This article discusses the importance of teaching children code. The author begins by discussing his own experiences with learning about computers during his school days. He talks about first waiting for the program to load, taking a screenshot, renaming, and emailing a file. End of lesson. He mentioned that he was not stimulated so he found other ways to utilize his time, like finding a game to play instead. He included a quote from Michael Gove “Teaching pupils, over and over again, how to word-process… [is] about as much use as teaching children to send a telex or travel in a zeppelin.Our new curriculum teaches children computer science, information technology, and digital literacy: teaching them how to code, and how to create their own programs: not just how to work a computer, but how a computer works and how to make it work for you.
He goes on to explain what code is: the language computer use to speak to each other. He stresses that code is utilized in every computer from your iPad, to your watch, to your Netflix account. It's everywhere. This being said, some people might still wonder why teach it. There's the obvious answer that some students will grow up to write code. But what about those who don't? His response was that even though students who won't implement code in their future careers can still greatly benefit.
- It teachers problem-solving skills. If your code won't work, what will you do to fix it giving the resources that you have? What will you have to look up to solve the problem?
- It introduces math concepts such as variables and conditionals.
- It allows students to plan a layout or design
- It also makes them use logic to create something that would be used or played
I do see the benefit in teaching children code. With programs like Scratch, children can develop an understanding for coding in a user-friendly way. Also, HERE is an article that lists 6 other coding sites aimed at kids. The first issue I see with this is who would be teaching students this and how will teachers find the time to integrate it into their day? Just thinking about it now, it could be an enrichment activity. I currently have Scratch on my classroom iPads, but I haven't taken the time to demo it to the kids. I can also see the concern of those teachers who are already hesitant about technology, being absolutely horrified if they were asked to introduce coding. As a possible solution, these resources could be made available to parents if time is such an issue. But then participation after that is entirely up to the families. We then get into the digital divide issue again where those students who don't have the tech won't get this skill. In the future, I can see this being bigger and more emphasized than it currently is. I think the benefits are obvious. Currently, it's just a matter of finding time to do whole-class introduction with it.
There were two articles this week that mentioned Scratch. I read an article that mentioned it as well when I was looking for an article and looked at it a little. It seems like a neat program. There are definitely problem solving skills involved with coding, and logical thinking. I understand your point of trying to figure out when to add it to your day.
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