Reflection

I find Code.org to be extremely useful and intuitive. Coding and programming skills help students to become competent in computer science and STEM subjects. I admire the fact that the website provides fun and interactive examples to keep kids engaged. I appreciated the fact that the program did not require students to type lines of code, but gave them tangible examples of commands and events in the form of a puzzle to teach them the concept of coding without the more technical aspects. 
I would certainly be interested in using this program in my future classroom. However, I might consider it to be more supplemental rather than an independent lesson. I feel it would be best implemented as a one-person activity either during recess, free time, or at home.  

This is the first time I have had practice with coding. I have continuously heard many things about the importance of coding, yet I am very uneducated myself with understanding what coding is and the importance of coding. In my honest opinion, some of the activities were fairly simple, yet some were confusing and almost difficult to complete. I don't yet know how this would look like in a classroom, I believe students should gain knowledge on coding, especially if coding is continuing to evolve in the technology era and be vital for the success of our future leaders.
From my current knowledge, I believe the most effective time to incorporate coding classes to students would be during technology time at school in the computer lab. This would require collaboration between other staff members in the school I would be working in and the technology specialist teacher at the school. Additionally, I believe I would need much training to develop a deeper understanding of coding to gain a clearer more concise understanding of teaching students the importance and value of learning to code.

I thought this was super cool, and I think students would absolutely love it! As an Elementary Education major, I think elementary kids would go bonkers over something like this. From what I saw, it teaches students to critically think and how to use algorithms to work computer programs. It would allow students to be more comfortable and creative with technology, and opens the door to more complex computer coding. This would be a great way to get kiddos' brains thinking and thinking using technology!

I think that doing some of these activities could be beneficial in an elementary school classroom for students to work on their problem solving skills while also working on their computer literacy skills. I definitely don't think students should work on more than one section of the activity at a time, because having to complete all 15 parts of a lesson can be very lengthy and exhausting. 
But at the same time, after reading information about involving coding into a classroom, I think these activities could be very important. Coding activities can be especially important for students looking to improve their organization skills and problem solving skills. 

This activity used some serious brain power! I think this would be a great way to get kids familiar with coding, it also gets them thinking. I thought it was a great problem solving activity that is fun and gets kids thinking!

Coding and computer science education are valuable skills for elementary learners, especially in our rapidly developing technological world. The lessons I worked with included commands and responses similar to If-Then statements that are already familiar in classroom workings, ordering and sequencing commands, and constructing new methods for technological development (on a small scale). In my future classroom, this is relevant because students build on their real-world knowledge with tech lessons which then are built upon by deeper real-world knowledge. It is a continuous process of digital and physical manipulation and reconstruction of schema to expand, fitting in developments of both universes.
In ways to use this, I feel that teachers can integrate coding into their classroom visual aides, like reconstructing a behavior expectation chart (if, then format but with coding language). I feel that the lessons were super quick and easy so integrating math and computer science time into a 15 minutes of code period within the class schedule for each student to explore their digital skills.
I feel, if done properly and integrated within other lessons so that they build on each other, that this is a good use of class time. However, I feel that the coding alone does very little for the students, but integrating with literacy, math, or even social sciences, the student can benefit from the cohesive nature of the lesson goals and activities. Coding is also a practical skill that can help students advance their knowledge of or interest in computer programming and/or technological developments.

Before I didn't know too much about coding, but now It attracts my attention so much. In Colombia this is not available in schools yet. However, as future teacher,  I would like to transform the education in my country,  so I started thinking on how I can integrated it in my classroom because it´s very helpful. Coding will teach students how to communicate in a verbal and written way.  They will also improve their cognitive skills. I believe that at an early age children should be exposed to different languages (including coding languages), as it is a great opportunity for them to understand how technology works and how important is in our daily life. Children will also have the opportunity to expand their creativity by experimenting and resolving problems. Coding helps students to improve in many aspects, they will grow with very good skills to face the world that is constantly changing technologically. 

I loved this! I think this is so useful because now that I know the basics, I can teach the future generation about it too!

Computer coding is an essential skill for learners. It is helpful for students to gain knowledge about technology. Technology skills are vital for future careers, and education. This helps them to be very familiar with computer programming, and codes which they could also use for future schooling/careers. I think that this could be a good use of classroom time. I think it should be used during free time or computer time. 

I could totally see this being used in a classroom as an activity during indoor recess or in the morning before morning meeting while students are trickling in. I think what was so great is that it allows for a lot of freedom, and the students could make up their own games. 

When I started I was pretty frustrated because I couldn’t figure out how to get it to work, but once I got the hang of it, I started to have fun. And then it got even more exciting because I was able to design my own game. What I loved was that it “stretched” my brain but it didn’t feel like super hard work. I was definitely thinking, but I was having fun while I was doing it. 

I could definitely see see this being used in a kindergarten classroom, and it would be interesting to see the kinds of things that the children could come up with. If it were me, I would start them with the flappy bird because it was really straightforward but had a lot of customization potential. 

Code.org is relevant in my future classroom because it is such a useful tool to further the knowledge of students at all ages. Students learn how to code, fix bugs, and so much more. It is free and only a laptop is needed to use it. I could use this in my future classroom in many ways. One way is by posing it as "free time". This would be a great break from the traditional curriculum and would still reap many benefits for students. During indoor recess or facilitated free time students could log into code.org and have fun while still authentically learning. Furthermore, I could use it as a way for students to learn how to use creative expression in group settings. I believe that this is an effective classroom tool if used properly. The teacher needs to find the balance between using it as a free time activity but still ensuring that students are aware that this is still them learning and problem solving. I also think that there are fun and creative ways to incorporate coding into other curriculums to help connect coding to the real world. Coding is a tool that will help students succeed in many aspects of life but it is important that they are aware of this and can ,make that connection themselves. Therefore, teachers must connect coding to their lives. If all of this is done properly, then I believe coding is such a useful way to spend classroom time.