Sandra McAulay was back with us again today to talk about coding in the elementary classroom. She said that you can start with simply the language used in coding (programmers) and work up from there, however, she began with sequencing and instructions and embedded the language that way. It was awesome that while she asked us for real life examples of instructions (making Kraft dinner, directions from Google Maps), she also modelled exactly how she would handle a classroom of children throughout activities (thanking on-task children, setting expectations).
Sandra shared a few coding in real life activities we can try in our classrooms. I noticed that these activities could be implemented as part of ADST and/or language arts, and that they meld well with core competencies, especially the ones related to collaboration and creative thinking.
She also showed us a Scratch Jr. project that covered ADST and science. The student had to follow specific criteria for each scenario. Each scenario shared information and facts about primary, secondary, or tertiary consumers, and the animals moved or spoke based on the coding behind it.
These are all things that I will implement with my own classrooms as they are approachable for me (as someone who isn’t tech savvy) and for students (little people who are just learning about these things).
This blog is very detailed and probably your best blog to date. It seems like you really were into the presentation- I’m glad you took something away from it as I did too 🙂
I like the simplicity of this blog, and the pictures you have included in it. The ADST idea is also a good point you made. I believe will it will help with the core competency of collaboration and critical thinking. Thanks for pointing that out.