Todays class was looking at the coding programme Scratch Jr. So what is coding?

” When you learn to code you can make things happen on your computer. You can make anything you want with a code. It could be a game, some pictures or a film” (BBC, 2019, n.p.)

The opportunities available for children using coding is endless, it allows children to create something from…scratch!! This enables the child to be creative in many senses of the word and allows the child to feel they have created something worthwhile and may help them feel valued. The push for coding to be introduced is huge and here is a reason why-

“The biggest justification for change is not economic but moral. It is that if we don’t act now we will be short-changing our children. They live in a world that is shaped by physics, chemistry, biology and history, and so we – rightly – want them to understand these things. But their world will be also shaped and configured by networked computing and if they don’t have a deeper understanding of this stuff then they will effectively be intellectually crippled.” (Naughton, 2012).

The Scratch Jr programme allows the children to interact and engage with the programme, this could allow children to work together and learn from each other. The learning theory of scaffolding could be gained using this programme.

Having arrived late to class (due to the weather I promise!) I felt somewhat lost when starting the activity. I quickly realised that Scratch Jr was not as cute and easy as the name made it appear! I have to admit that I did not access the programme prior to class, due to my unwell children and exhausted self… and this had a clear impact on my ability to dive in and get started.

 

After a lot of tinkering and trying to workout what button did what, I began to (slowly) get an understanding of the aim and possibilities of the programme. I decided to make my Scratch Jr activity based on phonics. I also chose to incorporate the phonics song to embed the childrens knowledge and also be recapping on prior learning. My activity allowed the children to interact and have a response from the technology, which I feel has a great impact on their concentration and willing involvement in the activity. 

The experiences and outcomes that I think this activity would cover are:

• TCH 0-01a “I can explore digital technologies and use what I learn to solve problems and share ideas and thoughts”.
• LIT 0-01a / LIT 0-11a /LIT 0-20a “I enjoy exploring and playing with the patterns and sounds of language and can use what I learn.” (Education Scotland, (n.d.)

Coding has been introduced in primary schools, and as early as primary 1. In 2014, Education secretary Michael Gove said: “For the first time children will be learning to programme computers. It will raise standards across the board – and allow our children to compete in the global race.” (Curtis, 2003). The findings in this writing suggests that the benefits of teaching children coding can, and will, prepare children for the advances in the future and give them the tools to be able to succeed in a technologically based horizon.

I feel that I would need to spend a lot of time investigating the possibilities of Scratch Jr and learn how to use it efficiently, as it did not come easy to me. I think that this activity would need patience and lots of encouragement to stay on task, as there are various things that can go wrong…which might make children loose concentration…This, however, emphasises the importance of teachers having the adequate training and knowledge to be able to guide pupils and teach them how to use tools such as Scratch Jr to assist in learning and fun in the classroom!

 

References

• Curtis, S. (2003) Teaching Our Children to Code: A Quiet Revolution. The Telegraph. [Online] 4 November. Available: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10410036/Teaching-our-children-to-code-a-quiet-revolution.html [Accessed: 1 February 2019].
• BBC, 2019, n.p. [Online] Available: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/articles/zykx6sg [Accessed: 1 February 2019].
• Education Scotland. (n.d.) Curriculum for Excellence.[Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed: 10 January 2019]