collected in a Google Sheets template. The Google Sheets template will allow students to tally the number of "Fuzz Bugs" and the cells will turn the color to create a chart of the data collected. 

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

K

Subject Area

Mathematics
Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

To conclude this unit, students design a recommendation engine based on data that they collect and analyze from their classmates. After looking at an example of a recommendation app, students follow a project guide to complete this multi-day activity. In the first several steps, students choose what choice they want to help the user to make, what data they need to give the recommendation, create a survey, and collect information about their classmates' choices. They then interpret the data and use what they have learned to create the recommendation algorithm. Last, they use their algorithms to make recommendations to a few classmates. Students perform a peer review and make any necessary updates to their projects before preparing a presentation to the class.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

6, 7, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

When computers were first developed, the only way they could interact with the outside world was through the input that people wired or typed into them. Digital devices today often have cameras, microphones, and other sensors through which programs can perceive the world we live in automatically. Processing images from a camera, and looking for interesting information in them, is what we call computer vision.

With increases in computer power, the decrease in the size of computers and progressively more advanced algorithms, computer vision has a growing range of applications. While it is commonly used in fields like healthcare, security, and manufacturing, we are finding more and more uses for them in our everyday life, too.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

As an English/digital media teacher at Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Kentucky, Jason Behler has found that his students become deeply engaged when creating their own podcasts, especially because he allows them great freedom in selecting their own genre and content. His students develop skills in collaboration and time management as well as technical and communication skills. Podcasting does not need to be confined to a class in digital media, and it does not require expensive equipment. Podcasting can be integrated into any content area to add spark to your lessons. This video has support materials that include discussion questions.

Grade(s)

3, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Students take photographs of themselves making the shapes of letters. They use the ear for the letter C, their mouth for the letter O, or use their entire body and their peer to create the letter B. Let students get creative and create the alphabet with their body. Compile all the letters into a digital alphabet book in which the students must guess which letter the students are trying to represent in the photograph. 

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

K

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
English Language Arts

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Building on the concept of repeating instructions from "Happy Loops", (Lesson 9 - precedes this lesson in Code.org Course A 2018 curriculum) this lesson will have students using loops to pick corn more efficiently on Code.org. In this lesson, students learn more about loops and how to implement them in Blockly code. Using loops is an important skill in programming because manually repeating commands is tedious and inefficient. With the Code.org puzzles, students will learn to add instructions to existing loops, gather repeated code into loops, and recognize patterns that need to be looped.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

K

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In days gone by people would say "We built this civilization on the internet." It would be hard to criticize them for making such a remark, without it we would be largely handicapped by the sheer volume of data we need to wade through and edit. There are currently 4 billion users with the bulk now coming from Asia and growing! Without having the internet it becomes a lot harder to stay informed. We literally have access to the entire archive of the Natural History Museum, British Museum, the finest collection of manuscripts, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. With these tools, we are able to make better decisions simply because we know more about the world we are presently living in. Barriers between people, culture, language, and concepts are being broken down and a new global civilization is emerging. The hope that people can forever be united and peacefully co-operate can happen.

Then why are more and more countries trying to censor, snoop on and in some cases block, delete and rewrite articles on the internet? It sounds counter-intuitive but many governments have decided that this is the best thing to do. But there is a huge consequence for these actions.

Students will read about internet censorship, review a video about internet censorship, review vocabulary surrounding internet censorship, and explore arguments for and against internet censorship. 

Grade(s)

6, 7

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

We’re going to talk about how computers see. We’ve long known that our digital cameras and smartphones can take incredibly detailed images, but taking pictures is not quite the same thing. For the past half-century, computer scientists have been working to help our computing devices understand the imagery they capture, leading to advancements everywhere, from tracking hands and whole bodies to biometrics to unlock our phones.

Grade(s)

6, 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Introduce students to bits and binary by using cards with dots representing the number value in each bit. This activity fits well as an introduction to a full lesson for standards 6.21 and 6.22.

