Coding in the classroom is fascinating. Who knew that something I learned in my first year of my undergrad is now being introduced to elementary school students?! I have a hard time wrapping my head around the quick turn around/growth of coding technology for a variety of age groups…
Rich McCue joined us from the UVic Digital Scholarship Commons, and discussed computational thinking and cross-curricular coding. My favourite part of the session was the guest dog appearance… however, I also learned a lot about great tools and accessible coding programs for young students! We were given the time to try one ourselves, and I dabbled with one called Coding with Anna and Elsa.
When I visited my practicum school, I got to see coding technology in action. The Grade 2/3 students had just started learning how to use ScratchJr (Scratch), which was a very visually appealing, user-friendly coding program. The tools were very similar to Coding with Anna and Elsa, where students used “puzzle pieces” to string together code to make a certain action occur. I found myself feeling stumped when a student asked me a question, and was thrilled to be able to revert the question to their fellow classmate who had figured out how complete the code to make a sun set and disappear at the beach.
This experience allowed me to see how as the teacher, I do not have to always be the expert. Especially when it comes to technology, I’m sure I will always find myself relying on my students and other educators for help and expertise, which is fabulous! Leaning more towards participatory learning, over hierarchical education, is something I hope to continue practicing moving forward in my career!
Featured Photo by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash
