Reflection

Learning to code can be a skill that helps students stand out and have the confidence to pursue future careers of their choices. Learning about Code.org will help me in my future classroom because it gives me more resources to encourage the learning of code and computer science for the students that I will teach. I hope that I will be able to use this resource in the best way to help my students.
Code.org can be used in my classroom for activities as either actual lessons or activities that the students can do when they finish work early. I could even incorporate some of the activities into lessons that I am already doing with the students. 
I believe that incorporating coding into the classroom is an effective use of class time. We as teachers are in our job to give students that tools they need to be successful in their futures. When students students code and develop interest in computer science, they have another thing that can help them pursue the careers that they desire.

I think this site would be a lot of fun for kids, and a great starting point for coding.  I’m still not entirely sure how it relates to coding, but I trust that the site knows what they’re doing.  If I were to implement this site and its games into my classroom I would need to know more about coding so that I could relate their experiences in the game to real-world situations which are similar.  If I couldn’t do this I would ask someone who codes to come into my classroom and show us how the game relates outside of the gaming environment.
As long as I knew how this game related to actual coding I think it would be beneficial for my students.  Depending on the age thought I think this game may be a bit too ambiguous to truly be an effective teaching tool.  As I said, this game might be a good starting point for young children, but I have to be able to express what they are doing in terms of real-world scenarios and be able to explain a why this game and its content is important.  I don’t want to implement a game just for the sake of integrating technology or just regurgitating that “it teaches coding” without being able to back up the claim.  I want the technology used in my class to be effective and meaningful, not contrived or done without a clear learning goal.

I think that this would be relevant to my future classroom to an extent. This took me over an hour to complete,maybe more since I spread it out over the last 3 days. I think that since I want to teach special education kindergarten, they would not want to focus on this much information at once. I could see myself doing levels 1 to maybe 3 or 4 spread out over a weeks time. I think that I would have to walk them through the levels with one on one attention. I also think partner work would be helpful as well. I could even do this work, but not using a device. I could have coding in real life such as tape on the ground, so they have to physically walk to get to the destination and as a class we could count for them and keep track of it on the board as a class. I think then individual or partner work with the computer would be good. 

I thought this website had fun and interactive games that encouraged the use of the thought processes behind coding. These games are a great way for kids to get involved in coding in a way that keeps their attention but also challenges them. I think this could be a good activity to do in pairs or during free time/centers. I would absolutely be willing to let my students play these sometimes, but I wouldn’t make it an everyday thing. Because I am early childhood I like that this provides the basic idea behind coding without it being too complicated.

I think the best thing about this website is that it exposes children to the idea of computer science and programming. I like that it helps them become aware that it is actually a thing that they can do and that it can be fun, especially since I will be working with such a young age. The games give a good amount of instruction while also providing help if necessary, and I also love that it shows you the actual code.

In order for me to promote certain technological activities to my students, it's important that I know how to do them myself. Before doing this activity, I had never coded before. It seemed intimidating and I wasn't sure that it would be so easy for me to pick up on. After this activity, I feel confident enough in coding to encourage my future students to do it themselves. In addition to that, I'm now familiar enough with it to help them effectively.
Coding can be fun and requires you to think critically. It's a much different process than learning to do math or read and write. Coding requires you to problem-solve, create, and work through challenges. Not only are these important skills to have in school, but in life. Working to complete tasks even through challenges teaches students to persevere. Coding is goal-oriented and entertaining which is the best combination of education.
Learning to code encompasses many content standards as well as critical thinking. Reading the codes, using math to code, assessing problems and working through them is an excellent use of classroom time that is valuable to all subject areas. Knowing to code can benefit students later in life and give them the confidence to use technology and program.

By doing these activities and going through various coding techniques, I personally was engaged with the activities and actually learning about coding. Although it was mainly games and silly characters, it was interactive and fun. In the classroom, I can see incorporating this activity as a station or group work. Much like on one of the videos shown in class, partner work would be very effective with these activities. Allowing children to get a sense of multiple roles in coding and how it all works would be a good and easy lesson to incorporate.
Also, since the activities were game based and used easy terms, it was very simple to pick up and actually explained coding in a way that was understandable. Before, when I heard the term "coding", I would imagine some high-tech person on a movie frantically typing away on a keyboard then magically calling some plan off or deactivating a whole system. Now, after experiencing this website and the associated activities, i realize that coding, in the simplest of terms, can be easily accessible. This can lead to students being more interested in this field, or just a place to have fun and realize that they, themselves, are actually coding.

