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It is the Learning, Not the Grades

4/2/2015

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Originally published on KCET"s Open Classroom 

I get annoyed when my students tell underclassmen interested in entering the Tech Academy that my computer science courses are easy. They say this because almost everyone gets an A or B in my class. I ask my students if they have learned in my class. Oh yes, they say. Often they remark that not only have they learned so much but that my class truly helps them prepare for the world outside of school. So then, I say can we come up with words that are more accurate than easy. Relevant, informative, important are just some of the few additional words they choose instead. It is a class where they succeed, a class where they create, a class with a direct connection to their future.

I recently spoke to an old friend from high school, who just sold his third tech company - this one to Apple. If you use money as a measure of success, then he is one of the most successful people to graduate from my high school. However, as a student he never rose much higher than a C+ average. I asked him how he thought our high school grades correlated with his life as a tech CEO and he validated every aspect of my teaching philosophy.

My friend said for his next company he is looking for people he enjoys working with. People who can share ideas and collaborate. He now consults with growing companies and says the biggest issue companies have is that they lose their ability to communicate and problem solve as a team. Departments get closed off and people forget they need to work together. If everyone is out for themselves companies will fail where teamwork is integral. I am trying to instill, reward, and celebrate the communication skills desperately needed in the workforce instead of isolating my students with tests.

I have given a lot of thought to how and what I teach. Yes, it is the rare student that gets a D in my class but that is because I am passionate about getting every single student to take themselves seriously and to produce work that they are proud of and make them see their accomplishments. My students get credit for the experiences and production of work. They are beginning their technological and digital experience. I want them to feel success. I want them to value the process and take pride in the effort. I don't want to shoot down their hard work with fails before they have a chance to get their footing.

My students rarely get homework especially since in the underrepresented community of Title 1 students where I teach at Foshay Learning Center, a k-12 span school in South Los Angeles, access to technology plus the time and space to do the work is a rarity. I myself don't like to do work at home, I want to accomplish my work during my working hours and I have the same expectations for my students. I also track their progress inside my class almost every time we meet through Edmodo.com - a free online classroom that stores and tracks all their work digitally. I don't take kindly to students wasting time in my class and often make them pause and discuss their work with their classmates. I also give credit for progress and not just the final project.

By the first semester of their 10th grade year (the first of six semesters I spend with my students) everyone has completed and updated a resume, built a website using HTML about a famous historical leader and made at least 3 presentations about an ethical issue in technology, explaining how and why to use a web 2.0 website (a website that usually involves a log in) and researched and analyzed various technology someone should buy given a specific scenario. All of these items will be included in their online digital portfolio that will begin to build at the start of the second semester for 10th grade. In my two sections of 76 10th graders, every student completed every one of these activities. Not all of them to the same level of success but still quite an achievement.

So yes, my students tend to get good grades in my class and that is because they have worked hard, communicated, and problem solved as a community to help each other get the work done. My job as a teacher is to support my students along the way. Show them what is important in their research and writing. Encourage their thinking and troubleshooting. I don't believe it is my job to set a bar high up in the air and then shoot them down and fail them when they don't jump as high as I think they should according to my timeline. They will have to jump high on their own when they leave school. Instead, I am the coach training them. Getting them ready to compete - school is the practice, not the end of the final competition.

Instead of my grades judging and reflecting the student work, I give the students credit for writing up reflections when they turn in a project. This includes their process and changes they would make if they do it again. Often I will give them a day or two after they have received my grade to go back and make those changes. In the workplace you would not fail and give up on a project, it is a constant cycle of working, revising, and reviewing.

I also ask my students to evaluate how they used effective communication, personal and social responsibility, problem solving and technological literacy. These are the school wide learning goals - the skills that should be incorporated in every class. These are also the skills that are necessary to be a good employee on any job.

Without worrying about their grades too intensely my students have the space to reflect and improve upon their work. I bring in business partners and create real life scenarios so that they can see how their work would play out in the real world. They present marketing campaigns to ad executives in the company's conference rooms. My students go on interviews, job shadows and participate in our internship fair where the impact of the experience sticks with them more than any grade.

The students in my class are awarded differently than with grades. Most will get A's and B's but the best are recognized with awards, scholarships, college admittance and jobs. I currently have four students who are recognized as a national winner and national runner up for the Aspirations in Computing Award from the National Center for Women and Information Technology. In my senior class of thirty five students, twenty nine of them placed in the top 60 as juniors in an International Python Competition. Many have received internships and two of them earned scholarships to the National Leadership Conference in DC. The list goes on and on. What's important is that every student has a digital portfolio showing off their skills, work and accomplishments. My grades will never stand in the way of my students' success. Instead I'm teaching them to thrive based on their own merits and to seek out and take advantage of oppor
tunities that will only add to their continued success.

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Building the Skills to Get the Job in the First Place

2/5/2015

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Originally published on KCET's Open Classroom
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In addition to the computer science skills my students learn in the Foshay Technology Academy - skills like web and graphic design, programming, and video production -- the students also acquire and build the communication skills necessary for the 21st century workplace. This includes learning how to write resumes and get ready for job interviews. This communication piece is key. I am teaching my students how to go after the jobs and get hired. Interviewing for a job can be a scary experience so my students begin to get over their fright as soon as possible in the 10th grade.

During the first semester of their sophomore year -- the first of six semesters that my students and I spend together -- every student completes a mock interview. This day has become one of the most anticipated and monumental days for the students. They do a lot of preparation to get through the interview, and it becomes an experience that they will never forget. I know, because they discuss their experience again when they apply for jobs at our annual spring Internship Fair when they are juniors, and whenever I hear my students explain the academy to business partners and underclassmen -- this is one of the first items they share.

I teach at Foshay Learning Center, a low-income, under-represented school in South Los Angeles. We are a K-12 span school and more than 90% of my students will be first generation to attend college. I am focused on my students' independent and continued success outside of high school, which is also something reinforced by the California Partnership Academy grant that my program has received from the State for the past twelve years. High school internships are becoming increasingly important for high school students who want to get into better colleges and find future employment, according to a study released February 3, 2014, by Internships.com and the research and consulting firm Millennial Branding. The California Partnership Academy grant mandates that I work with business partners and an advisory board to add the career focus my students need in life outside of high school. Even with all this support, it is still up to the hustle of my students to impress in order to obtain internships, jobs, and opportunities.

