Tuesday 29th January 2019
We are on week 4 now and this session we looked at coding using the app ScratchJr.
I am finally getting the hang of using the blog. I found out last week how to add categories to my blog which you can see at the left-hand side of the screen.
I was excited for this input as we briefly looked at coding with the programmable BeeBot toys, which I really enjoyed using. ScratchJr is another aspect of technology which can enhance learning due its interactive and hands on nature. “Technology can be a powerful and engaging tool to enrich learning” (Scottish Government, 2016). ScratchJr is the perfect tool that can allow children to work through their experiences and outcomes while also giving them the chance to use technology and make their learning more fun.
ScratchJr is an app which allows the teacher, or the pupil to create stories. The characters and objects in the stories can be coded to move, speak, pause and change in size. It is also possible to draw your own items or people and you can change the background of each page. ScratchJr allows children to be creative while also challenging them to think about movement and the workings of the app.
Teaching coding has many advantages. Coding allows children to make their own story and be creative while also engaging them in problem solving (Bers, 2012). Bers also says children should code as it allows them to develop their sequencing skills along with their algorithmic thinking.
Children are living in a technology orientated world, so much is done digitally, most people have some sort of smart phone or computer. Children need to have basic knowledge on the workings of technology to navigate their future through a world where technology is used so often. Coding is important for this generation to learn as it is a skill which can provide an understanding of the workings of technology rather than just an understanding of how to use the technology. “Ensuring that the next generation of digital natives will not just be able to consume digital content but create it” (Curtis, 2013). Coding allows children to create their own digital content and can be very important in the long run as it allows children to develop certain ways of thinking that can be useful later on in life.
In today’s session we had to use ScratchJr on the IPads to create an interactive story which could be used to promote literacy. Our stories were to be linked to certain experiences and outcomes from the Curriculum of Excellence. As ScratchJr is an application on that can be accessed online or on an IPad it followed a technology outcome:
- I can explore, play and communicate using digital technologies safely and securely. (TCH 0-03a)
It also followed two literacy outcomes as this was the focus of the lesson, these were:
- I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways (LIT 0-01c)
- I enjoy exploring and choosing stories and other texts to watch, read or listen to and can share my likes and dislikes (LIT 0-01b)
My story focused on Early Years learning and therefore I kept my story very basic while still ensuring it was interactive and followed my chosen learning outcomes.
My story was about Scratch the cat who needs help to find his pet frog. I made it interactive by asking the children to look for the pet frog and ‘point him out’. I also asked questions like ‘what do you think?’ to make them more engaged in the story and allowing them to share their thoughts while following the criteria of my learning experiences.
I really enjoyed using ScratchJr as it was fairly straightforward once you were able to grasp the basics. It did take me some time to get used to, especially figuring out the timing of the objects. Initially I was very confused, but I begin to get faster and started using more complex features, such as drawing my own items like the palm trees.
I could have created a better story but I was under a lot of pressure as it took me a while to understand how to use the application. I didn’t like how the project could only be 4 slides long. For teaching purposes, I would’ve liked to develop my story further and I actually ran out of time to finish my story. When I realised, I was running out of room to develop my story, I decided to take a new approach and allow the children to finish my story. They could write, discuss or perhaps even continue it in ScratchJr on a new project. I ended my story with the characters coming to a castle and asking, “Do you think a Princess lives in there?” which the children could expand on.
I do believe in order to make good content using ScratchJr I would need to practice more as I still haven’t figured out all the features. I also feel it was a very time-consuming activity but perhaps I just need more practice. I did however learn the basics and was able to create something. I think this would be very useful as an interactive tool in my classroom as it can be totally customised and features multimodal aspects which we looked at last week.
I think ScratchJr would be a great tool for children to use to develop their basic coding skills as it certainly challenged me and allowed me to be creative which are important skills to be developed.
Children should understand coding as not having these skills could set them back when they leave school, it essentially could leave them behind the rest of society (Naughton, 2013).
I will continue to practice using ScratchJr so I am able to effectively create engaging lessons and so I can advise children how to use the application in order to develop their coding skills. ScrathcJr is a technology that can teach coding skills while also enhancing and making a lesson more challenging and fun hence why I think it should be used more often in schools.
REFERENCES
Bers, M. (2017) Why Kids Should Code. [Online] Available: https://now.tufts.edu/articles/manifesto-kids-code [Accessed 1 February 2019]
Curtis, S. (2013) Teaching our Children to Code: a quiet revolution. [pdf] Available: http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/39846/mod_resource/content/1/Teaching%20our%20children%20to%20code%20a%20quiet%20revolution%20-%20Telegraph.pdf [Accessed 1 February 2019]
Naughton, J. (2012) Why all our kids should be taught how to code. [pdf] Available: http://moodle1819.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/39847/mod_resource/content/2/Why%20all%20our%20kids%20should%20be%20taught%20how%20to%20code%20%20Education%20%20The%20Observer.pdf [Accessed 1 February 2019]
Scottish Government. (2016) Digital technology at the heart of learning. [Online] Available: https://www.gov.scot/news/digital-technology-at-the-heart-of-learning/ [Accessed 3 February 2019]
