Imagination Toolbox - Curriculum Design and Development

Apply Now! Deadline Extended to July 1, 2011

The Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP) is conducting an exciting weeklong workshop in August at MIT for educators to design and develop their own simulation or 3D game programming activities that bring 21st century science, math and computational thinking practices into the classroom using school-tested tools. StarLogo TNG is a graphical programming environment developed at MIT for learners to study and create 3D games and simulations with no prior programming experience.

The workshop is open to teachers in all subject areas who have an interest in incorporating computer programming or simulations. This workshop is ideal for a teacher who has an idea for a student project or a simulation model, but needs help developing and sequencing activities and/or needs technical support to program the model. Participants will use a "backwards design" approach based on the framework from Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe. As in years past, participation in this workshop comes with a year of support, which includes answering questions by email or phone, two 1-day weekend refresher workshops, and even in-person classroom visits from project staff (if school is within a reasonable driving distance from MIT).

Since the workshop is focused on developing new activities or extending existing models/projects, we are giving preference to educators who have attended a previous workshop or who have taught using StarLogo TNG. However, if you are new to SLTNG, but have a great idea or have programming experience in another language (i.e., Scratch), please apply anyway!  If you are selected but don't have prior SLTNG experience, you will be required to attend a fun 2-day Intro to Programming in StarLogo TNG workshop (or work through our equivalent self-study materials) prior to attending the week-long workshop.

As in years past, space is limited to about 20 participants and there is a competitive selection process. Even if you have attended a previous workshop, you will need to apply again this year. The only cost is a $50 registration fee. We provide coffee, snacks, lunch, and daily parking passes or a 7-day T-pass.  If you are too far from the MIT campus to commute daily, you will need to finance and arrange your own travel and lodgings.

NEW this year - if the workshop dates don't work for you, or you are new to StarLogo TNG and just want to learn some basics about this programming tool, please attend our FREE, open-admission, 2-day Introduction to Programming in StarLogo TNG workshop, no prior experience with programming required. 

Also NEW this year - if you are a grade 6-10 computer teacher in the Boston / Greater Boston area, you may want to apply for the Computer Programming Tools in Schools (CPTS) workshop, in which you learn how to introduce fundamental computer science concepts and programming skills to students using a multi-language curriculum that includes StarLogo TNG and Scratch. You will receive classroom support while helping us pilot this innovative curriculum. You can only attend one of the two workshops, but you may apply for both and rank your preference. You only need to fill out ONE application.  

2011 Workshop schedule

Dates: August 8-12, 2011

Time: 9am-3pm

Location: MIT campus - Cambridge, Massachusetts

PD Credit: 30 hours

Cost: $50 (Includes breakfast, lunch, parking or T-pass, and materials)

Eligibility Requirements:

• 6th-12th grade level educators
• Commitment to attending the entire workshop, including the Intro to Programming workshop, if needed

Selection Criteria:

• Preference given for teachers with past participation in an Imagination Toolbox workshop or experience teaching with StarLogo TNG or similar tool (Scratch, NetLogo, Alice, etc.)
• Preference given for Boston Public School teachers, due to our funding sponsor's support for BPS and this project
• Preference given to multiple teachers from the same school who apply for this and/or the CPTS workshop.
• Enthusiasm for using technology to foster creativity and interest in computer modeling or programming
• Confidence and comfort with student-centered teaching and learning
• An interesting idea for a model and/or activity
• Access to a class set of laptops or a computer classroom 

Apply Now!

Deadline: July 1, 2011