If Computation Layer is part of your summer learning plan and you haven’t had success with seminars, workshops, or PD plans in the past, we’d like to help.
The trickiest part about learning Computation Layer is that everyone starts in a different place and has different interests and needs. Depending on your experience in coding or the subjects you teach, choosing your unique starting point, and more importantly, your focus is so important. Instead of giving you a list of videos to watch and a list of tasks to complete, we want to give you tips for constructing a learning plan that fits your needs and experience. Try these three tips out in whatever portion or order that works for you.
Find a Buddy
Learn on your own, not alone. Of the practices we’ll share in this newsletter, this is by far the most important. If you can, find a colleague, a friend, or someone in the Desmos community to collaborate and share with. Or if you can’t, find someone to get excited about the things you make—someone to share with. And if you can’t find either, we’re more than happy to be that person for you! Email Jay or John if you want a buddy.
Break the Self-Checking Cycle
You might be thinking: should I use the summer to plan heavily for the next year or take my time to learn and improve? If that planning involves Desmos, you can most likely do both! Try this exercise out:
Find an old self-checking activity. It can be something you created or something you used or want to use next year.
Take a look at one screen and reimagine the feedback. Answer the following questions:
In the context of the problem, what does a correct answer look like?
What does an incorrect answer look like?
How can you use what the student enters to compare their answer to the correct answer? Bonus points for not giving away the correct answer in the process.
Use your description to upgrade the screen in Desmos.
If you get stuck, use your buddy!
Add Tools to Your Belt
Look through the CL documentation for something that's unfamiliar to you. Here are a few good places to look:
Alternatively, take a look at some of our newest features as shared in the CL forum.
Once you find something that interests you, take it out for a spin! Start by digging into the sample activity. Take note of what inputs it takes and what it outputs. Then try building something with it or combining it with other features you’re familiar with.
Still Stuck?
If you’re having trouble coming up with a plan or executing it, let us help! Email jay@desmos.com and we can work on a plan together.
