Coding I Reflective Blog Post

Introduction to Coding-EDU 774

What are 1 - 2 programming apps, tools, or resources you learned about in the course? How have you already used these in your educational context or how do you plan to use these in the future?

Prior to taking this Coding I course at Dominican University, I had no background into programming/coding. I had never heard or used Scratch or Python before. I am glad I learned about these tools in order to become more familiar with coding. I think Scratch is a great one to use in order to introduce coding to elementary school students. The “building blocks,” colors, and visual scene students can create are helpful for beginners to visualize what they are coding. My school has an after-school coding club offered to students in grades 5-8. I know that they use robots called Dash and Dot, but after talking with my technology coordinator (the moderator of the club) about coding more, I discovered that they also learn Scratch during this club.  Even though some students are familiar with this tool, I want to introduce and use it in my classroom. I think students would like to use it to create scenes in history during Social Studies class. I would like to use Scratch in Science class as well. Although it seems like coding would fit better into that subject compared to Social Studies, I have not found too many ideas that will work for me in my grade's Science curriculum just yet with Scratch, so I plan on investigating more in order to find ways to incorporate it into that class. Overall, I think Scratch will be very engaging for my students to use, and it will help them to think critically in order to plan out the necessary steps in a process.

In addition to Scratch, I was also introduced to what a Raspberry Pi is. I think that’s a neat inexpensive little computer that can be used to help students learn about the parts of a computer. I like the idea of having students use a Raspberry Pi for robotics. If my school were to get a set of Raspberry Pi devices, I think programming robots would be an engaging and challenging STEM-aligned project for older middle-school students. The students would have to learn the Python coding language in order to program these robots, but if they spend time in previous years learning Scratch, they will have the background to learn a more advanced coding language like Python. Exposing students to coding will allow them to be better prepared for the future and the various skill-sets needed in careers where technology has become so ingrained. 

   What was something you found surprising in this course? Was there something you wanted to learn about in this course that was not covered?

            I was pretty nervous about taking this course since coding was so new to me. Although I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to work both Scratch and Python, I felt that I picked up on quite a bit faster than I thought. I understood the logic behind the different coding projects like the Scratch Virtual Pet one where I had to create a Hunger variable to feed an owl, and the Python project where I had to complete the code for a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. These coding projects really stimulated and exercised my brain, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment after completing them. At the same time, they kept me disciplined, but I also had fun. I kept thinking that my students would enjoy creating an assignment like these, especially a project like the Virtual Pet one on Scratch. 

      Since I knew about the robots Dash and Dot prior to taking this course, I thought they would be involved somehow in this course. I am assuming they will be in Coding II since that class seems to focus on robots. My technology coordinator will start up the coding club come January, and she invited me to join her to observe her class. Since she primarily uses Dash and Dot, I hope to observe her class and learn more about these robots. I also would like to find other resources that can help me find ideas to incorporate coding into the curriculum. Overall, I am glad that I took this course as now I am more aware of the world of coding and the benefits it can have on students.