week 7 reflection
Here is a link to my coding game. Danica’s FlappyBird Coding on Code.org
I think coding is extremely useful to develop problem solving skills. Computation takes a complex concept and breaks it down into smaller, easier to grasp parts, which not only makes the end goal seem more attainable when broken down but it also allows students to identify the relationship and patterns between the smaller portions that can aide in seeing the big picture and achieving their goal. Coding allows for easy trial and error while working for a bigger goal that can motivate students to not give up as it’s easy to see progress. Students have to use critical thinking and logical reasoning to find what chain in their code is causing the error and how it connects to the bigger picture of their final product. I think it would be an excellent to integrate into a computers class block, there are many coding style games that students can use to practice their skills or just get more engaged with coding itself. My link2 class did math practice on Prodigy for the first half of every computers class and I feel like this would be a great way to get consistent coding practice.
Introducing coding to your classroom can be difficult for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, it can be very difficult to learn at first which is intimidating, this can be a problem with students who may feel defeated after simple setbacks or those who have closed-mindsets. This will also cause problems if the teacher is not properly trained or has no experience with coding, if we find it difficult to pick up we can’t teach our students to the best of our abilities and our difficulty learning it may effect the progress students make. Accessibility is also a big issue, not every student will have the available technology at home to practice, not every school will have the funds for a class set of computers that can support the coding websites – I know my computer froze for 2 hours because I had 2 coding tabs open and was trying to share my screen on zoom and it was too much to handle for my old laptop. Lastly, if our districts have very specific curriculums that dont include coding it may be difficult to find the time in the class or flexibility in the syllabus to include it.