Every fall the sophomores dress professionally to conduct a one-on-one mock interview with a professional for an entry level internship. They each have a printed resume that was edited and reviewed by their peers, by me, and by professional mentors. The interviews last about 20 minutes and all of them begin the same way -- introductions, eye contact, smile, and handshake followed by a friendly "tell me about yourself." This models any interview they will encounter going forward.

The mock interview day was the first thing I put in place when I started running the Tech Academy twelve years ago, and the only real change from its original format is that now every student gets an individual one-on-one interview instead of having to be interviewed in pairs, since I finally have enough volunteers. The mock interview event used to be a two year experience, but now the juniors go on informational interviews and participate in real interviews in March at our annual internship fair.

It is incredible to see the sophomores prepare for this day. When they enter my class in August they still see themselves as freshmen and most think it is too soon to take themselves seriously. Knowing that they will have to present themselves to someone professionally completely takes them out of their comfort zone and makes them look at themselves and their experience in a new light. No one can hide in a one-on-one interview and there is no one to blame for a poor performance but themselves.

It is fun watching the students practice with each other leading up the interviews. I bring in the seniors who already went through the experience to help the sophomores prepare with the same sample questions I give to the professional interviewers, although many of them come prepared with their own questions. My students know that the interview is not scripted; it is not possible when every interview is unique in its own way. These sample questions are meant to get them thinking and prepared.

The students can only participate in the interview if they show up on time and are dressed professionally. We define professional dress as button down shirt and slacks. Ties and jackets are optional. This has been a point of contention over the years with some of my business partners who work in government, law, or for IBM. However, at game companies, tech companies, and advertising companies, the workplace dress code is very casual -- so showing up in a three piece suit is to be overdressed and out of place. I keep conferring with my business partners about this point and they agree with me.

"My interview felt close to an ordinary, day-to-day conversation. It was relaxed more than anything, and did have a few awkward moments. I felt a bit at ease most of the time. Maybe I could've spent more time beforehand to prepare more 'logical' and sensible questions.The most useful for me was the feedback I received from Mr. Londre on my opinionated answers. He gave me tips on how to make my answers sound more "alive" and "interesting". For the next time, I plan to prepare for the twist that can happen in a conversation. I needed to prepare better answers along with better questions. Perhaps even open up a bit more as I do have the tendency to be shy."

​April: "My interview experience was awesome. I felt confident in what I was saying and the questions I answered. I was also prepared for any question that came my way and had my resume and business card ready. What was useful for me was the advice he gave me to make my words on my resume sound fancier and to manage my time better. Next time I will improve myself to not talk as fast and to just slow down and to not be nervous so my voice won't sound shaky. I described to my interviewer that I am an effective communicator, a problem solver, and that I am technologically literate."
 
Katya: "I felt the need to write to you because I have realized that even though I graduated in 2010, the experiences you strive to implement and instill in all of the Tech Academy alumni is still helping me shape my future. I walked in for an interview yesterday and although I don't have a job offer just yet, I wanted to let you know how important the programs in the Tech Academy are and how they literally opened so many doors and changed my life. Thank you for all that you do! It truly deeply matters. The students might not realize it right away, but they will one day."The students write thank you emails after the interview as an opportunity to practice professional writing and continue the relationship. Nothing makes them take their spelling and grammar seriously until they know someone outside of school will read it. As a result of this experience, many students have received opportunities such as on-the-spot internship offers, a personal mentor, and an expansion of their professional networking community.

It is so special for the students to have this time with a business partner. As hard as I try to have at least one exchange with each of my students in every class period, it is incredibly difficult to give them individual attention in a meaningful way. My classes average thirty-six students, and sometimes the interviewer will discover something significant about the student that they will never share with me in the three years I have with them. It is a personalized experience that makes every student feel special and realize what it is to be taken seriously.


The mock interviews have long lasting effects that I see often when my alumni contact me. One of my favorite stories is from my student from the class of 2012. During his first year at college he applied for a part time job at Costco. He wrote on my Facebook page about how horrified he was that the other candidates were not prepared. In his interview when they asked for work experience he pulled up his digital portfolio. They were impressed into silence. He told me he just channeled everything he had learned from the mock interviews in high school. In the end not only did he get the cashier job he had applied for, they offered him assistant manager based on his portfolio and interview presentation.

I have also received multiple emails from students after they begin college about the jobs they are offered based on their high school experience. When a professor asks a class to create a resume my students are already done. The professors are quickly impressed and have offered internships on the spot.

Yes, I run an academy based on building technological skills necessary in the workplace. However, if we don't take the time to teach our students the communication skills that they will need to get a job in the first place, are we really giving them the survival and life skills they need in order to succeed? Many of my students live below the poverty line. I feel a personal mission to give them the experience and tools to change the circumstance they were born into. Learning how to get the job is just as important as keeping and excelling at the job. Communication skills to express what you have learned and accomplished are necessary to prove what you will be capable of producing in the future.


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How to Get Students Excited About Learning to Code

2/5/2015

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Originally published on KCET's Open Classroom

At Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles, every student in the 10th grade enters an academy for the next three years of high shool: Finance, Technology or Health careers. I run the Technology Academyand have the luxury of teaching my students three years in a row. This way we can work together on a comprehensive curriculum that prepares my students for college and careers.

This year I am looking for a programming language that will allow my 11th graders to create digital games that they can then show off on their digital portfolios. This is the second course in a series of three, and is focused on Game Design and Production. Last year the junior class in the Foshay Tech Academy completed the Exploring Computer Science curriculum as 10th graders, where they followed the pillars of equity, inquiry, and computer science to build up their programming and problem solving skills. The final senior course requires that they build and market an original app idea.

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My classroom models the problem solving process that is integral in computer science and programming, which is why I constantly review and revise my curriculum and approach. Here's how the process works:


1. UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM: Computer Science and game design are growing fields and students need access to these courses. Code.org has made a national splash raising awareness about why it is important to teach students to code and to learn computer science. The expectation is that there will be a million more jobs than computer science students by the year 2020. Not enough of our student population is pursuing these careers, and the common sense behind that is this: if you are not exposed to people with the career in your home community and you are not exposed through school, then where would a person get the experience and establish the interest?

I also agree that programming is a fundamental skill, not only to breach the digital divide in careers, but also to emphasize problem solving, showcase multiple solutions to one problem, and build communication and troubleshooting skills.

