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Hear about getting the most from the internet from the much-loved character Ruff Ruffman, in this animated, musical video from RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS. Ruff sings about all the great things you can do online. With his uniquely comical style, Ruff helps students to responsibly navigate twenty-first-century skills. This resource is part of the RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS Collection. This video can be played during a lesson on demonstrating an appropriate level of proficiency in performing tasks using a range of digital devices.

Steve Trash teaches kids about science with fun and magic. The show is filmed in Alabama.

Water pollution is never good. It’s even worse when your neighborhood cow is making it. Steve discusses the many ways that farmers and ranchers work to keep streams and ponds free of pollution as one example of how everyone can play a role. Then Steve delves into how scientists collect and use data.

This unplugged lesson explores the underlying behavior of variables. Using notecards and string to simulate variables within a program, the class implements a few short programs. Once comfortable with this syntax, the class uses the same process with sprite properties, tracking a sprite's progress across the screen.

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

This webpage provides an introduction to how data is stored in computers, including a brief explanation of the binary numbering system. 

Computers can only work with digital information. Everything that they process must first be turned into a digital signal in one of two states: "on" or "off."

At a basic level, a computer processor is a collection of switches which can either be on or off. These switches are known as transistors. The computer processes information by switching transistors on and off automatically.

Information from input devices must be digitized so the information can be processed.

Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks and not to inform? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers, but they don't benefit readers. And when they go viral, they can badly misinform the public. Help students recognize and analyze clickbait when they see it.

Students will be able to:

• Describe how advertisers and publishers make money through online advertising.

• Describe how clickbait can contribute to the spread of fake news and misinformation.

• Take a position on whose responsibility it is to fight fake news and misinformation.

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

How do we act when we are on the Internet? Here are some good manners when we are on the Internet. Use good words, not rude or bad words. Be patient with others. Sometimes others are beginners and are just learning how to use the Internet. This video can be played to demonstrate appropriate behaviors for working with others responsibly and kindly during a lesson on communicating in a digital environment.

Social media algorithms often create "news bubbles" that block exposure to opposing points of view. Here you’ll get concrete advice from leading media experts on how to break free and get fully informed. Use this lesson plan and accompanying video on Decoding Media Bias (also found in the Support Materials), authored by social studies educator Liz Ramos. Students will look at several different media websites and discuss any bias found on these sites. 

The class explores a variety of different teapot designs to consider how design choices are made and why. Using the teapots as an example, the class will explore the relationship between users, their needs, and the design of the objects they use.

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

Images are everywhere on computers. Some are obvious, like photos on web pages and icons on buttons, but others are more subtle: a font is really a collection of images of characters, and a fax machine is really a computer that is good at scanning and printing.

This activity explores how images as data structures are displayed, based on the pixel as a building block. In particular, the great quantity of data in an image means that we need to use compression to be able to store and transmit it efficiently. The compression method used in this activity is based on the one used in fax machines, for black and white images.

"Old meme is old." But why is this such a bad thing? Once the height of internetiness, the sight of a LOLCat is now unforgivable. Memes become passe very quickly: after just months or even weeks of a new meme, we tire of the once hugely popular joke. Why does this happen, and so rapidly? Is it a reflection of the sheer volume of visual information we absorb from the internet? Or, does it say something about this specific visual culture? 

In this lesson, students look at a simple example of how a computer could be used to complete the decision making step of the data problem-solving process. Students are given the task of creating an algorithm that could suggest a vacation spot. Students then create rules, or an algorithm, that a computer could use to make this decision automatically. Students share their rules and what choices their rules would make with the class data. Then, they use their rules on data from their classmates to test whether their rules would make the same decision that a person would. The lesson concludes with a discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of using computers to automate the data problem-solving process.

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

You will be familiar with computer graphics from games, films, and images, and there is amazing software available to create images, but how does the software work? The role of a computer scientist is not just to use graphics systems, but to create them, and especially invent new techniques.

The entertainment industry is always trying to develop new graphics software so that they can push the boundaries and create new experiences. We've seen this in the evolution of animated films, from simple 2D films to realistic computer-generated movies with detailed 3D images. The names of dozens of computer scientists now regularly appear in the credits for films that use CGI or animation, and some have even won Oscars for their innovative software!

Movie and gaming companies can't always use existing software to make the next great thing – they need computer scientists to come up with better graphics techniques to make something that's never been seen before. The creative possibilities are endless!

Computer graphics are used in a wide variety of situations: games and animated movies are common examples, but graphics techniques are also used to visualize large amounts of data (such as all cellphone calls being made in one day or friend connections in a social network), to display and animate graphical user interfaces, to create virtual reality and augmented reality worlds, and much more.

Ever have an argument with someone, and no matter how many facts you provide, you just can’t get that person to see it your way? One big reason for this is cognitive bias, which is a limitation in our thinking that can cause flaws in our judgment. Confirmation bias is a specific type of cognitive bias that motivates us to seek out the information we already believe and ignore or minimize facts that threaten what we believe. Studies show that when people are presented with facts that contradict what they believe, the parts of the brain that control reason and rationality go inactive. But, the parts of the brain that process emotion light up like the Fourth of July. Have your students watch the video and respond to the question in KQED Learn. This video has a learning activity in the Support Materials section.

This activity revisits concepts from Happy Maps (CSF Unit 2 Lesson 5). This time, students will be solving bigger, longer puzzles with their code, leading them to see the utility in structures that let them write longer code in an easier way.

