Jocelyn Hall

Instead of repeating setup steps endlessly, I recorded a Zoom walkthrough. Independent kids moved ahead and I was free for actual coding support. Last week's video hit 100 views fast, proving the resource was worth making. #EdSky #BlendedLearning #CSedu

In addition to the usual weekend recap on Monday, I asked my students today to share what they didn't do. Turns out nobody went surfing 🏄, fought dragons 🐉, or launched into space 🚀. Projecting their drawings on the board using Pear Deck got us all laughing. #TeacherSky #ClassroomCulture

Our windowless CS lab often feels cold and sterile. Thanks to DonorsChoose, today I put up our first wall of fairy lights and fake plants. 🌿✨ Making a computer lab warm and inviting helps every student feel like they belong here. #CSforAll #TeachersOfBluesky #CSEdu

Excited by our Day 2 Wayground data! Over 50% of my 168 students are total beginners. Feel lucky the I get to introduce them to CS! #NYCEDU #CSforAll #TeacherSky

Ditching Day 1 roll call for 170 students. Alphabetical lists and numbered seats mean attendance takes seconds. I use the saved time for low pressure individual name check-ins while kids actually work. #TeacherLife #EduSky

My favorite takeaway from Day 2 at #CSTA2026 : Boys have so many cues of belonging in CS that painting a classroom pink won't dissuade them. Intentionally designing spaces to be more inviting for girls makes them feel truly welcome. #WomenInCS #InclusiveClassrooms

Wrapping up year 20 of teaching! 🎓 This year marks a major milestone for our school: 10 years of offering computer science and 5 years of the web development elective. With 164 students, it was a busy year full of grading, community, and loads of laughter. #CSTeaching #STEMEd

At our final coding party, I gift every student a custom laptop sticker! It features a unique class logo designed by a student. It keeps memories alive and sparks great conversations about computer science. ✨ This merch drops once a year and is total limited edition! ✨ #EdTech #CSTeaching

I love using weekly classroom riddles, but so many default to a male perspective. Inspired by the book Invisible Women, I'm making small shifts to gender-neutral or female viewpoints. These minor adjustments add up to increased representation and a more inclusive classroom. #InclusiveTeaching

I built a CS classroom focused on community over competition, where every student is seen and supported whether they have zero experience or advanced skills. My students are coding the future. All are welcome! #CSTeachers #WomenInSTEM #GirlsWhoCode

"Three Before Me" never worked in my classroom. It just made me look unhelpful while students sat stuck and confused. Now I leaned into building community, generous work time, and real-world developer habits instead. Check the graphics for my 6 collaboration strategies! #CSforAll #EdSky

I credit this student feedback to our regular retrieval practice. Instead of just putting info into the brain, we practice pulling it out with low stakes, immediate feedback activities. Students focus less on cheating and more on checking their understanding. #APCSP #RetrievalPractice #EdSky

My go-to for high school CS icebreakers is the game Loaded Questions. Today's question: "What was your first word?" Answers: "mama", "car", and "not nice" Another favorite: "What are you happy to not be doing right now?" Highly recommend! #EdSky #TeacherLife

Back teaching AP CSP after 5 years! Kept my tradition alive with a 100% student created class logo/sticker. No AI slop here. Just a talented student artist bringing our class memories to life. #APCSP #CodeOrg #TeacherLife

Wrapping up Year 5 of Web Dev! As is tradition, a final activity was creating a student-designed logo turned into laptop stickers. This year's logo perfectly captures a group filled with joy, love, and support for one another. 💻❤️ #ComputerScienceTeacher #STEMEducation #TeacherLife

Last week’s AP CSP review was a mess. 🫣 Most students were lost, but instead of quitting, I tweaked the goals and added better scaffolds for day two. 🔄 A messy lesson is just a rough draft of a better one. Kids are resilient, and I’m still learning with them. #TeacherLife #EduSky

I want my CS tribe to be creative, curious, and collaborative, but that culture doesn't happen by accident. I use a positive feedback loop (Quick Notes home) to highlight great coding and teamwork. #CSForAll #TeacherVibes #VibeMaxxing

AI often removes the friction students need to learn. In my CS class, I’m honoring that struggle by: 1️⃣ Low-stakes check-ins for metacognition. 2️⃣ Grading work for completion so students share honest data I can use for targeted review. Learning > Grade chasing. 💻✨ #AIedu #CSedu

Quiz-Quiz-Trade is drill and kill but with movement. Students quiz, trade slips, and find new partners. I love seeing them naturally peer-tutor or head to the whiteboard when they get stuck. Today - #APCSP pseudocode featuring my favorite shows! #EduSky #KaganStructures

Years ago, I replaced "Why are you late?" with "Is everything okay?" Using neutral language shifts the energy from confrontation to conversation. It addresses the behavior (tardiness, sleeping, absences) while keeping the relationship intact. It says I see you, and I’m here. #TeacherLife #EduSky

"As long as you have answered the first 2 questions, you are able to participate in the share out.” We shouldn't punish slow processors with hw or fast finishers with busy work. Shift the focus from finishing to participating. Acknowledges we all learns at a different pace. #EduSky #TeacherTips

I used to think 100% engagement was the goal. I now know engagement ≠ learning. 🧠 Now, I focus on purposeful practice & feedback. These resources (in the 📸) changed my classroom for the better. #EdSky #ScienceOfLearning #TeacherLife

I’m fighting the default male perspective in my CS classroom. Male isn't the standard. Female isn't the exception. Shoutout to Invisible Women for the inspiration. Small shifts ensure more students feel seen. #CSed #GenderEquity