2. MAKE A PLAN AND SOLVE THE PROBLEM: Over the course of running the Technology Academy and teaching the career classes I have moved through many programming languages with my students, to various degrees of success. Ultimately I want them to finish our unit in programming and understand the fundamental concepts and logic of writing, reading, and modifying code. It has been confirmed by my alumni who have told me that they had an easier time than most of their classmates in college with programming, based on the foundation they received in my class.

3. CARRY OUT THE PLAN: Two years ago I decided that my students should learn to make apps, and attempted to teach them App Inventor. Every professional who looked at the students' portfolio were so impressed with the live interactive apps the students were able to build and package to their phone and digital portfolios. However, the students did not feel the same level of success. They thought their apps were amateur and in the end they were not able to achieve the level of sophistication and complexity they desired.

Programming is a full time job and best done in pairs or teams; it is beyond expectation that high school students will achieve their goals if they only practice and work on it during the 4 hours a week that I see them. I realized that while most of the students could build the apps from the tutorials, they were missing the fundamental concepts of loops, conditionals, and variables that they need to build a solid programming foundation.

4. REVIEW and REVISE (repeat): Last year, my students experimented with new programming languages through the Hour of Code. The Code.org website offers some amazing tutorials and gives access to what programs are out there for people to learn on their own. The entire school participated and my students took on a leadership role. They assisted parents and middle school students with Lightbot and Angry Bird coding games designed for beginners. My students tried the more advanced options, and we discovered Python and Processing. Even though my juniors already had games they created through App Inventor, I needed something to teach them the key concepts and vocabulary of programming. I ended up registering all of my juniors to Grok Learning's international Python competition.

I thought the broken up challenges in the five week competition would engage and inspire the students. I was correct, for the first two weeks, during which the students were active and engaged learners. They challenged and assisted each other. The room was buzzing. But by the third week the challenges got much harder, and almost at once more than half the class was ready to give up. They thought the challenges should be conquered quickly and easily; they did not like that it required so many steps. They did not like that they had to think and work so hard.


I had to change the game in the classroom. They needed to learn that for developers programming is a full time job that requires attention to detail and patience, perseverance, and creativity. I had to find new tactics to get my students talking again. I made small groups that were led by a student who was further along, with the goal of letting them talk about the challenges that got them stuck, and working in teams to solve it. I had pairs of students go work through a problem in front of the class with the other students, offering up guidance and suggestions while they worked along from their computers. I made the students get into pairs and explain the code to each other line by line.

The realization was that online programs are amazing and helpful, but it is not enough to get an entire class focused and motivated. A teacher is still needed to facilitate and encourage. It is hard to learn anything without the communication piece, and an independent online course deceives the students into thinking that maybe they should be working alone.

In the workplace programmers are often given a partner to program with. They need to seek out solutions and advice. However, it is not a natural instinct. Time and again I see students stare at the ceiling when they are lost. They turn silent instead of investigative. They think it will just come to them (or not) and they would rather give up than risk exposing their questions.

I recently spoke with a creative software developer who told me that when he hires developers he always asks if they prefer to work alone or collaboratively. If they answer alone, then they are not hired - he said he would rather have multiple mediocre developers than a whiz who is not a team player.


I have held tight to this as I teach my juniors how to code in JavaScript. My students are learning JavaScript through community. We are using Code Avengers, a partner with the Hour of Code. My students and I are excited by what they are producing. Code Avengers offers everything I was looking for - my students are learning a language that will be impressive on their resumes; the course engages the ones who struggle and gives accelerated options to the ones who want a continuous challenge to expand their skills. There are bonus games, opportunities for review, small and large projects for my students to practice their skills, as well as make modifications so they can produce their projects and embed the games they make on their web sites. I can even track their progress and intervene with mini lessons or paired work to help the ones who are getting lost or frustrated.

Unfortunately, an online course is not the full proof solution. I can't just sit back and let them quietly work through the course. I have to facilitate to make sure they are engaged and moving forward. I have to keep track where they are and where they are struggling. It is hard not to step in and lecture. Instead I have other tactics: Every day we spend at least thirty minutes in paired programming and I will give them their partner for the day. The partnership is not lowest student with the highest student; in fact they are often close to the same spot. I tell them that the class activity is worth points based on how they communicate and work together for the day. Sometimes I tell the pair to go back to a certain lesson and take turns explaining the lines of code to each other. I know from experience that often they are just following directions rather than thinking through the program. It is amazing how engaged and articulate the students become when they are paired up and the greatest learning is when you explain your knowledge to someone else.

Teaching programming is important. However, it is challenging and takes a lot of revision and communication. Even if a life of programming is not in their future these troubleshooting and collaboration skills will follow them. Code.org is making programming more accessible to anyone who is interested. Some of the online courses offer certification upon completion. The Hour of Code is December 8 to 14, but it is always a good time to code.


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THE POWER OF AN INTERNSHIP

12/2/2014

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Originally a blog for The LA Fund

I am fortunate that I get to teach my students for three years straight from 10th through 12th grade as their career teacher in the Technology Academy at Foshay Learning Center, a low-income K-12 span school in South Los  Angeles. Everything taught within the academy is meant to reflect life outside the classroom in order to build marketable skills that will help the students succeed with college and careers. One of our highest goals is to give every student an internship experience.  When students have to be responsible and communicate on their own without the aide of a teacher, it is the most powerful way to connect what they are learning in class to what will be expected of them when they have to find jobs on their own.

The LA Fund has become a great partner for my students with TIP, The Intern Project. They offered five students at Foshay Learning Center amazing internships this past summer at top companies like Mattel, Kaiser Permanente, and Fullscreen, to name a few. The lasting impact on the students is apparent all the time. The students have all come back glowing with confidence, armored with skills from the experience, and a powerful entry on their resume that will no doubt impress and open up opportunities for them.

The poise that the students have acquired is readily apparent when they are asked to speak in class, present to a crowd, or meet professionals when out on a field trip or listening to a guest speaker. In fact, my student Darryl Beason (pictured above), who interned at ATOM Factory Pop Water this summer, was offered an internship on the spot when he visited a major advertising agency with our class.  The executives told me they were looking for a summer intern and instantly honed in on Darryl when they heard him ask questions about the company and became more interested when they learned about his previous experience this past summer.

The effects of the internships will just keep paying forward to these students. It is hard to imagine how it will be in a professional setting until you experience it for yourself. My students also don’t have a large community at home to help them network and achieve these entry-level positions so assistance to locate opportunities is key as well as teaching the students how to look for and take advantage of these opportunities. While I think my students create impressive projects in our class (their work samples on their online digital portfolios are proof), nothing can really take the place of that first impressive job on your resume to make other future jobs take notice.

