Digital Technologies- Coding/Scratch Jr (30/1/2018)

This week our Digital Technology module introduced Coding programmes, specifically focusing on Scratch Jr. Scratch Jr is a programme that allows children to create their own interactive stories and activities. They can make their chosen characters move, interact and sing to bring their story to life. Prior to today’s lesson I had no knowledge of Scratch Jr or the impact it can have on children’s learning throughout a lesson. I feel that many teachers particularly student teachers such as myself would feel reluctant to introduce fun technology games into a class lessons from fear of losing the children’s attention and causing too much excitement that it would be difficult to recover from. However, throughout the class we studied the benefits of using Scratch Jr in the classroom while acknowledging the opinions and views of educators as well as the curriculum and I learned that this might not be the case. As well as this I got to experience using the Scratch Jr app from the perception of a first time learning and as a student teacher in training.

Today’s lesson involved using Scratch Jr to create our own story that we could use as a lesson. I chose to base my story on a baby pig named ‘Bella’ who on her birthday wishes to go swimming in the ocean. After being told by her parents that pigs cannot swim she enlists the help of her friend ‘Froggy’ to help make her wish come true. My story ends with both Bella and Froggy jumping into the ocean without indicating the outcome. I chose to leave my story on a cliff-hanger as during today’s lesson we looked at how educators can use Scratch Jr in a literacy lesson with Scratch Jr being used as an introductory activity for story writing. Therefore, by leaving my story on a cliff-hanger I am providing an aid to the children who struggle with their imagination by showing them an example of the beginning of a story while providing learners with the opportunity to continue the story and add on characters, use imagery, describe the ocean setting and develop the plot.

As a learner using Scratch Jr for the first time I found the app relatively easy to navigate and use.  I enjoyed the apps features of making my character move while using the audio feature to give my character a voice. I found the app interactive, engaging and inspiring my creative thought.

From the perception of a student teacher I feel Scratch Jr is an interesting and enjoyable app that has many benefits for young learners.  Firstly, it is the opinion of some that coding is the new literacy and while I feel that this statement is far-fetched I understand that learning the skill of coding is largely beneficial for learners. It is important today that we teach children from a young age the skills to comfortably use code computer programmes as the use of coding is becoming increasingly popular in today’s schools. The lead project reiterated this point as they spoke of the vital skills young learners may acquire from using Scratch Jr. “They are learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively – essential skills for success and happiness in today’s world.” (Lead Project 2014). Thus, by teaching children these vital skills coding programmes such as Scratch Jr provides children access to specific careers “Gaming companies want more programmers. The government wants more high-tech start-ups. Manufacturers want trainees who can design embedded systems” (Naughton, 2011, p2).  Therefore, after acknowledging these points it is apparent as to why coding is a valuable component of literacy in modern society.

Jr can be used in line with a variety of Curriculum outcomes. For example, my lesson followed the curriculum outcomes for both First and Second level of ICT to enhance learning and First level tools for writing:

“I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts.” TCH 1-04a / TCH 2-04a

“I can present my writing in a way that will make it legible and attractive for my reader, combining words, images and other features.” LIT 1-24a

Upon reflection on today’s lesson of using Scratch Jr I feel the programme is easy and enjoyable to use and a programme that I would consider using as a resource for future lessons. I feel the programme is an undoubtedly beneficial and engaging resource for children of various levels and that there is a range of ways I could use Scratch Jr in future lessons to enhance children’s literacy and digital literacy. Therefore, I am eager to continue experimenting with the Scratch Jr programme as an aspiring student teacher to further improve my skills of using the programme and inspire my ideas for future lessons.

 

References:

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

Naughton, N. (2012) Why all our kids should be taught how to code. [The Guardian/Observer Online] Available: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/105150/mod_resource/content/2/Why%20all%20our%20kids%20should%20be%20taught%20how%20to%20code%20%20Education%20%20The%20Observer.pdf  [Accessed 30 January 2018]

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