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

This lesson builds on the understanding of loops from previous lessons and gives students a chance to be truly creative. This activity doubles as a debugging exercise for extra problem-solving practice.

This series highlights the power of loops with an array of puzzles meant to get students thinking about why repeat loops are superior to longhand.

Students will be able to:
- identify the benefits of using a loop structure instead of manual repetition.
- differentiate between commands that need to be repeated in loops and commands that should be used on their own.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

3

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Design Thinking is a process for designing something to solve a problem. It shares a lot of similarities to the Engineering Design Process you might learn in a STEM class and the Scientific Method you learn in science. However, it tends to work really well with creating solutions to problems that impact humans, also known as Human-Centered Design

In this activity, you’ll work with a team to identify a problem, come up with ideas to solve it, make a prototype of your best idea, test it out and ultimately share it. Your goal is to make a positive impact on the problem you choose.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

When you have completed this activity you will:

  1. be able to use research skills to understand real-world problems and develop ideas to solve them [Innovative Designer, Knowledge Constructor]

  2. know how to use a design process to solve a problem [Innovative Designer]

  3. be able to create and test prototypes to improve on a design [Innovative Designer]

  4. be able to choose appropriate tools to organize and manage a process with team members [Innovative Designer, Global Collaborator]

  5. be able to choose appropriate tools to share my ideas with a target audience [Innovative Designer, Creative Communicator]

  6. understand Tinkercad design software basics [Empowered Learner]

  7. know how to use Tinkercad software to design their own invention that solves a problem or changes how we interact with the world [Innovative Designer]

  8. know that technology is something that solves a problem or changes how we interact with the world [Knowledge Constructor]

Grade(s)

6, 7, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

After watching How Computers Work: Hardware and Software, students will gain an understanding of the difference between hardware and software by experts from Amazon, Xbox, and Microsoft. Students will complete the worksheet "What is the difference between hardware and software?" as they watch/listen to the video. Students will develop open-ended questions regarding hardware and software that they want to know more about.

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

3

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Students will learn to read App Lab’s API documentation and will use functions that accept parameters in order to complete a series of drawing puzzles which require them to make use of the App Lab API documentation to learn new drawing commands. Many of these commands will require the use of parameters. The final challenge asks students to design a personal monogram making use of the commands they learned during the lesson.

Students will be able to:
- use parameters to provide different values as input to procedures when they are called in a program.
- use API documentation to assist in writing programs.
- define an API as the set of commands made available by a programming language.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

An infographic and explainer video break down some of the often-invisible ways that search engines —and people — make recommendations; then students hunt for these “search signals” to rank and evaluate real examples.

To access this lesson plan, you will need to create a free account. 

Grade(s)

8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

From polygon count and meshes, to lighting and texturing, there are a lot of considerations in building the 3D objects we see in our movies and video games, but then displaying these 3D objects of a 2D surface adds an additional number of challenges. So we’ll talk about some of the reasons you see occasional glitches in your video games as well as the reason a dedicated graphics processing unit, or GPU, was needed to meet the increasing demand for more and more complex graphics.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

This activity guides students through the process of creating a graph of a particular data set. Students can produce a bar graph that compares different categories, a line graph that shows a change in something over time, or a pie graph that shows percentages of a whole. Students will select the most appropriate graph choice, input data, create labels and titles, and make design choices to enhance the graphic representation of the data.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

3, 4

Subject Area

Mathematics
Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Students will develop an understanding of the purpose of the Declaration of Independence by synthesizing the grievances listed by the founding fathers.

Grade(s)

5

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Social Studies

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will examine the electronegativities of atoms relative to one another to determine if a covalent bond will be classified as polar or nonpolar. Students will use an online simulation to help them understand the importance of lone pairs of electrons as well as bonding pairs of electrons.  Students will use ball-and-stick models to examine and identify the shapes of various molecules.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA. 

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Science

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students are introduced to the return command and learn to write their own functions that return values. Students first complete a simple unplugged activity based on the game Go Fish to introduce the concept of a return value. They will then complete a short sequence of exercises in Code Studio, which introduces preferred patterns for writing functions that return values. At the end of the sequence, students write and use functions that return values in a simple turtle driver app.