The LA Fund’s The Intern Project opens doors to the students, builds experience and confidence, and puts some money in their pockets at the same time—all amazing things that cannot be replicated in the classroom. We are hopeful that through The Intern Project and the Foshay Learning Center’s Technology Academy’s own connections that we will be able to get half of our juniors into internships this coming summer.


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How Interactive Student-Centered Field Trips Work

10/21/2014

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PictureTwo students interviewing Brian Jeremy, SVP Creative Technology
http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/columns/open-classroom/interactive-student-centered-field-trips.html

I recently took my juniors on an interactive field trip to Deutsch, an international ad agency. The purpose of the field trip was to learn about the different jobs available in advertising and let my students see the work environment, which was much different than they had imagined. They could not get over the public spaces and friendly faces that greeted them.

The other purpose of this field trip was to give my students the opportunity to conduct an informational interview. In the past the informational interview was a homework assignment I gave every year to little success. Only a fraction of the students followed through with the assignment, and of those only one or two would contact an unknown person to interview -- the rest just interviewed a family friend regardless if they were interested in the career. The ones who did accomplish this task always learned from the experience, but I was fixated on all the students who missed out.

I know from personal experience that when you contact someone in a career you are interested in, and tell them you would like to meet them to ask a few questions, they are almost always willing. On these interviews you get a first hand experience about the true details and skills necessary for the job. It also allows you to grow your networking community and gives you an organic opportunity to pass along your resume. I got my big break into television production at Nickelodeon in 1999 as a result of these informational interviews and I know many others with a similar story.

At Foshay Learning Center's Technology Academy, one of our focuses for the juniors is for them to earn summer internships. So it is important for them to get a sense of the corporate world and the life of an employee before they begin high stakes interviews.

I started these interactive field trips three years ago. I pride myself on creating a student centered classroom; however I began to rethink the field trip when I took my students on what I considered a fantastic field trip to where the employees made special presentations about their career path and job responsibilities. I was horrified when I caught three of my students falling asleep. It turns out that the novelty of going some place new quickly wears off if the students are just sitting in chairs while professionals talk at them. A lecture is still a lecture, and high school students generally are egocentric and easily bored.

While I am always so grateful when companies invite my students for a tour and panel discussion about careers, the truth is that does not make for a very personal experience for the student. Now, when we go on trips I request that our hosts take time to get to know my students instead of just informing the students about the company.

These interactive field trips are now my remedy to ensure that all my students conduct an informational interview. It does take away from the initiative of the students in reaching out to people on their own, but it has succeeded in opening up their eyes to new careers and meeting potential mentors. The interactive field trip also forces my students to see their work with new eyes and recommits them to revising resumes, portfolios, and projects.

How the Interactive Field Trip Works:

First I get the students ready with a goal -- something that they have to accomplish as a result of the field trip. This could mean updating and editing their portfolios for feedback, or preparing for an informational interview or resume review.

Our first interactive field trip -- which was back to the international ad agency where I caught my students sleeping -- started the same way as before: we met in a conference room and had five employees present about their career path and current job responsibilities. The students then had time to eat and ask personal questions. The next phase was breaking the students into groups, each of which met with an advertising executive who went over their professional portfolios. This gave the ad executives a chance to know my students and gave my students a personalized experience.

After our most recent visit to Deutsch, I had my students write reflections from their experience to get them to focus on what they learned, and to help me see if the trip was a success. Here are some of their responses:

Alberto B: This does sound like a job I would greatly be interested in, mainly because of the environment in the work space. You're always going to have people to work with, so if you don't know where to go with a certain project. there is always going to someone to help you. One very important thing I gained from this experience was the advice given to me during the interview. Learning these life skills and job information from an employee of a company that I may want to work for one day, already gives me an advantage into seeing what I need to do to be in the growing tech industry.

Tariq B: I gained an understanding of the best way to help a project get finished is to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Audrey: I was able to learn about a typical day at his job, and to never be discouraged.

Lilly: I gained two mentors. And of course the courage to hopefully get an internship.The students also wrote thank you notes to the employees they interviewed. This helps continue the dialogue and connect them with potential future mentors or someone who can help them network as they get older. It is also a perfect opportunity to practice real world professional writing.

Excerpt from Annika: Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us. I can honestly say that our conversation has opened my eyes to more options in the technological field. I will always keep in mind that curiosity and passion are important to have when considering a job.

Excerpt from Katerin: Thank you for taking the time out of your day to participate in our informational interviews. I'd also like to thank you for sharing some of your personal goals and giving us advice on how to strive for what we want. I am personally impressed by how much work you have put into getting where you are and still working diligently to get even farther. I feel very inspired and motivated, it not only makes me want to work harder but also reminds me to make time and go after what I enjoy and love to do. Attached to this email is my resume, I'd really appreciate it if you could look over it and give me feedback. I have also pasted the link to my digital portfolio which contains some examples of my technological work if you would like to see it and give your input on it as well. Have a great rest of your day!I can't help by beam with pride and excitement when I read these thank you notes. My students are putting into action all the job skills we are learning and they will reap the benefits. They are also getting experience that is making them take note of their future and recognize potential opportunities that was previously unfamiliar and unknown. More companies are reaching out to invite us. The people at Deutsch wrote to thank me for giving them the chance to be inspired by my students. The field trip still has a similar structure but the impact it is now making on individual students has clearly increased exponentially.




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An informational interview with Justice Erolin, VP Creative Technology at Deutsch
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What to Teach, Ask the Experts

9/8/2014

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Originally posted on KCET's Open Classroom 


In order to keep abreast of trends in the workplace, I constantly ask for feedback from professionals and invite them into my classroom. This not only keeps me up to date now that my world is inside a classroom and not in an office, but it helps my students as well. I try to teach my students what they need in order to navigate life, college and career. To achieve this goal I teach what the students need, not just what I know or think they should know.

Jobs in computer science are growing. Great jobs. Creative jobs. Currently the big tech companies employ mostly white males. They have owned up to this fact and would like to see a change. On the other side, my students don't have friends and family working in these tech jobs. These tech jobs are not close by in South Los Angeles, where I teach, and for this reason the students are not part of a community encouraging them to break into the field of computer science, unless the students get it from their school. This is where Foshay Learning Center and I come in.

