This week we used Zoom again, but it was significantly slower than last week, probably due to the high volume of classes using the platform during the COVID quarantine. This made it so that the audio and video lagged (more significantly for some people), and Zoom kicked us out a few times. It did start running more smoothly once we got going, though, probably because some classes finished, or because Zoom was able to fix some of the problems. We had group presentations again, and my group’s presentation went smoothly. We then learned a bit about coding and discussed a few websites on coding education, like Code BC.

Code BC has English and French resources for teachers like lesson plans, which I think is great. I feel this way, not only because we are a bilingual country, but because I might eventually teach French immersion, so it is good to know that Code BC is an available resource. The lesson plans are grouped into many categories, including those such as subject and grade, which allows for easy subject integration for every grade. Computer Science Unplugged, Hour of Code, and Scratch were also mentioned. 

The website I used to practice coding was Code.org, and gave me an easy introduction to coding. The activity was very basic, and felt more like doing a puzzle than what I expected. There were different coding activities with themes that would be interesting to children, like the movie “Frozen” and the app Flappy Bird. I chose the “Frozen” activity, since it was basic, and was able to ease me into coding with minimal discomfort. The website also had videos of real people explaining the tasks, as well as how coding is interesting and relevant to their personal life, which I liked. Despite some uncertainty I had prior to this class, I think I could became comfortable with coding very quickly. Since technological literacy is so important now, I think coding is a good skill to teach in elementary classes, so I am interested to explore it more.

 

Pictured: one of the designs I made in the coding activity.