E-LEARNING PAGE
Coding 2015
After the success of 'Hour of Code' last year I made sure students had the opportunity to give coding a go this year. So, rather than waiting for the official launch of Hour of Code (normally at the end of the year) I took the opportunity to incorporate it into our Education Week activities ... and with the theme 'Crack the Code' is was a no-brainer!
'Crack the code with maths!' is the theme of this year’s Education Week, which gives parents the chance to see classrooms and early learning settings in action from 17-23 May 2015. Schools and early childhood programs are encouraged to engage children, staff and parents in maths and coding-themed activities.
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/news/archive/Pages/eduweek15.aspx
I started by introducing the students (and teachers) to Scratch. Some students had already used Scratch before and were quick to offer their expertise. After we had watched a brief tutorial, the students had the opportunity to explore ... before long I had a room of meowing dragons and barking ducks!
With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share your creations with others in the online community.
Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century.
https://scratch.mit.edu/about/
Once we had mastered the basics I introduced the students to the 'Hour of Code' Courses. Based on their level of coding experience, reading ability and confidence, students were able to select a course they wanted to complete. Many challenged themselves and jumped straight in to course 4 ...
Course 4 is designed for students who have taken Course 2 and 3. Students will delve deeper into programming topics introduced in previous courses to flexible solutions to more complex problems. By the end of this course, students create interactive stories and games they can share with anyone. Recommended for grades 4-8.
http://studio.code.org/s/course4
It was a great success! Students are asking for coding to be a permanent part of our ICT program - I'll need to do some research or find some great YouTube tutorials to help here!
Hour of Code 2014
Last year, one of the student suggested we take part in the Hour of Code. I hadn't heard of it so I investigated further. What I discovered was a wonderful resource looking to teach students (and their teachers) around the world about the value of computer science.
The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 30 languages. No experience needed.
To ensure I had ALL the girls on board we watched:
And to make sure I had all of the students raring to go, we viewed this short clip from Malala ... after completing our Civics and Citizenship unit and reading Parvana the students recognised her immediately! They were hooked!
As soon as the students were able to, they grabbed their devices and were logging in! It was amazing to see how quickly they grasped the concept of writing in code. In a short amount of time a number of students were printing off their certificates - evidence of their participating in the Hour of Code - and were getting prepared to begin their second task.
Even though it is called an 'Hour' of Code we will be looking for opportunities to include a few more hours in before the end of the school year!