Coding and Stuff

Today's Google Doodle celebrates 50 years of kid's coding languages. Still, talk to someone about coding and you usually get a pretty binary response; Either they will spout on about the most useful IDEs and how React is the language of the future or they will write it off as something only a special breed of nerds do and that pretty much exists on the same level as the Matrix universe. I myself had no interest in computer science in school and found myself on a steep learning curve in university.

Next year, the new Digital Technologies Curriculum will be rolling out. From Year 1, kids will be exposed to computational thinking and how algorithms work. This is a big deal for teachers. After all, we need to be confident in what we are teaching in order to teach it well. Or do we? Instead we can teach students that we too are lifelong learners who try new ways and methods to solve problems and work stuff out along the way. I already see that a lot of what teachers do is the same type of thinking involved in coding. We break tasks down for students into a progressive sequence of steps. The way we mark and report using letters, colours or symbols is essentially a system of variables and conditional statements. We tell our students "if you do this... then..." and "for the next 10 minutes... we are going to..." - the logic and looping happens for us in real life!

It really is just a small step for teachers to utilise even more coding in their classrooms. On my calendar I create hyperlinks to enable ease of access and direct students to sites I want them to use.

Sample code: Complete a <a href= http://www.hoodamath.com/mobile/games/mathtimedtests.html ><font color="red"> Basic Facts Test </font></a>

All the students see is Complete a Basic Facts Test, but when they click it it takes them to the website link in green. It's a simple copy and paste for me but saves valuable class time which means more time for students to be on task and learning.

Online coding tools such as scratch allow students to share their learning by telling stories and creating their own games or activities. In a way, technology shouldn't even be a separate subject it is ubiquitous these days in all fields and areas of life. It was by far my favourite subject at school as it let me be creative, take ownership of my learning and taught me how to think critically, which were the most useful skills when it came to tackling open-ended engineering projects in university. Coding taught me logic, problem solving and most importantly how to deal with failure and iterate for improvement.

Technology at its core is all about designing solutions and taking up opportunities to grow and develop ideas. Coding shouldn't be limited only to those who elected to take computer science as it is the language of all the digital technologies we have today.  For many of us and our students, the digital world is as real as the physical world. Students will need to understand the language of digital technology so they can not only play and interact with it but also to design and develop it. As their teachers, we should continue to take small steps in our own learning and explore this exciting realm alongside them.