I am the lead technology teacher at Los Angeles' Foshay Tech Academy -- a 175-student school-within-a-school at Foshay Learning Center -- and recently co-wrote a curriculum for a video game course that will be available for other high schools to offer that will count in the students' GPA towards college; in other words, an A-G requirement. I reached out to experts to get feedback about the pacing and projects of the course. To begin this meeting, I had some students deliver elevator pitches about board games they created and game tested with elementary students. I then invited the students to stay and listen while the meeting moved on to discuss the curriculum mapped out for the rest of the year.

This is not the first time I have brought experts into my classroom, or asked them to review my curriculum. I bring professionals in all the time to talk to the students about their careers. We begin with the guests introducing themselves, and an example of when they failed or took a risk along their career path. I also hold mentor days for the professionals to come in to discuss their interviewing experience, review resumes, and edit student digital portfolios, cover letters, and personal statements.


The purpose behind bringing professionals into my class is threefold:

1. Networking opportunities for the students. My students are largely first generation to attend high school in America, and they have big dreams for their careers. The professionals give them the communication experience they need with people outside their own tiny network. Their network can now include professionals who can help them navigate into various careers through building up their digital portfolios, accepting informational interviews, and reaching out to them when opportunities occur. This experience is truly priceless. We have had students chosen for scholarships and awards and hired as game testers, web designers, and interns this way. We have also had students who were tapped for jobs in college from mentors they met in high school.

2. Real world critique that the students will actually listen to. Most of the time, I have already given similar points or advice as the mentors, but I think I sound like the teacher from the PEANUTS cartoons to them. The students hear my voice all the time; perhaps some have begun to tune me out. These experts add gravitas and truth to what I teach, or connects to a student in a new way that did not work for me through a large classroom setting.

3. The experts give me advice about what I need to adjust in order to match real world career expectations. I may no longer be an expert in my own classroom since so much has changed in technology, business, and education since I worked in television, and since I received my masters in Educational Communication and Technology from NYU. I have enough sense to bring in the experts to help guide my class in going in the right directions as I get the students prepared for jobs of the future. Technology is constantly changing, so we try to stay relevant in the types of projects the students create. I don't want to teach what I think I should be doing, I want to teach what is necessary for success.

I know this element of my curriculum is working because the mentors keep coming back with their friends and colleagues. They now write to me about opportunities my students might be interested in. This past year alone, one professional pushed me to start an internship fair and now he is helping me plan a 6 week hackathon/mentoring program with my seniors. Another international ad company has contacted me to see if they can use my classroom as the outlet for their public service support, and want to work closely with my juniors. Many of the professionals are excited to return, which has pushed me to expand the mentoring opportunities for my students.

As for the students, the professionals make them nervous. Good, since life involves communicating who you are to strangers in order to advance in career and challenges. The professionals make the students look at their work with new eyes. Instead of a random assignment for a grade, it becomes a litmus test of their skills and their attention to detail. All the students listen more closely when the experts come. All the students look at their work more critically. The day after the experts leave, the students don't want to talk to me -- they just want to get to work and make some of the fixes and corrections based on the feedback they received.

As a classroom teacher, I am constantly networking for my class. There is no secret to where I find these people. When I first began teaching, most of the experts were my friends or family. Over the years I have accumulated a list of emails from people I have met at conferences, at parties, even in line for concessions at my child's school. I tell everyone I meet what I teach, and if they show interest I ask for their emails to include them on my mailing list when we have events and opportunities. Most of the people on my list are people who came to my school through our mentor days and mock interview days. More often than not, those same people start connecting me to their friends and colleagues as well. My list has grown, and now I am at a point where people are actively giving me their card and asking to keep them informed about upcoming events, including some of my stellar alumni.

One expert -- the head of human resource at an international ad agency -- recently told me that she likes coming to my classroom because it always feels like she has done something helpful with at least one student. She also appreciated that I did not make high demands of her time. She comes when she can, and does not feel guilty if she has to miss a mentoring opportunity.

The game designers that were part of my meeting all came to me through my networking contacts; I did not meet any of those people on my own. I spread the word that I needed support with a video game production and design class, and my contacts helped network for me. All of the people who attended that planning meeting then came into my classroom and conducted an impromptu Q and A with my juniors. They loved meeting the students and asserted that they would come again to hear game pitches, look over resumes, critique game design, and answer other questions. I may be expanding the topics and skills learned in my classroom beyond my levels of expertise, but the students still get expert advice.

A company recently asked to get in touch with my alumni to see if any of them are interested in internships and entry level job opportunities. They want my students because they are impressive. They want my students because they have the communication, collaboration, and problem solving skills they want in an employee. My students do help change the ethnic makeup of a typical technology company but that is not why they are getting the job opportunities. They are also the best.


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Conquering the Fear of Trying in the Classroom 

8/6/2014

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Originally published on KCET's Open Classroom

It is the teacher's job to engage the students and provide an environment for learning -- it is the students' job to try. Sometimes it is scary to try when we are unfamiliar with new material. We are vulnerable and insecure. This is true for adults, and it is true for our students.

I run a three year Technology Academy at Foshay Learning Center, a low income K-12 span school in South Los Angeles. I teach students from 10-12th grade and work with an advisory board and mentors to create a program that educates my students how to navigate college and career. I expect my students to be new to most of the material I present them in my digital computing courses. I build in class time for experimentation and exploration. Many of the projects we do require iterations for improvement, just as many writing assignments require multiple drafts. My expectation is that students will struggle and not be confident. I know that learning takes time, and not everyone learns the same way, or enters with the same amount of previous knowledge. My only requirement for my students is that they try. I am teaching them to learn through trial and error, since that is how most people learn on the job and in life.

I constantly verify that philosophy when I check in with my business partners. Recently, Douglas Sellers, one of the business partners who is the Chief Technical Officer of a start-up company, told me that he tells all his junior programmers that they need to be comfortable with failing. He expects that they will try and fail at least three times in a row in order to get it right on the fourth time. In fact, the programmers are encouraged to throw out work at the end of the day if it is not going anywhere, and try again the next day. His programmers, including himself, participate in paired programming for at least a few hours every day. This means that they actually work on a program together; they are not isolated in a cubicle working alone. They gain confidence talking through ideas and eliminate the fear of being wrong. They find their mistakes at a quicker rate and they problem solve more effectively when they talk and share what they are doing.

If this is what is happening in the real world, shouldn't that also be what is reflected in my classroom? I don't want my students to suffer outside of the classroom because they were never pushed out of their comfort zone. I don't want them to feel like a failure because they did not learn how to try. I want my classroom to be a place where they build their confidence through asking questions, working with each other, and checking in on a regular basis to be sure their tries are heading in the right direction.

