Creating a story using Scratch Jr was a daunting prospect as I had only been introduced to the Application (app) an hour before, however it is a simple and user-friendly app that children as young as 5 can use to create interactive stories or games.

 

Coding is an important part of education as it is essential that our young people thrive in the technological society they will grow in. Technology is integrated into almost every part of our society: communications, entertainment, power supplies, and defence to name a few. It is difficult to imagine an area where society does not rely on some form of technology. To ensure its upkeep and continued progress, we need to ensure that the adults of tomorrow are aware of how to continue to develop and maintain the technologies that society depends on.

 

Another benefit of coding and its application in education is how it compliments learning in other subjects.   To demonstrate this, I was tasked to create a lesson plan integrating coding and meeting a combination of experiences and outcomes from the curriculum for excellence. The lesson was to be delivered using Scratch Jr.

 

The experience and outcomes that I wanted to meet are:

• LIT 1-26a By considering the type of text I am creating, I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in a logical sequence and use words which will be interesting and/or useful for others.
• TCH 1-01a I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support my learning in different contexts.

As I developed my story I noted that I was also integrating an experience and outcome from Health and Wellbeing (outcomes) and it was integral to my lesson plan.

• HWB 1-05a I know that friendship, caring, sharing, fairness, equality and love are important in building positive relationships. As I develop and value relationships, I care and show respect for myself and others.

 

My lesson is to encourage children to create a scene using coding where they give examples of how to make people welcome. My story focused on a new child starting school and feeling nervous.

After sharing my project, I would be asking children to consider the following:

• Do you remember your first day at school or have you ever been new to something such as a youth club, sports team or hobby? Can you remember how you felt?

 

• What would you do to make someone feel welcome? What kind of words would you use to make friends with someone?

 

• Create a Scratch Jr slide, showing yourself making someone feel welcome.

 

 

The benefit of asking the children to create a project of their own on scratch Jr would be that they are developing coding skills and are using digital technology to add value to learning across the curriculum.  As children use Scratch Jr they are learning to think creatively, reason methodically and work together (The Lead Project, 2014).

As a teacher, my aim is to make learning both beneficial and fun to ensure maximum engagement. I know as a parent that my own children engage well with technology and I have often tried to integrate it into home learning. Such as looking up a recipe online. Another benefit that could be suggested is that the lesson is more inclusive to those who have barriers to learning. “Another important feature of ICT is that in can produce high-quality presentations of work in a variety of formats, regardless of the ability of the pupils concerned” (Beauchamp, 2017, P.162)

References

Beauchamp, G. (2011) Computing and ICT in the Primary School from Pedagogy to Practice. 2^nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge.

The Lead Project (2014) Super Scratch Programming Adventure: Learn to Program by Making Cool Games! No Starch Press.