When I head the word coding my mind automatically thinks of computer science and things that are so far out of my reach. Coding is what cool people do, what really smart people do. However, this weeks’ exploration of coding and computational thinking challenged that assumption. Instead of being limited to one subject or one career, coding can actually act as a powerful learning tool that can support problem-solving and creativity across many areas and subjects- if it is demonstrated, scaffolded and used properly. 

So what is computational thinking? It is essentially a way of approaching problems systematically and logically. It is quite literally a way to break down problems into smaller problems to solve. This includes recognizing patters and developing the step-by-step solutions needed to solve the problem- also known as algorithms. I guess in education this can be useful for students if we present it the right way. If we state the fact that we want students to organize their thinking, be creative and experiment with new ideas, I think coding skills could be transferable and help students along their educational journeys- however, if we were to just show them a game that involves coding just to pass the time, some would enjoy it and take to it well, but others wouldn’t have that buy in effect and be more confused than when they started.

The biggest thing that I took away from this weeks’ materials is that coding can be integrated into so many different subject areas- not just computer science. 

I tried Scratch during our class time and at first was very confused because for some reason I didn’t realize that the top of the page was giving me instructions so when I kept hitting enter it was telling me I was wrong and I was sooo annoyed, but when I finally realized that it was giving me instructions, I started to kinda sorta get the hang of it- although it did help me figure out that coding is not my thing, but hey, it was fun while it lasted. ANYWAY, I can see how Scratch could be used to create stories, games or even simulations that can be connected to topics in social studies, science and even language arts. 

Initially when I was thinking about my teachable subject areas (French and PHE) and coding, I was having a hard time trying to find where and how they connected. But, for French, like I mentioned above, Scratch for example, can be used to create interactive stories, vocabulary games and even dialogues. This gives students a fun and new way to engage with materials. 

For PHE I think it is a bit more tricky… I guess coding could be used to design games that model movement patterns , track fitness and maybe if you’re advanced tie into sports strategies somehow- but it does seem more complicated and advanced.
I also want to keep in mind that I am hoping to teach middle school, so coding in that sense will most likely be very limited, but still something to think about. 

I feel like these days, screen time is also just a huge thing to think about when it comes to teaching… Some kids only get away from their screens when they are at school so adding in more screen time isn’t ideal, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. I don’t agree with replacing with technology but rather enhancing with it to allow students to engage with materials in new ways.