Thing 11: Coding
I have to admit that I have put learning about coding off for a long time due to bad memories of having to write programs for high school (which was a long time ago) but after learning more I found it to be very interesting. Obviously I have missed the December Hour of Code but I am thinking of doing some coding with my 3rd grade Makerspace club over the next few meetings. I know many of my students play games online but I would bet that many of them have never explored the coding that goes into designing the games. That being said, next year I will try to be more aware of the time frame for the Hour of Code to use with my students during library even though I only see them for 40 minutes. I think that by providing them with the initial links and lessons they will have the basics so that they can then play with this at home or during their free time in their classrooms. I would also like to promote this with the classroom teachers.
There were so many choices to explore in this lesson - I read the following articles:
- Hour of Code: It's all about literacy
- Tips for Celebrating Hour of Code at Your Library
- Our 3rd Graders Want to Teach You about Coding Apps
- How do you Integrate Coding into your Library, Classroom and Home?
- Hour of Code and Mustang Makerspace
I watched the videos:
- Change the World
- How to run an Hour of Code
- Each of the videos in the activities from Hour of Code project website
I played/created several of the activities on the Hour of Code project website:
- Star Wars
- Artist - this I found to be challenging for some of my 3rd graders
- Play Lab
- Minecraft
As we are all aware, computers are becoming more and more important to education, work and everyday life. As an educator it is our job to introduce students to as much as we possibly can to ensure they are ready for life after school - regardless of what career path they choose. I think the activities introduced in this lesson will help children learn and possibly decide on a career path in computer science. I was especially pleased to see the use of a lot of women in this career being interviewed because I think it will encourage/inspire more girls to choose this as a career path. I look forward to learning more and exploring this in more detail with my students!