I learned quickly as a teacher that one of the worst things that can happen in a classroom is when you give students an extended period of time to work on something, only to see that they were lost at the get go, and all you can do is fail them for poor work. I have seen this happen in large projects in all subjects across the matrix. This is frustrating because most of the students at my school will not ask questions along the way -- they will just turn in bad work, or worse, nothing at all.

It is not the fail that they fear -- it is the exposure, the vulnerability of the try. Failing without trying means that they can provide excuses: "The teacher didn't explain it well," "I didn't try it in the first place," or worse -- "I was lazy," or "it was boring."

Let's talk about my student Juan, a soon to be senior. Juan, like many of my students, actively dislikes being vulnerable and navigating the unknown. However, unlike most of my students who will shut down and stop working and just wait for the next instruction, Juan likes to procrastinate by challenging me. He would rather antagonize me and cause a classroom distraction than focus on the directions and try something he may not have done before. He once loudly complained to me that I don't teach him. He said all I do is give him challenges that he has to figure out on his own, when I should be in the front of the room telling him how to do something -- you know, "teaching him."

Not quite, I responded. How do you think it is in the world outside a classroom? In my experience, a boss does not usually stand behind you and specifically tell you how to do your job. There is no permanent guide that tells you how to make every decision before you even begin. Yes, I do give my students challenges that they may not know exactly how to do -- that is how the world challenges all of us every day.

Even though my students may not know exactly how to do something, I always point out all the tools they have in order to begin trying. First, they have access to the Internet where almost anything can be researched. We spend a lot of time in class learning how to effectively manipulate our searches in order to get the most directed and focused results. This is an important step, since we all know we really only look at the first 3-5 links once we type in our search parameters.

Second, I encourage them to talk to their neighbors so they can strategize together -- much like the paired programming in a tech company. One of the things we do in 10th grade is a problem solving unit in my Exploring Computer Science course, with which we learn to get comfortable with working through a problem, and coming to terms with the fact that there might be multiple solutions or different paths to getting at the solution. This unit is amazing because it begins to nudge most students out of their comfort zones, and gives them experience with trial and error as well as working with each other.

In addition to these tools, at the end of class periods I often have my students turn in what they did for the day. This occurs especially at the start of a project so I can see where they are headed. This is not for me to tell them if they are right or wrong; instead, this way I can see the common mistakes or praise the students, and have them present innovative work and ideas to the rest of the class.

This chart illustrates why when a student asks me a question, I will often send over a student who just figured it out a few minutes ago
Another thing that bothers my students is the time it takes to figure something out. Trying something new is slow. It takes time. My students will try something for about 5 minutes before they start grumbling that it is too hard, too confusing, too complicated. A job is about endurance and patience. Most work projects take a lot of time; students cannot expect a quick solution outside of a classroom. Not only do they need to build their confidence through trying, but it also helps build endurance, patience, and stick-to-it-tiveness -- which are all critical skills necessary in life.

Most recently Juan made a game in Adobe Flash. I gave him tutorials to help guide him in his progress, with animated GIFs to illustrate how it will look on his computer. He got very invested in this project. The first time he tried to program part of the game, it did not work. He quickly got confused, and then frustrated -- and then he got angry. I recognized his feelings -- I get angry as well when I am frustrated, and often would like to blame others. He kept calling me over to fix it for him. I kept trying to send other students to help review his work with him -- he wanted nothing to do with them. I then told Juan to turn in his work to me so I could review it and then help guide him to a solution. He did not like this option. "It's not done," he said. "It doesn't work so I can't turn it in."

In the end Juan found his mistake, on his own with a little redirection from me. He was puffed up with pride when he figured it out. He came over to explain to me what he had done wrong the first time around. He volunteered 10 minutes later when I told him there was a student with a similar issue. Would he have the same confidence if I had just told him what to do? Would he have felt the same excitement of getting his game to work on his own? Would he have actually learned?

Life is not a multiple choice test. Life is not eyes on your own paper. The choices that we make, how we manage our time, how we work productively and proactively with others, is left up to us. It is hard and challenging, and not always as clear as running a Scantron to see the percentage correct. However, I do know that the way I teach will at least give my students a frame of reference about how to respond when they navigate life on their own, without me or any other teacher telling them exactly what to do and how to do it. This method of trial and error will help their confidence, their inquiry, and their endurance. I teach my students in order for them to be successful human beings outside the classroom. The fear of trying gets in the way of success, and therefore we work together to conquer those fears.


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Looking Forward as We Say Goodbye

7/3/2014

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Written for KCET's Open Classroom


I said goodbye to my seniors today. We have been together since they were sophomores when we first met at the door of my classroom in August, 2010. I asked them if they remembered the first lesson I taught them. They all did. They told me how odd they thought it was that I greeted them with a handshake. How crazy that I would not let them enter my room until they looked me in the eye, with a solid handshake and a smile and CLEARLY said their name in introduction. It was nerve racking, it was silly, they told me. Yes, but it is three years later and they all still distinctly remember that experience. In fact, they now know it was an important lesson.

I just spent three years with these students at Foshay Learning Center, where I am the coordinator and lead teacher for the Technology Academy. It is an inner-city K-12 school in South Los Angeles where over 87% qualify for Title I funds. In 10th grade every student enters one of three academies: Health Careers, Finance, or Technology. If they join the Technology Academy then I am their career teacher for the duration of their high school years. We have a grant from the state that mandates that the students get mentors, internship opportunities, and that the students travel as a cohort to their English and History courses, and the other teachers and I team with a focus on a common career pathway. The academy is a supportive community that offers access and equity to every student to learn the skills necessary to navigate college and career.

This year all but one of my seniors are graduating, and 94% of them are going to college -- 20 to a four year college, and the rest with plans to transfer. Despite Foshay's inner city status, we boast one of the highest graduation rates in LAUSD: in 2013, 97% of our seniors graduated and we expect similar numbers this year, compared to LAUSD's rate of 66%. Our college rate is also not surprising, when you note that 94% of all Foshay seniors take the SAT or ACT, compared to only 52% from LAUSD. This college and career culture is something we begin with our students as early as middle school or elementary, since we are a span school. Many of the juniors and most of the graduating seniors in the Tech Academy have lined up summer jobs, internships, or are participating in summer enrichment courses.