Teacher Hack: Keep a deck of cards sorted by pairs on your desk. 🃏 Count, shuffle, and deal. For #APCSP today, students matched up to share a fact from their worksheets. 3 mins of movement, 0 mins of tech troubleshooting. Perfect for breaking up a long lesson. #TeacherSky

Tea was spilled today: "What's your worst grade?" ☕️ The goal isn't trauma, it's bonding over shared failure. We aren't defined by our worst moments. 25 years later, I don't even remember mine! Only try this if you have the rapport to steer the vent into a growth moment. 🌱 #TeacherLife #EduSky

Building a CS community means finding connections that have nothing to do with code. I use Pear Deck drawing prompts to lower the stakes before the lesson kicks in. Those few minutes of silliness build community where students feel seen and connected. #CSedu #CSforAll

Surprised my students with a Wayground review all about me! Happy April Fools' to my fellow teachers surviving the day before spring break! #TeacherLife #ClassroomCulture

Creating belonging in CS is a byproduct of structure. In my Web Dev course, we build community through monthly seat swaps, year round icebreakers, and Coding Parties that celebrate creativity over speed. It’s about making sure students feel they belong in the room. #CSedu #TeacherLife

Video lessons don't need a production team, they need YOU. Use YouTube, skip the niche EdTech, and embrace the "umms." It’s about being available to students at home or catching up from an absence. Simplicity and one-take authenticity is the magic.✨ #CSedu #MasteryBased

If I find myself repeating information during work time I am likely to record a one take solo zoom meeting of me sharing that information and posting it online as a resource for my students. This video has 47 views after one month indicating that was a good use of my time.

Today’s fireside chat at Math for America sparked lots of ideas for subtle changes I can make to increase my students interest in studying computer science long term.

Updated coding memes for my cs classroom. This time with an Olympic theme! 🏅 #CSedu #RepresentationMatters #APCSP

#APCSP Create Task: High Stress & Debugging. 🐛 Normalized the grind today with memes featuring Zendaya, Sabrina, Alexis & Taylor. Search results show animals before women in CS memes—I’m changing that. If the code is a struggle, the representation doesn't have to be. #RepresentationMatters

20 years in, and these 3 reads actually stuck: 📖 Lemov for the early-career routines. 📖 Kirch for the 5-year Algebra 2 flipped classroom. 📖 Agarwal/Bain for shifting to retrieval practice. Theory is nice, but these gave me the actual building blocks. #CSedu #MathEd #EdSky

I add student-sourced features to our rubrics. 💻 It validates their discoveries & turns grading 101 student projects from a chore into a showcase of student creativity. Each year's rubric is a unique reflection of this specific group’s interests. It represents us. #CSedu #WebDev #EdSky

Built a Form Mule system to automate the admin side of parent comms. 470+ emails sent this year —> some for praise, some for pivots. It’s about lowering the friction of staying connected. Plus, it’s great ✨therapy✨ after a hard day. 💻 #CSedu #TeacherLife

The Delayed Start ⏳ After giving instructions, I stay at the front of the room to take attendance. I let students sit with the initial friction of the task. By the time I finish, the majority of the class has already bypassed that first barriers on their own. 💻 #CSedu #Pedagogy #TeachingTips

I found these HTML, CSS, and JavaScript themed Valentines online years ago. I now share them with my high school Web Development classes every year. 💻❤️ #WebDevelopment #CSforAll #STEM

Moving toward mastery-based, self-paced learning by labeling my Web Dev lesson components. ✅ Must Do ✳️ Should Do 🚀 Aspire to Do 70% hit the first two; 10% reach the extension. It’s a work in progress, but moving in the right direction. 💻 #SelfPaced #CSedu

When a new admin started last year, I created a one-page guide to my classroom. It was a grounding exercise that helped me reflect on my priorities and the environment I strive to create for my students. #CSForAll #STEMEducation #MasteryBasedLearning

I limit competition in my CS classroom to focus on growth over speed. By anonymizing names in review games, the focus stays on retrieval practice, not leaderboards. No more singling out the same few students. Just everyone beating their own best. #CSed #CSTeachers #GrowthMindset

My EdTech Favorites 🏠 Google Classroom: The hub for everything. 🍐 Pear Deck: Essential for 1:1 screen following + instant feedback. 🏔️ Wayground: Mastery-based assessments ✉️ Form Mule: Best Sheets add-on for automated, custom form replies. #EdTech #CSTeachers

Sobering reality from #NYCSchoolsTech  📈 82% of students (6th+) are already using AI. Still processing the big ideas and concerns from a day of learning. 🧠✨  #EdTech #AI

Spending the day at the #NYCSchoolsTech Summit! I’m hoping to find plenty of new ideas to bring back to my computer science classroom. 💻🍎

Moving toward a #SelfPacedClassroom, #MasteryLearning classroom means resources must be easy to find! 🌐 My one-page site links everything in one spot. Best part? I link last year’s page for easy copying & use site data to keep only the links students actually use. 📈💻 #EdTech #EduSky

Found a seating system that works! 📝 Numbered desks + a posted chart = total student independence. 📍 We switch every 2 units, alternating between random and choice. It builds community! 🤝 I print the date on top to stay accountable to regular changes. ✅ #TeacherSky #EduSky #ClassroomManagement

Looking for a sign to start a classroom Amazon Wish List? This is it! ✨ I added a link to my email signature a year ago, and families have been so generous without any hounding. From charging cords to band-aids, it’s a game changer for supplies. 📦 #TeacherLife #TeacherSky #EduSky

Our new bulletin board is up! 💻🎉 I love using our CS Ed Week coding tattoos to foster belonging. By featuring photos of the students, the classroom becomes truly theirs—a permanent reminder that they belong here. Can’t wait for them to find themselves! 📸✨ #CSEdWeek #CSforAll #TeacherJoy #STEM