Professor Steve Katz gave us tons of tech tips to bring into our classrooms and its hard to pinpoint one favorite. I see practical implementation for coding, video, audio and other lessons in my classroom. If I had a 1-1 class where every kid had a device I would certainly involve video and blogging on a regular basis but I think the most powerful learning tool that I plan to bring into my classroom is Scratch.
I used Scratch to complete my Hour of Code and modify a silly game in my last post. Scratch is a great way to get kids excited about coding. I’ll be bringing it to my Genius Hour club next semester (because its a BYOD club.) I started this past semester with the kids making their own Board Game but plan on giving them a Scratch assignment to kick off their creative juices and inspire them to pick challenging goals for independent study.
Coding is quickly coming to the forefront of education. Its a normal part of the UK primary school curriculum and is being introduced into state curriculum around the USA. Scratch is a fun way for kids to explore the world of coding. Who knows maybe they’ll make a revolutionary new app and think back to their 4th grade teacher as the one who got them into coding!
2 comments
I teach Uni, can’t realistically expect coding will come into class. But can’t wait to teach my nephews! I agree with you, coding is a valued language and early exposure will be extremely beneficial to your students.
I love that you’re going to teach your nephew to code! As an adult its tough to learn and makes me wish I had someone show me when I was younger.