Skip to main content

No Secret Code

For many educators throughout the world, last week was known as the "Hour of Code." The Hour of Code event was a global initiative started by code.org. Their purpose was to bring coding and computer science into as many classrooms as possible. Code.org did a fantastic job at getting resources out to educators and providing the students great content to work with.
What exactly is coding and why it is so important are great questions. Coding is a way of talking with computers to have them do what you want. Coding is expanding so rapidly into so many fields, as almost everything is computer based. It is quickly making its way into business, mathematics, and medicine that its importance cannot be ignored. Coding requires problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. It is so much more than just sitting at a computer by yourself and typing. There is also a desperate need for females in the field of coding, as it is currently male-dominated.

So all the above stuff is wonderful, but do the students buy-in? Absolutely. My students participated in the Hour of Code last week and were hooked immediately. They went through challenging levels at their pace and were forced to solve complicated, systematic problems. At times, other students jumped in to help them when some got stuck, at other times students asked other students for help, and at other times they wanted to work through it themselves to find the answer. The great thing for me to see, was that no matter which way they solved their problems, they were actively engaged in their own learning without any prompting from me. They have taken ownership of their learning. They are becoming the independent learners we want them to be. The only thing is, is for that to happen, the teacher must be willing to let that happen.

The Hour of Code was an event that I would not have wanted to miss. It was an opportunity for students to realize the potential they have in a field that is suited for them, yet not taught in many schools yet. Having my administrators give me the approval and support with the idea, allowed my students to experience the chance to possibly glimpse into their futures. It is no secret, coding can be the ticket for many to make their lives what they dream them to be.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turns Out Teachers Are Mind Readers (Thanks to Recap)

Imagine if you could hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas on a topic, and respond to each and every one of them without finding time to schedule individual student conferences. Imagine if your students could let you know how well they understood the topics covered during the week. Imagine how much insight you could get, and how you could adjust your teaching to meet the needs of individual students.   Well, a few weeks ago I came across Recap, a free student video response and reflection app, on my Twitter feed. It allows me to hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas, allows me to respond to each and every one of them. I checked out the site and immediately put it into action in my class calling the Recap assignments, #flashbackfridays. For 6th graders, not much is cooler than the hashtag.  My 6th grade students instantly took to it. Every one of my students are able to share their insights through a reflective process in a way that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Road Rules on the Blended Learning Highway

Remember when you were pestering your parents to teach or rather let you drive? You were sure you knew how to drive, as you had had extensive training starting from a very early age. Part of that training included sitting on your parent's lap while they were in the driver's seat and they "let you" drive the car into the garage, sitting on your parent's lap again as they again, "let you" drive the lawn tractor around the yard, then gradually building up to driving the lawn tractor around the yard by yourself, and of course driving the go-karts at the local go-kart track during the summer. With all that training, you were certain you could drive and drive fast. Then when your parents finally gave you the car, you realized the power and potential speed of that car, and that you really didn't know how to drive well, let alone safely.  Learning to drive takes time, and as much as we want to get in that car and go fast, we soon realize we need to hit t...
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Learned from the Elf on the Shelf

There I was at 7:00 AM, bleeding, blood all over my hands, kneeling over our family's beloved Elf on the Shelf, Oliver, in the dining room, and my six-year-old daughter waking up and coming down the steps. It was my worst case scenario. My little girl was going to come downstairs and see me covered in blood with our Elf on the Shelf laying on the floor and think that I did something terrible to Oliver.  Why was I covered in blood and bleeding at 7:00 AM in the dining room with Oliver laying on the floor next me? Because I was trying to make the Elf on the Shelf experience better for my daughters. The night before, I moved Oliver to a spot in our house that was just okay. I knew it was just okay at the time, but I thought it would do. The next morning I woke up, and decided I could do a better job with my placement of our elf. As I was moving him around in the dining room, so he would be hanging upside down like Batman, (much cooler than my first placement), I bumped a glass tha...
Post a Comment
Read more