While doing this activity I learned many things. First, I realized coding is a lot different than I thought it would be. I never thought I would be able to do coding but I found the activities to be pretty fun. Some of them took me a few tries to get right but once I was able to understand it, it was easier for me to do. This opened my eyes to what children would think of actives that have to do with coding. I think that all children would enjoy the coding games on coding.org. I liked how they used familiar characters like Scratch from the movie Ice Age, Mine Craft, and flappy birds. This is a simple and engaging way to incorporate coding into the classroom.

Before we started talking about coding in class, I really did not know much about coding or what it was. I really enjoyed using the code.org website. I thought it was a great way to start learning how to code. However, it was frustrating at times when I could not figure out the pattern or how to solve the puzzle. Although I did keep going and I used my critical thinking and problem-solving skills to succeed. After being able to participate in a few of these activities, I not only learned more about coding, but I learned what algorithmic thinking was. In order to code, you have to use a step by step process. Each step is accounted for and it does not work if a step is missed.

I could apply this to my future classroom because my students will use critical thinking and problem solving skills as I did. I could implement coding into my classroom by using it during mathematics. If students start learning how to solve a problem with using a step by step method, I think it will be more beneficial when they are trying to solve a math problem. Coding would also be a great resource with patterns because students would be looking for the missing pattern or puzzle piece. Overall, now that I am more familiar with coding, I think that implementing computer science into the classroom is a great idea especially with how much technology is used today. This will not only engage the students, but also teach students how to solve problems which will allow them to grow throughout their life. 

I really enjoyed these coding games. They seemed like games that anyone would enjoy to do. I personally liked customizing certain aspects of the games and paying close attention to details. There were some easier games that my Kindergarten class would enjoy. I like these because they are so fun that you forget that you are using problem-solving skills and coding. Some of the games I played might be a little frustrating for younger children; however, many of them seem like a manageable challenge. It is important for younger children to learn social skills that they can use as they get older. Problem-solving and communication are key topics we talk about in the Early Childhood college. Giving children time to code alone or with a partner is a good use of class time. Children enjoy and connect with technology and these games are a great educational tool. Using coding games would be an efficient way to meet the Oklahoma Computer Science Standards and other academic standards while still keeping the children engaged and interested. 

I think Code.org is a really great site for teachers who want to incorporate coding or Computer Science into their classroom, but may not have the resources or administrative support to do so. This activity showed me how simple coding can be, and how beneficial it can be to students who just think that they are playing a game on the computer. With the pre-produced lesson plans, print-outs, and engaging digital games, code.org is an amazing resource for the teacher (like myself) who may not be classically "trained" to teach coding, but who still sees the benefit of its implementation. 

This would be a great activity for getting early childhood students engaged. I believe the students would be challenged but also have fun while doing so! There are so many content standards that overlap with coding that you could really use throughout the normal day. I believe this is an effective use of classroom time when used correctly as it is engaging students, hitting desired content standards, and teaching them about technology.
As a college student, I was pushed to use my brain in ways I haven't done before. I truly had no idea what coding was or what it consisted of until these activities. I think this is a great idea to begin incorporating into our students every day lives as it is preparing them for their futures in technology. 

I absolutely loved and enjoyed this activity. I felt like my brain was being challenged and I had to backtrack and find different things that worked and didn't work. Everything I have learned about why coding is beneficial was confirmed as I worked through this online activity. As someone apart of a generation that didn't grow up learning how to code in classrooms, I am saddened that this wasn't a part of my curriculum. As young students are exposed to coding I feel as if a lot of developmentally appropriate goals are met. I find coding to be beneficial for students to be able to problem solve, be challenged, work towards a goal, and be creative. 

I feel like this will absolutely be a beneficial tool in my classroom as a teacher. Even though I will be teaching young children, and this specific program or lesson might go over their heads, I found that there are different levels and obviously other tools I can use as a teacher to incorporate coding into my classroom. I think this specific tool could be used during center time and open on a computer in the classroom. Children can work through one level during class time. If recourses were ever to allow it I would love to spend time with my students working through each level all together and having it displayed on my screen, but I know that it is highly unlikely for an early childhood classroom to have these resources. Overall, I really enjoyed this activity because it made me think and my problem-solving skills were really put to the test and I intend to use it as a teacher.