Education Galaxy

What is Education Galaxy?

Education Galaxy is an online website and app that students, parents, and teachers can use. An additional bonus to this program is that it is offered in both English and Spanish. When you log onto the website you can select a state and see what standard the different games are meeting. This is a helpful tool for teachers to plan out their lessons and find an interactive and engaging way to teach these standards, but also a good way for parents to reinforce learning objectives at home too.

This tool is used as both an assessment and a game. The child that is using this resource will be asked multiple-choice questions and then there is a chance for the student to play one of the galaxy games for a short time right after they answer the question. This allows the student to practice what they are learning but then also have a reward of playing a game too.

This program is also highly individualized for the student. Not only do you get to select the state that you are from and the standards that you need to practice but you can also find a full report of the individual student with their goals and achievements. This piece allows parents and teachers to link the child to their account so that they can also keep track of student learning.

This part of the website will point out areas that the student is achieving highly in and also the places that the child should be spending more time practicing. This information can help the student, parent, and teacher to plan another way to study those areas and also reward the student for the achievements through this program.

Not only are there games and assessments for the student to take part in to practice these skills but there are also tutorials and videos linked to helping the student further understand the skill. This feature is considered "Alien Explanation" and these videos are shown when a student is struggling and they need a little more help with finding out the answer. There are over 10,000 Alien Explanation videos available to the students to watch and learn from providing all the help the child might need while learning.

How Do You Use Education Galaxy?
The first step in using Education Galaxy is to make an account. If this account for the student is being used in school the teacher can give the students a class code so the teacher is then linked to the accounts of all the students in the class. If the account for the student is being used at home the parents can ask the child for their code and then link to the student's account. There is a cost for the parents to create an account however the teacher account is free. These steps can be done on both the website and app version of Education Galaxy. After creating the account and signing into the account all users can view various topics and select the grade level that the student is in. After selecting the grade level you will also select the state so the games match the standard for the state. After the student sets up the account they are able to go off and practice their knowledge. They will be asked a multiple-choice question followed by a game and continue through the round until all the questions are answered.

Research on Education Galaxy in the Classroom

Using this app and website can be an easy addition to any classroom. This can be used as an assessment to check understanding of the topic learned that day, but then also reinforce topics covered in previous days. For my lessons, I will focus on the use of the North Carolina Essential Standards. If you did not know what standard you wanted to use, as the teacher planning the lesson, this website has a whole list of all the topics and matches the standard for you. There has been a link found between students who use Education Galaxy and performing better on both Math and Reading levels improving through this individual and engaging learning practice. However, to have this occur again as it did in the research conducted it needs to be implemented in a similar way and used strategically both at home and in school.

My Personal Experience
I have not used this app or website for my own learning but I was able to play around with both when I was researching. I like the idea that parents, students, and teachers are all linked through this program. I also like the idea of being able to use this both at home and in the classroom so parents can see what the child is learning but then also reinforce what they have already learned. I also like the idea of having a program that is individualized for the student but then also allows the student to have all the resources within the program available at all times.

References
Online State Test Preparation: Online Practice Tests: Education Galaxy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://educationgalaxy.com/.

McRel International. The Impact of the Education Galaxy Online Assessment, Practice, and Instruction Programs on Fourth Grade Mathematics and Reading Achievement. (August 17, 2019). 

Tynker Coding for Students

What is Tynker? 
Tynker is a hands-on website where children can learn how to code through the use of an interactive curriculum. This is considered the number one coding platform for kids and has sixty million kids worldwide participating and using the website. This website offers a curriculum for both at home and in school. Students can create their own games, website, apps, toys, and Minecraft all on this website. When students click on the control toys block of the website it pulls up a separate webpage where you can see all of the award-winning coding projects and it is also filled into different interests. This website also has areas for children to explore vocabulary related to coding as well as gain background information needed to understand how coding works. Students are also able to explore games that others have created and explored STEM concentration ideals.

This program can be used both at home and in the classroom and has lesson plans for each of them. There is a full curriculum for how this works within the classroom. Both in school and at home curriculums work with the website as well as the mobile app.

Teachers are given resources such as lesson plans, assessments, access to other schools using this website, and classroom management tips and tricks. There is a mixture of lesson plans for various grades as well as some that are free and others that you need to pay for. The programs are broken up into elementary school, middle school, and then a full curriculum that can be beneficial for kindergarten through eighth grade. 

Then for the parents, they are also given resources to try and help their students learn and engage in the curriculum at home. There is a webpage for parents that explains all about coding and shares information about how coding can be used by any child with varying interests. They can track their child's progress through this learning and can see how this learning can relate to the classroom. This curriculum can be used strictly outside of the classroom as well and still help the students learn math, organization, writing, and critical thinking skills. 

How do you use Tynker?

This company has broken its programs into three levels based on proficiency levels of coding and age. The students can go through the levels and gain the needed skills related to their level of coding. This curriculum for both in school as well as at home use costs money and can be purchased in either form.  The student will then have access to the online webpage with a majority of the instructional tools as well as the extra needed materials that will be given in the program package after purchase.

The first level is for ages four through seven where they are going to learn to code through voice instruction. Here they are going to work through problem-solving skills and create simple apps of their own. They will also begin to master the introductory stages of coding and the uses of various areas of this website and curriculum. 

The second stage is for ages seven through thirteen. This stage would be considered a drag and drop coding instruction. The students in this age group and stage would be more independent but also have the guidance of the curriculum and website to help them. Here the student will be working on building their own apps and games and also explore STEM subjects in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. Not only will they be working with coding online and building apps but they will also be able to take their learning outside of the website and control robots and drones through the use of coding. Lastly, this stage also includes the idea of Minecraft models and activities. 

The last stage is for thirteen years old and older. Here the students are even more independent in their learning and they are experiencing real-world coding. They will learn new platforms such as JavaScript and Python. They will also expand their knowledge on web development and learn new data structures that they can use in the real world and in their new projects and games. This is also an introductory curriculum for those who would like to continue and take an upper-level Computer Science course as they continue their education. 

Research on Tynker
Learning these skills at a younger age, students can excel within these skills later and even progress into an upper-level school which has a STEM program. Tynker is looking to be further developed and more accessible to students within the next few years. Tynker is looking to expand their interests for the lessons and adding other topics such as Barbies, Hot Wheels, and Monster High to intrigue more children to want to learn about coding. Tynker is also joining with other companies such as Mattel to help expand other 21st century skills to offer to students. Tynker is also linking with Mattel for their Mattel Code-A-Thon to help encourage students to get involved in programming. Tynker is also merging with Teacher Outreach which is another company that will help with this expansion of encouraging students to get involved in programming and provide teachers with resources that they need to provide students with these opportunities. Through the use of these meaningful play experiences, students of all ages are able to gain these skills that are both beneficial inside and outside of the classroom.

My Personal Experience
I have been able to explore the basics of this website as well as see a student work with this type of technology. I have seen our own versions of coding happening during our Lego Education Days as well as the Lego Education Showcase where we have students both in elementary and middle school working with STEM ideas and technology related to it. We allow students to work with Legos as well as basic coding systems and robots. Here the students are in charge of their learning and fulling engaging in what they want to make. They are given the basic tools and from there can run free through their imagination and creativity. I have recently been very interested in STEM and plan on continuing my education in a STEM Concentration to further my knowledge and abilities to teach my students.

References 
Alessi, K. (2017, October). Tynker Review for Teachers. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/tynker.

Coding for Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.tynker.com/?t=reset.


Mattel Expands with Tynker. (2018, April 6).Retrieved from https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/mattel-expands-tynker.