Toronto Teacher Mom: Apple Teacher

Hop into an Hour of Code with Apple

Apple - Everyone Can Code - Computer Science Education Week

It is Computer Science Education Week and, in anticipation, Apple released new resources that will help bring coding education to more students throughout the world thanks to the Everyone Can Code program. This includes free Hour of Code sessions available at all Apple store locations from December 1 through 14. You can register through Today at Apple for coding themed sessions such as How to Get Started with Coding, Coding with Swift Playgrounds, App Design and Coding Basics, How to Program Robots with Swift Playgrounds and Kids Hour: Sphero Maze Challenge, designed for aspiring coders aged six to 12.

Apple has also introduced Swift Coding Club materials to help teach coding with Swift, Apple’s easy-to-learn programming language used by professional developers to create world-class apps. Teachers have access to:

The new Swift Coding Club kit gives teachers, students and club mentors the tools they need to start their own coding clubs and gives students aged 8 and up the ability to collaborate, prototype apps and explore how coding can make a difference in their communities using fun activities from Swift Playgrounds and App Development with Swift on iPads.

Apple - Swift Playgrounds - Computer Science Education Week

Swift Playgrounds is available as a free download in the App Store in 15 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and more. For teachers in the TCDSB, you will be happy to know that the Swift Playgrounds app is already available for download within the TCDSB App Store!

There are so many free Playgrounds you can download in app that guide students through puzzles to master the basics, so no previous coding knowledge is required. There is a complete set of Apple-designed lessons that kids will love because they get to use real code to guide a character through a 3D world while making their way from the Fundamentals of Swift towards more advanced concepts.

To help prepare and develop students for the workforce, Apple also unveiled new Advanced Placement curriculum and App Development with Swift certification. Students can earn a certification that recognizes their knowledge of Swift, app developer tools and core components of apps. The App Development with Swift Level 1 certification exams are offered through Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide.

Monday, December 03, 2018
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How to Become an Apple Teacher

Apple Teacher

Did you know that the Apple Teacher Learning Program recently launched in Canada? I finally sat down to my computer this morning and set out to become an Apple Teacher by earning a series of badges via the Apple Teacher Learning Center. After successfully completing 13 quizzes, I am now an Apple Teacher with Swift Playgrounds Recognition and have myself a shiny new signature to add to my little collection. If you are interested in becoming an #AppleTeacher, you can do so in six easy steps:

Sign up for the Apple Teacher program at appleteacher.apple.com using your personal Apple ID. If you do not have one, click here to create an Apple ID. And yes, it's free!
Create a profile by completing the required information, such as your school and school board.
Choose either Badges for iPad or Badges for Mac. You must earn all eight badges by successfully completing quizzes in either one or the other to receive your Apple Teacher recognition. It cannot be a combination of both. However, you can always complete both collections should you feel so inclined. Badges for iPad include: iPad - Pages for iPad -Keynote for iPad - Numbers for iPad - iMovie for iPad - GarageBand for iPad - Productivity with iPad - Creativity with iPad. Badges for Mac are similar to Badges for iPad.
Select a badge and click on "View" in the pop-up window. You can then either download the corresponding Apple Teacher guide into iBooks, refer to the online help pages or attend in-store workshops to become more familiar with the content.
Once you are ready, you can complete the quiz at the bottom of the badge page. There are typically five questions that are either fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, or re-order sequence questions. You must receive 80% to receive the badge, which means you can get by if you make one mistake. The good news is you can always review the content and restart the quiz again if you need to.
After completing all eight badges, you will earn your Apple Teacher recognition. You will receive an email with information on how to download the signature and guidelines on how to use it.

As an Apple Teacher, you will now have access to Badges for Swift Playgrounds. Earning Apple Teacher with Swift Playgrounds Recognition follows the same format as Apple Teacher. The main difference is that there are only four badges required, as opposed to eight. I do recommend that you download Swift Playgrounds onto your iPad if you haven't already done so and explore the Learn to Code 1 lessons, especially if you are new to programming.

Our school is getting a series of new iPads and I can't wait to share some of the tips I've learned so far. And I also look forward to learning more on the Apple Teacher Learning Center. But could we just get an extra week of summer vacation? I still have so much more to learn!