Students and staff at Central Manor Elementary School are among the “stars” of a new video created by Google to promote its CS First software, which helps students learn coding.
The 3½ -minute video, “CS First: Unlock Opportunities for Students with Computer Science,” was released to the public on January 3. View it here.
Over the summer, Google reached out to Judy Keller, a Penn Manor technology trainer, to see if Penn Manor would be interested in participating in the project, which showcases how three schools use the software. Judy is a certified Google trainer and has helped implement CS First in all our elementary schools.
On October 12, a film crew came to Karli Broomell’s fifth-grade Central Manor classroom to film a science lesson that utilized CS First.
Prior to the filming, students completed a unit on cells, organelles and the roles they play. Mrs. Broomell then challenged students to create a skit using CS First in which a cell’s organelles have conversations with each other describing their functions.
Students broke into small groups to write a script for their skit and then worked on their own using CS First to complete their project, putting their own unique touch on it, Mrs. Broomell said.
“In the end, one student was on her way to producing a rap song about cells utilizing the skills she had learned in the CS First curriculum.”
That student was among several who were interviewed for the video, along with Mrs. Keller and Mrs. Broomell. The video also features footage of students at work on the project in the classroom and a shot of the Central Manor playground.
“It was such a neat experience to watch a film crew at work right within the walls of our classroom,” said Mrs. Broomell. “The students loved the video.”
Many thanks to our students and staff, as well as Google, for making this opportunity possible.