Students will be able to:
- use the return command to design functions.
- identify instances when a function with a return value can be used to contain frequently used computations within a program.
- design functions that return values to perform frequently needed computations within a program.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

This activity will introduce students to researching using basic keyword searches with digital tools. The students will research animals on Pebble Go accessed through the Alabama Virtual Library. Throughout the activity, the teacher will model DLCS 2.12 - Conduct basic keyword searches to gather information.

This learning activity was created as a result of the ALEX - Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Resource Development Summit.

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Students explore the amazing possibilities that come with using technology. They'll also learn from the Digital Citizens, who take a pledge to be safe, responsible, and respectful when traveling through the online world.

Students will be able to:
  • Understand that being a good digital citizen means being safe and responsible online.
  • Take a pledge to be a good digital citizen.

Users will need to create a free account before accessing this resource. 

Grade(s)

2

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Activate Creature Powers! Inspired by the WILD KRATTS, in this activity children will be challenged to create PBS KIDS ScratchJr projects that explore different animals and their unique behaviors and traits.

Children will learn how to create projects, add characters, and how to use the programming blocks to make their characters animate and move on the screen. They will explore coding and computational thinking practices as they utilize technology as a tool for creativity, expression, and learning with the PBS KIDS ScratchJr app.

Grade(s)

1, 2, 3

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this activity, students will compute real-world problems involving the volume of rectangular prisms. Students are provided models of rectangular prisms with fractional edge lengths and asked to compute how many smaller prims with a given measure are needed to pack the model. They will compute volume measurements using two different methods. Students are provided a link to an online rectangular prism calculator to check their calculations. An answer key with detailed explanations is provided for this activity.

How Much Does It Take? Student Response Page

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Mathematics
Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

The class works in groups to design aluminum foil boats that will support as many pennies as possible. At the end of the lesson, groups reflect on their experiences with the activity and make connections to the types of problem-solving they will be doing for the rest of the course.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

6, 7, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

You'll need to create a password to do just about everything on the Web, from checking your email to online banking. And while it's simpler to use a short, easy-to-remember password, this can also pose serious risks to your online security. To protect yourself and your information, you'll want to use passwords that are long, strong, and difficult for someone else to guess while still keeping them relatively easy for you to remember.

Review video and text tips for creating strong passwords to maintain account security.

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Helping kids learn what makes different media choices healthy or not is a good start. But how do we help them actually make responsible choices in the real world? Give your students the opportunity to create a personalized media plan.

Students will be able to:

  • Reflect on how balanced they are in their daily lives.

  • Consider what "media balance" means, and how it applies to them.

  • Create a personalized plan for healthy and balanced media use.

Users will need to create a free account to access this resource. 

Grade(s)

5

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Hear about some ways to put the internet to good use from the much-loved character Ruff Ruffman, in this animated video from RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS. With his uniquely comical style, Ruff helps students acquire some key twenty-first-century skills. This resource is part of the RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS Collection. This video comes with a student guide that lists several things students do online to connect with others in their daily lives. This video can be played to introduce a lesson on digital tools.

Grade(s)

2, 5

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

In this learning activity, students will be introduced to automation through automated grocery shopping. Students begin the activity by reviewing their most recent grocery shopping experience. Then they are invited to brainstorm ways they think the traditional grocery shopping experience would be different if it was automated. Students will watch a video about an automated grocery packing warehouse. Finally, they will describe aspects of automating the grocery shopping experience that increases efficiency. 

Grade(s)

6

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

This lesson explores the challenges of communicating how to draw with shapes and uses a tool that introduces how this problem is approached in the Game Lab. The class uses a Game Lab tool to interactively place shapes on Game Lab's 400 by 400 grid. Partners then take turns instructing each other how to draw a hidden image using this tool, accounting for many of the challenges of programming in Game Lab.

Note: You will need to create a free account on code.org before you can view this resource.

Grade(s)

6, 7, 8

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource
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