During their time in the Tech Academy my graduating seniors all learned HTML and CSS. They experienced Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop, and all created a digital portfolio using a free content management system such as Weebly or Wix, which they discovered and taught themselves through online research. The students all presented in front of their class and, much to their chagrin, in front of other middle and high school classes and business partners, on topics ranging from the ethical pros and cons of social media, cloud storage, and informing others about cool Web 2.0 websites. In fact their culminating project ended at the advertising agency, Ignited USA, in a room full of professional executives, where the students delivered the plans for their full scale ad campaigns that raised awareness about online reputation, digital footprints, texting and driving. As part of their campaigns the groups worked together to create a stunt called "Moving Forward with Technology," for which they wrote a press release and got a news crew from USC to cover the story.

These students have taught underclassmen and teachers to make web sites. They have advertised and participated in the first ever Hour of Code, an initiative to show that "every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science." They also taught the parents and elementary students on our campus how to code, including some adults who had never used a mouse before.

So yes, I feel proud. My students have learned; the three years have not been wasted. Then why am I racked with second guessing their experiences? I am anxious because I want to know that they will be able to navigate the world of college and career on their own. These students are first generation to go to college, and most do not have a network of friends and family to help them know what to expect in college, or have a family friend who will set them up with their first entry level job. When I had them do mock interviews they would often not share the most impressive parts about themselves because they did not want to brag. This was the inspiration for the digital portfolios and my constant focus on helping them learn to effectively and proactively communicate, so they could learn to create and take advantage of opportunities.

I go back to what we did and wonder, was there enough critical thinking and learning about current events? Did I cover too much breadth and not enough depth in certain areas? What do I need to tweak and alter so that it is better next year?

Some of these questions come because I always want to be sure that the Tech Academy is running at the top of our game. Also because many students don't yet believe that the work they do to build up their digital portfolios and computer science skills will be recognized or taken seriously. I know the academy is on the right track because I check in with business partners on a regular basis to make sure there is relevancy in the curriculum. Even more reassuring is when I get unsolicited emails and Facebook posts from my alumni who thank me and tell me they got a job because of their resume and portfolio; that is always the best.

Since I first took over the academy 11 years ago, it has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2010 we were selected by the state as a model career academy to help others who were developing their own academies. I now teach Exploring Computer Science, Programming and Game Design, and Digital Art and Advertising. I have a large network of business partners and mentors who helped many of my students get jobs and internships this summer, in areas related to technology and computer science.

The students learn that the world of technology is ever changing, and it is impossible to think someone knows it all. It is not just computer science that is the most important thing the students do in my class; they also need to learn how to be communicators, problem solvers, and be able to teach themselves and adapt. I now teach my students to be critical researchers, to analyze solutions and troubleshoot -- and go out of their comfort zones because if they are just waiting to follow what I say, then what real world skills are they really learning?

So yes, I said goodbye to students that have been with me for three years, and it is a bit sad and nostalgic.I think about what we have done over the course of our three years and the memories we have created together. It also creates a desire to look forward to the new students, and think about how to improve in order to tackle the new challenges that are about to walk through the door.



Pull out tips:
Tip: Begin your first day of class on a professional note by greeting students with a handshake, eye contact and a smile.
Greet each student and make them give a firm handshake, say their name clearly, smile and make eye contact. If they can’t do that, then send them to the end of the line to try again. This helps students realize it is a professional classroom and they will be learning skills that matter in a world outside the classroom.

Tip: Create a college and career culture in your classroom. Develop a database of contacts and connections to help students network in order to get summer jobs, internships, or participate in enrichment programs.

Tip: Connect projects to the community outside the classroom.
Get students communicating to audiences outside the classroom in order to make them take their work seriously and gain perspective from an outside audience. Create opportunities for students to present to each other, other classes on campus, or to business leaders and companies. Example: If students developing unique apps or projects they can deliver their business plans and prototypes to a conference room of executives for feedback or you can have a community day and invite people in to interact with the students and projects. Students can also create an event on campus to test out their prototypes and invite media, business, and students on campus to the event.


Tip: Connect the skills students learn to how it can help them get jobs.
Many students, especially first generation, do not have a network of friends and family to help them know what to expect in college, or have a family friend who will set them up with their first entry level job. Encourage students to express the impressive skills they gain in computer science through adding skills to resumes and putting up projects with reflections on digital portfolios.

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Foshay Tech Academy Wins Aspirations in Computing Awards

5/25/2014

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Five of the Tech Academy girls and I were honored on May 20th with the Aspirations in Computing Award from the National Center for Women and Information Technology. It was amazing to hear Foshay’s name mentioned 6 times in 23 minutes out of 43 names. You can see the ceremony at this link and I have provided the times when the Foshay awardees are celebrated.  

http://vimeo.com/95927430

Ana H - 7:30 - SoCal Winner, National Runner UP - 11th grade
Diana S - 10:25 - So Cal Winner - 12th grade
Karina C - 12:00 - National Winner - 12th grade
Lilly Kate D: 13:00  - So Cal Winner, 10th grade
Leslie Aaronson - Educator Award - 19:40
(we also had a runner up - Carolina M, but she was not there to claim her award).


On Tuesday, May 20th in Newport, California, five of my students and  I put Foshay’s Tech Academy on the map as a place where high school students are doing amazing things with computer science. We received the Aspirations in Computing award from the National Center for Women and Informational Technology. We were lucky that the awards ceremony happened to be hosted at NCWIT’s annual Summit. This meant there were more people present for the ceremony and among the attendees were people from AT&T, Google, Apple, universities around the country and more. The esteemed audience only elevated the thrill and feeling of accomplishment my students and I felt.

The students had completed the Aspirations application back in October when David Bernier, from UCLA’s Exploring Computer Science,  came to our school determined that there would be winners from LAUSD this year and he thought my students had a great shot. Eleven girls showed up for the workshop he hosted, and nine actually completed and turned in the application on time. The winners were announced in December - and five girls from Foshay Tech Academy were recognized -one national winner, one national runner up; 4 Southern California winners and one Southern California runner up. In February I also learned that I received the Southern California Educator Award - based entirely on the success of my students.

We are a Tech Academy in South Los Angeles at a public K-12 school. The high school is 750 students and every 10-12th grader is in one of three career academies - Finance, Health, or Tech. It was the first time anyone from Foshay applied for the Aspirations in Computing honor. The students and I were thrilled with our success. They learned that success is about showing up. Success is about following through.

