Reflection

This can be relevant to my future classroom by having students learn to work together. It can be seen as a classroom community builder where they can design games and then share their games with others in the classroom. Having students work on coding can also teach them valuable problem solving skills but in ways that can be fun instead of frustrating and also a way to open up new ideas, challenges, and technological resources. Because technology has become so rampant in the society we live in, having necessary problem solving skills in technology can be such a valuable tool that students can take with them to different classes and even future careers. 

This can also be a great follow up to a geometry lesson, or math lesson. In the shape drawing activity, students needed basic understanding in angles and degrees of each one. In the star wars activity, there was a lot of math involved in calculating how many different characters needed to appear when one was caught and so on. While, it may seem like just a fun game, students are still having to utilize a lot of other things that are learned in the classroom and these games are a fun and different way for students to apply those skills and test their understanding. Because of that I think its a very effective use of classroom time. I also think so because, an activity like this can really open the minds of students in the classroom who may think they have no interest in computer science. An activity like this may garner a new hobby, or passion for someone wanting to pursue this because there really is not a lot of other opportunities like this at such a young age. 

Coding is relevant to my future classroom because it helps students explore computer science concepts and learn programming skills through challenging yet engaging activities. Technological coding helps students critically think and create strategies with problem-solving skills.

I believe coding is an effective use of classroom time because it teaches students valuable skills, while still allowing them to have fun. I think it is definitely important to choose coding activities that are appropriate for students based on their grade and skill set. I could use coding to promote technology in my future classroom as well as to discuss STEM careers and related opportunities. Students don't have to become a computer scientist just because they code; coding activities can help students in all facets of the classroom.

Coding is not always an easy task, but students will feel accomplished and see the benefits of their determination when they complete their coding goals. They also might not ever hear about coding until they enter my classroom, so coding will allow them to try new things and work with new skills. Not only will coding highlight my students' creativity and determination, but it will also build their overall computational and critical thinking skills in the classroom.

Code.org is a fun, entertaining, and informative website. Coding is something that has always gone over my head and I was never interested in knowing anything about it, but this website not made it easier to understand, it also got me curious about all its functions. This website uses references from pop culture (like Star Wars, Frozen, Ice Age, etc) that are relatable and manage to keep me entertained, and I'm sure it would do the same for an elementary school student. I wanted to do all of the lessons! 
I said that the ISTE standard that applies to code.org is Learner because it teaches students how to code! I myself was a learner during the process. While coding is not necessarily something students will ever be tested on, it can help serve as the introduction into a new interest that a student never would have had in a normal curriculum. It also makes me think about all the other interests out there that are not present in a normal curriculum. The classroom can only expose students to so many things. Letting them explore things such as coding provides the opportunity for students to expand their horizons. 

This is relevant in future classroom because it allows students to learn how to code, fix bugs, and create their own games.  I think that it provides computer-oriented opportunities that the student can't get with other activities.

I think I could use this for creating my own games for my classroom.  Because I want to teach preschool/kindergarten I'm not sure if it would be super beneficial to the students.  But I know I could use this to create fun and inventive games for my students.

Depending on the age of the students, I do think it is an effective use of classroom time.  Not only is it fun, but the students are learning while they are playing.  It also allows for partner/small group time.  As they create with other students, they will develop communication skills and learn how to negotiate and talk through conflicts. 

As an early childhood education preservice teacher I really enjoyed this code website for older grades such as 1st-3rd. I believe the first few levels would be perfect for them and not too difficult. If a child excels in coding then they can go on to further levels. These activities are engaging and look more like games then boring codes. I also really love how to website works problem-solving skills by finding what's wrong and fixing it. This website is one I plan on using as a center if I plan to teach 1st-3rd!

Completing the coding assignment was difficult initially. I never realized how complicated coding could be, even through a game designed to help children learn about coding. However, I enjoyed how each level walked me through coding and helped breakdown the process so I could understand it. I found myself growing to enjoy coding with each level and I was engaged in learning how it worked. It was fun to complete and I even completed more levels than the required assignment because I was so engaged in the games!

This could be helpful in a classroom when introducing STEM concepts to students. I believe there is a misconception with subjects such as math, science, and technology where students believe they are not capable of doing such things. Girls especially are taught from a young age to shy away from these subjects and lean into English or Social Studies. I believe introducing coding to the class as a whole and having them complete these activities will introduce the concept to them and help them build confidence in themselves. Coding can open doors for students as they discover what they're passionate about and what they want to do. Girls and boys alike can complete these coding levels and learn problem solving skills while doing so!

If coding is introduced at a young age, students will carry it with them throughout middle and high school. They will develop their skills and have an open mind to learning new subjects. Every student deserves the choice to choose what they are passionate about and what they want to do in life. Girls can do coding and boys can do English. Girls can work in computer science and boys can become writers, the important thing is that as educators we allow them to have that choice and give them the space and freedom to think creatively. 

Thinking about my future classroom i'm unsure if this would be useful to as a lesson plan with seven year olds. This could be something fun to introduce as an inside recess tool or something to do in free time that is facilitating learning. This could become difficult if students don't have access to laptops all at the same time or if they are unable to save their work and come back to finish later. I'm unsure what standard this would relate to when it comes to state standards but it relates to the ISTE standard of Learner. It was actually interesting to learn and not too hard to figure out. Students could certainly use this program to create some fun games. 
This type of learning tool could best be utilized in secondary classrooms or older students. Younger students i can predict getting frustrated and misunderstanding if they are comparing themselves to others. This could be a tool to introduce coding to younger audiences, but you must know your classroom beforehand.  

I’ve never done something like this before, so I really enjoyed getting to partake in what my future students may possibly encounter. I think this is a great website for my students at many different age levels to practice finding patterns and understanding different variables. It’s also a good chance for students to understand trial and error.  Not every time a child will get it right the first time, but it’s good practice to get them to try it again. That way, in other activities where something may not work out, they keep working at it until they finally get it.  I think that coding help shapes the mind.

This activity was very frustrating at the beginning but as I continued on It became easier. I ended up enjoying this because I realized it was more like a puzzle that I was trying to solve. I think other people would also be frustrated with this if the instructions were not clear and an example was shown before.
I do not know how relevant this would be in my future classroom. I think that students would struggle a lot and it would be hard to relate to material being taught. This could be something students enjoy during free time because they would use skills to code. This website would be enjoyable for some students but others would get extremely frustrated. 

If I'm being totally honest, this activity frustrated me way more than it should have. I found myself wanting to give up so quickly every time one of the coding challenges forced me to try more than 3-4 times. Eventually I realized that this was part of the learning lesson and went with it and tried and tried until I accomplished each task. It never became relaxing or easy for me but I like to think I eventually got the hang of it
Learning wise, I am still trying to figure out the relevancy of this in my future classroom. Pleasure wise, I can think of various uses. You could use this as a math center since coding seems very math-related. You could use it as an activity for "free-time" centers as it is still educational in a video-game-like form. 
There are definitely a variety of uses for the coding, I'm just still in the process of figuring out where/when would be the best unit/time of year to implement this.