Today, we began to work with a new coding program called Scratch. I had some previous experience back in high school when i did my computing higher in sixth year. It was quite amazing to see how much a simple coding program can be used so effectively and so efficiently in a lesson such as maths or literacy. It is also fun and interactive as well as being very user friendly meaning that kids can understand how to use it from a very young age and start to be creative in what they choose to make from it. As i began to plan my own lesson for how a teacher could use it in a lesson for a wide range of ages ( but more specifically the early and first levels.) For example, you can use the character models (in this case animals) to teach the basic concepts of addition and subtraction which in turn can lead to more complex areas such as multiplication and division. Or even in literacy as they can use the characters and storyboards can be used to create their own stories from their imagination. Scratch can definitely be used as a tool in helping to develop the learning process at a younger age in my opinion, especially in a generation which thrives on digital learning. According to Papert , programmig for young children is where the computer’s true power as an educational medium lies — in the ability to facilitate and extend children’s awesome natural ability and drive to construct, hypothesize, explore, experiment, evaluate, draw conclusions — in short to learn — all by themselves.
https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/coded-success-benefits-learning-program (source for papert quote)
