Moving Forward and SITE As I move forward with my driving question, I am hoping to accomplish two goals: 1. Demonstrate the need to shift toward "true" coding instruction in schools and 2. The ease with which ANYONE (students and teachers) can develop coding skills. Therefore my audience also addresses two audiences - teachers and students.
Sociocultural An obvious area that will need a great deal of focus involves the peopel who will be learning. The teachers who consider including coding in their classroom come from a varied environment and with different skills regarding technology. Some teachers love and embrace technology - always looking for new ways to innovate and move forward, while others are reluctant to incorporate any technology in their classrooms. They don't see themselves as technology experts, or may even see the increased use of technology as a negative trend in schools. It is imperative that I make sure to engage all of these individuals. Teachers are on the front lines of technology instruction, and so they must be fully trained and supported in order to train and fully support their own students. The students who will be experiencing the training also have diverse background and exposure to tech. Access to technology is the new divide - those who have WIFI and devices and those who do not. Any study that addresses anything technological must take into account that not everyone has access. It is not just a matter of differences in the quality and types of equiptment, but more than that, some students have no access or equiptment at all. Informational The biggest question that I have faced all along, is what has laready been studied regarding the impact of computer programming on critial thinking skills. Despite the tremendous push for more and more inclusion of coding in the classroom, there seems to be little study of what impact this has on students' thinking skills. If I am to persuade my audience of the necessity and importance of coding instruction, I must have evidence and support of its value for students. My own research was a small and limited study, and while it supported the concept that coding instruction does impact critical thinking in a postive way, it is far from enough to convince a school or a teacher, that learing HTML is an essential and important skill for the average 5th grader. I will also need to look at what support materials both the instructor and the student will need to succeed in teaching and learning coding. I am already aware of many places where students can learn to code, and plan to include descriptions and evaluations of them. I hope to create an ongoing resource hub and plan to garner input from other more experienced coders. Technical Considering the technical aspect of this endeavor could feel overwhelming. What access to technology do students have? What resources exist within the community? How can I overcome the technology gap between students who have access and those who do not? What are the necessary steps to take a student or a teacher form zero knowledge of computer programming to proficiency in some of the basic skills? What computer languages and/or activites are appropriate for each grade level and who is that determined? It is clear that my Capstone is in it's infancy stage with more questions than answers at this point, but the SITE model is helping to refine and clarify what it is that I hope to accomplish with this project. I understand the importance and impact of developing an understanding of coding and am slowly beginning to think of ways that I can demonstrate this importance, and support others to consider dipping their toes in the waters of coding instruction and learning.
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AuthorJen has been teaching school for awhile now. She's learned some stuff, but she's got tons more to learn. Archives
October 2017
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