This week’s guest speaker was Rich McCue, he helped us understand how coding is used and what coding looks like in the classroom. I can see how fun coding is for students to understand computers. During this past year, I see the need for online learning tools and games such as Scratch and Tinkercab. The ability for online learning is something I am warming up to and the collaboration and teamwork, as well as problem-solving through these games, can provide students with useful and practical skills. Understanding code from a young age is important in 2021. I did not grow up with this however, all kids will have more access to technology and the need for coding skills is now essential. It is no longer an optional “language” course as Rich mentions in his presentation. I have included a link for a Scratch tutorial as I really had to start from square one.

Making learning fun and interactive, students will be more engaged. One barrier is to ensure technology and adaptations is more accessible to all students for them to see success throughout their life. I am looking forward to learning more and seeing how other teachers use Scratch and Tinkercab in the classroom with diverse learners. As mentioned in an earlier post, I am weary of the amount of screen time students will be spending throughout the day, at school and at home. This will challenge me to integrate coding within a cross-curricular unit to consolidate the amount of screen time students have in a school day.

The part that rings true for me is learning by doing, therefore, these tools (Scratch & Tinkercab) are great resources for students. In addition, introducing technology in the classroom will allow students to discover technology as a tool not just for entertainment. This is a message I would like to instill in my students.