What is one of the fastest rising careers in our nation? Technology. What do
our kids grab as soon as they get home? Technology. How can we get
students excited about learning? Technology. How can we get students to
think creatively? Technology!!!!
I always try to set goals for my upcoming school year during the summer,
and one of the first goals is extending creativity in the classroom. With the
integration of technology one idea popped into mind- coding! I follow a few
principals on the west coast who incorporate Hour of Code into their daily
curriculum, so I decided to search the web for options and more
information.
Through my exploration in the world of coding, I have stumbled across
several sites and apps but didn’t have a clear understanding of what it was
(I thought it was just Minecraft) until reading a few blogs. According to
Huerta (2016) from Edutopia, coding links problem solving and analytical
reasoning which can correlate to “... a natural ability and drive to construct,
hypothesize, explore, experiment, evaluate, and draw conclusions”. All of
these are of course key skills that students struggle with in school!
Students who code learn how to program and code software. Kids are
learning to become computer programmers!
Additionally, Huerta (2016) posits several reasons to teach coding to kids!
1. Coding is a new type of literacy- students can learn over 40 different
languages AND solve problems!
2. Coding is a tool to improve educational equity- more technology access
to kids whose socioeconomic status would otherwise prevent them.
3. Coding offers inclusion- Students with autism have been trained in
software programming and now are developing talents that can be
utilized in a high-tech economy.
4. Coding can improve neuroplasticity- AKA the brain can “change”.
Research done in children who began coding softwares showed
functional changes in the inferior parietal cortex of the brain.
5. Coding improves STEM proficiencies AND testing proficiency- Critical
thinking and testing can go hand in hand. Especially in the Virginia
SOLs- students must think critically and analyze problems. Coding has
assisted in better equipping students for the real world!
After all this research, one site I am going to try this upcoming school year
is a highly acclaimed Tynker. There is a free trial, however I may make the
investment to purchase the classroom course option. Tynker’s curriculum
boasts introducing students to computer programming by aligning courses
based on grade and skill level. Each child does not need to have their own
computer, even if I wanted to have students BYOD (Bring Your Own
Device), students could pair up if I couldn’t gather enough resources. I
already incorporate STEM into my daily lessons, however Tynker also
offers ready to use STEM courses to integrate coding into the classroom. I
am REALLY excited to get this up and running. Happy Coding
References:
Huerta, M., (2016). Coding in the Classroom: A Long-Overdue Inclusion.
Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/coding-classroom-longoverdue-
inclusion-merle-huerta.