This lesson serves as an introduction to loops. Loops allow for students to simplify their code by grouping commands that need to be repeated. Students will develop critical thinking skills by noticing repetition in movements of their classmates and determining how many times to repeat commands. By seeing "Happy Maps" again, students will get the chance to relate old concepts such as sequencing to the new concept of repeat loops.

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

Students explore the concept of privacy in their everyday lives, and as it relates to using the Internet. Students examine a scenario in which a research company collects information about them. They reflect on concerns they might have, and they learn about the kinds of information websites collect. They learn that sites are required to post their privacy policies and that kids should check those policies on the sites they visit.

Students will be able to:

• explore the concept of privacy in both a real-world setting and online.

• understand how and why companies collect information about visitors to their websites.

• learn and use online privacy terms.

• learn that websites are required to post privacy policies.

From spam filters and self-driving cars to cutting edge medical diagnosis and real-time language translation, there has been an increasing need for our computers to learn from data and apply that knowledge to make predictions and decisions. This is the heart of machine learning which sits inside the more ambitious goal of artificial intelligence.

As a quick update (or introduction) to using loops, this stage will have students using the repeat block to get Scrat to the acorn more efficiently.

In this lesson, students will be learning 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 these Code.org puzzles, students will learn to add instructions to existing loops, gather repeated code into loops, and recognize patterns that need to be repeated.

Students will be able to:
- construct a program using structures that repeat areas of code.
- improve existing code by finding areas of repetition and moving them into looping structures.

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

A social network is an online community of people who use a website or app to communicate with each other by sharing comments, images, videos, resources, etc. Common examples include Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Using social networks can be a lot of fun and help us feel connected with the people we care most about. Adults also use social networks to share resources and look for jobs, while seniors and shut-ins benefit from being able to stay in touch with relatives and friends. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

When you have completed these activities you will:​

1. know what a social network is [Empowered Learner]

2. understand why it is important to manage your digital identity when using a social network [Digital Citizen]

3. understand why it is important to navigate social networks safely and post thoughtfully [Digital Citizen]

4. be able to create a set of personal guidelines for navigating social networks [Digital Citizen]

Since Joseph Marie Jacquard’s textile loom in 1801, there has been a demonstrated need to give our machines instructions. In the last few episodes, our instructions were already in our computer’s memory, but we need to talk about how they got there - this is the heart of programming. Today, we’re going to look at the history of programming.

This lesson presents a top-down problem-solving strategy for designing solutions to programming problems. Students use a worksheet to learn about top-down design, and then on paper, design a solution to a new turtle drawing challenge with a partner. Having practiced this approach on paper and in code, students will be presented again with the 3x3 square challenge from an earlier lesson and asked to improve upon their old solution by designing multiple layers of functions.

Students will be able to:
- write a complete program with functions that solve sub-tasks of a larger programming task.
- explain how functions are an example of abstraction.
- use a “top-down” problem-solving approach to identify sub-tasks of a larger programming task.

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

A nautically-themed infographic with an accompanying video helps students understand how to tailor the search process to the complexity of the question; then students put their new search strategies to work.

Users must create a free account to access this resource. 

We're going to discuss the critical role graphical user interfaces, or GUIs played in the adoption of computers. Before the mid-1980's the most common way people could interact with their devices was through command-line interfaces, which though efficient, aren't really designed for casual users. This all changed with the introduction of the Macintosh by Apple in 1984.

This lesson attempts to walk students through the iterative development process of building an app (basically) from scratch that involves the use of if statements. Following an imaginary conversation between two characters - Alexis and Michael - students follow the problem solving and program design decisions they make for each step of constructing the app. Along the way, they decide when and how to break things down into functions, and of course, discuss the logic necessary to make a simple game.

The last step - writing code that executes an end-of-game condition - students must do on their own. How they decide to use if statements to end the game will require some creativity. The suggested condition - first to score 10 points - is subtly tricky and can be written in many different ways.

At the conclusion of the lesson, there is three practice Create PT-style questions as well as resources explaining the connection between this lesson and the actual Create PT. Depending on how you use these materials they can easily add an additional day to this lesson.

Students will be able to:
- write code to implement solutions to problems from pseudocode or description.
- follow the iterative development process of a collaboratively created program.
- develop and write code for conditional expressions to incorporate into an existing program.
- write a large program from scratch when given directions for each step.

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

Students consider the feelings of themselves and others when making decisions about when, where, and how much to use technology. Through video and song, students will learn to balance the time they use technology and when to take breaks. 

Students will be able to:

• Know when and why to take breaks from device time.

• Consider the feelings of the people around them, even when engaged in fun online activities.

Users will need to create a free account to access resources. 

This DragonflyTV segment introduces NASA roboticist Dr. Ayanna Howard. Her job is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to build robots that can travel into space and other hazardous locations. In this segment, she discusses her work on a rover for use on Mars. Also available in Spanish. This video can be played as an introduction to a lesson on artificial intelligence.

In this lesson, students discuss their online experiences and learn how to minimize the potential risks that may be associated with them. Using a tip sheet, students explore the many tools and strategies that can be used to prevent negative online experiences. Once they have reviewed these strategies and resources, students will extend their knowledge by playing a game in which they compete against other students to match a series of technological "tools" to the "risks" they can help prevent. 

Students will display the ability to:

• recognize the potential security risks and drawbacks of engaging in various online activities

• use a variety of tools and techniques to secure and protect their online experiences

• apply principles of board game design through the creation of a Cyber Security game (Grade 7/8 only)

   

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