Learn to code as you explore and create projects using Scratch, Makey Makey, Hummingbird, Arduino, and a variety of other hardware and software platforms.
The Logo Summer Institute is an intensive immersion in creative computing for K12 teachers, parents, and technology integrators. The Logo Foundation’s project-based approach supports computational thinking, as well as STEAM learning and teaching. The program is highly individualized to accommodate novices as well as more experienced participants, teachers of different subjects, and those who work in informal settings as well as in classrooms.
The Logo Summer Institute provides a relaxed atmosphere with a small group of colleagues and a great deal of personal attention from experienced workshop leaders. We have a low participant to facilitator ratio and daily advisory meetings to insure that participants’ individual needs are met.
Pedagogical Approach
The Logo Foundation’s approach is project-based and individualized. Computer science concepts and practices, and coding skills are learned while developing projects using Scratch, Makey Makey, Hummingbird, other hardware and software platforms. For beginners these projects are simple at first and become more complex and elaborate as the week progresses. Participants with prior experience begin with projects and explorations that are appropriate to their levels of knowledge and experience.
This approach is based on the theory of constructivism, as developed by Jean Piaget – that people construct their own knowledge through a process of interaction with the world and people around them. In practice we see that developing a project that involves building something – a story, game, robot, or multimedia show – supports constructivist learning. The term “constructionism” for this methodology emerged during the 1980s in the Epistemology and Learning Group at MIT, led by Seymour Papert.
Professional Development Approach
The underlying principles of our approach to professional development for teachers are:
- Teachers need to know what they teach
- Teachers should experience the learning process that their students will go through.
The project-based approach of the workshop satisfies both conditions at the same time. In addition, teachers need to make plans for how they are going to bring what they have learned into their classrooms. There is time in the Logo Summer Institute devoted to this planning. Since teachers are working in different situations, this process occurs in groups with teachers in similar circumstances sharing ideas and plans.
We encourage teachers to use the Logo Summer Institute approach as a model for how to structure a program in their classrooms. The goal is to construct a classroom in which constructionist learning can occur.
Details
- When – July 24-27, 2017, Monday – Thursday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Where – Park Crest Middle School, Pflugerville, TX (Just north of Austin)
- Cost – $400 per participant
- Registration Deadline – July 17, 2017
- Accommodations and Transportation Reimbursement – Participants may be eligible for accommodations and travel reimbursements from the Center for STEM Education at UT Austin. See event page for details.
- What to bring – Bring your own iPad, ChromeBook, or the laptop of your choice.