We returned to school following the event and told the others about the amazing awards ceremony - which concluded with every winner getting a surprise iPad Mini donated from Apple, and more than 10 food trucks of gourmet food for the celebration. I had the winners share their experience with their classmates and  I saw at least 10 other students turn to each other and say “I will apply next year.” Success all around.

I asked the girls about their experience writing the application, receiving the award and hearing their names called at the ceremony and this is what they had to say:


Lilly D, Class of 2016, Southern California Winner:

“Despite the fact that I am in 10th grade - it was an opportunity and I went for it. I was thinking that maybe I  would get to be a runner up - instead I was a Southern California winner. I think they chose me because of my HAM radio license that I got in 7th grade, my participation in the SMASH program and my experience in the Tech Academy. When I got the email I was beyond thrilled. It was my first award in Technology - it was great to be recognized.

When I heard my name I was so proud to walk the stairs with the other Foshay girls especially because I was the youngest. I felt proud and accomplished that if they can do it, then I can too. That I can do anything. There were students from private schools and good neighborhoods there. People have stereotypes about south LA - that we will do minimum wage jobs, that we don’t belong in computer science...having us there with 6 awards helped show the people in the audience that we are breaking down stereotypes and showing what we are capable of doing anything.”


Karina C, Class of 2014, National and Southern California Winner:

Receiving this award has my confidence. In  a way the ceremony at  Newport felt more special than the national award ceremony because there were others from my school there and I won alongside my teacher. The ceremony was inspiring and it committed even more strongly to be involved in computer science when I attend college. I saw people at NCWIT who are successful in computer and I felt their encouragement that this is a place where I can belong. I know that this is what I want to study and where I want to be. It is amazing to see and be recognized for all that I accomplished in four years and I can’t wait for others from my school to also go out and win the national award.

Diana S Class of 2014, Southern California Winner:

My teacher told me to apply but I thought I was not as impressive compared to other candidates. However, the judges must have been impressed since I won the Aspirations in Computing in Southern California. I just talked about my school work in my Tech Academy class - the Flash projects we did, the challenges with the LEGO Mindstorm robots and I spoke about my interest in connecting business with computer science to help students grow and be exposed to technology. At the awards ceremony I amazed that I was a winner with these other students. The girls who won runner ups sounded so impressive, it was hard to be believe I was a winner. I was so inspired at the event to think about continuing to work in computer science. The speakers continued to inspire me that computer science is a field I want to pursue. It was even cooler having so many of my classmates there from our little unknown school. It felt like by the end we were a school everyone was talking about.

Leslie Aaronson, Educator Award:
As for me, the entire process was an amazing experience. The pride I feel for my students who were able to accomplish so much on their first attempt with this application is just beyond any expectation I had. I also loved being at the Summit where I met professors and people from Google, Apple and other high profile companies. I was just humbled with the interest they took in me and my program when I told them that I run a Technology Academy in South Los Angeles. I have first hand experience with how to successfully engage students in computer science and understand the difficult balance between delivering content and encouragement. The need to have the students try and fail on their own terms but also set parameters to measure success. It was an honor to be included, be respected and to be rewarded. 






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What to Teach? Ask the Experts

9/21/2013

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"Were those video game guys really just here to talk about our high school class?" 

"Yes," I answered. "That was the whole point of the meeting."

"Wow. It is just that they seemed really interested in our class."

"Yes, I asked them to come. I don't want to teach a course in video game development without feedback from experts. It is important that what we learn reflects the same process and necessary skills in the gaming industry."

This conversation took place after I had some students sit in on a meeting I held with professionals in the Video Game industry. I am the lead technology teacher at Los Angeles' Foshay Tech Academy—a 150-student school-within-a-school at Foshay Learning Center  - and currently co-writing a curriculum to make a video game course available for other high schools to offer that will count in the students' GPA towards college. We reached out to experts to give feedback about the pacing and projects of the course. I had the students begin the meeting with delivering elevator pitches about board games they created and game tested with elementary students. I then invited the students to stay and listen while the meeting moved on to discuss the curriculum mapped out for the rest of the year. 

This is not the first time I have brought experts into my classroom or asked them to review my curriculum.  I bring professionals in all the time to talk to the students about their careers - we begin with the guests introducing themselves and a time they failed or took a risk. I also hold mentor days for the professionals to come in to discuss their interviewing experience, review resumes and edit student digital portfolios, cover letters and personal statements. I also have my 10th - 12th graders present their final projects to a team of professionals at least once a year. For the seniors that means going to an ad agency and pitching their campaigns to a team of advertising executives. For the sophomores and juniors it often is sending their final websites and programming games to the professionals digitally and they get virtual feedback through online forms and emails.

The purpose behind bringing professionals into my class is threefold: 

1. Networking opportunities for the students; My students are largely first generation to go to high school in America and they have big dreams for their careers. This gives them the experience to learn how to communicate with people outside their own tiny network and expands that network with professionals who can help them navigate into various careers through building up their digital portfolios, accepting informational interviews and reaching out to them when opportunities occur. We have had students chosen as game testers, web designers and interns this way.
2. Real world critique that maybe the students will actually hear . Most of the time, I have already given similar points or advice as the mentors, but I think I sound like the teacher from the PEANUTS cartoons to them. These experts add gravitas and truth to what I teach or connects to a student in a new way that did not work for me through a large classroom setting.
3.  The experts give me advice about what I need to adjust in order to match real world career expectations. I may no longer an expert in my own classroom,  but I have enough sense to bring in the experts to help guide my class in going in the right directions as I get the students prepared for jobs of the future. Technology is constantly changing so we try to stay relevant in the types of projects the students create. 


I model what I teach about the importance of networking and peer editing.. As a classroom teacher, I am constantly networking for my class. I tell everyone I meet what I teach and if they show interest I ask for their emails to include them on my mailing list when we have events and opportunities. Most of the people on my list of partners have come from those people who come check out my school through our mentor days and mock interview days. More often then not, those same people start connecting me to their friends and colleagues as well.

The game designers that were part of my meeting all came to me through my networking contacts, I did not meet any of those people on my own. All of them who attended the meeting then conducted an impromptu Q and A with my juniors and asserted that they would come again to hear game pitches, look over resumes, critique game design and answer other questions. I may no longer be the expert in my classroom, but the students still get expert advice.






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    Leslie Aaronson

    Former Technology Teacher; LAUSD Teacher of the Year: Strategic Director for K12 Initiatives at NCWIT; Manage Girls Build; Mother of two girls

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