This is frustrating…

Sooo coding….

I tried out Scratch as well as Hour of Code for this blog post because I felt like I needed to try both out because they are both very new to me.

Now this is not something that I have particularly liked. The first time I tried Coding in class, I used the Hour of Code game, Moana. I felt so frustrated because I could not get it to do what I wanted it to do. So when I did the Screen cast I decided to do the Star Wars one because it was a little easier. I also did not want to record myself during the Screen cast, I just wanted the screen BUT that didn’t happen. I did not feel like recording it all again so you have the pleasure of watching my concentration face the entire time.

During this process I also tried out Scratch and made my own little thing! It was also quite difficult for me. Every time I thought I had it figured out I would press the flag and it didn’t work. I did end up getting I short little dance going on but it may not have been what I envisioned.

I did not personally like Coding at all. I felt frustrated and  I was angry while I was using it saying “Why do students need to know this?” So instead of complaining I asked that exact same question on Google and was blown away with the many articles encouraging coding for students. I went through a few of them and realized that there are some amazing benefits for students, including this one about the 8 Reasons Why Kids Should Learn to Code.

There are many benefits to exposing students to Coding and why this is something that can be integrated into the classroom. Just as we would give a variety of opportunities for students to be literate this is simply another way that students can do this. Coding will help students who are interested in computer science to thrive. The article also states that Coding helps students with problem solving and creativity. I think that this is another way to prepare students for future jobs in ways that could not have been done before. I do advocate for bringing in Coding into the classroom but I think I will have to do some practicing myself first!

Miss. B