This week will take a closer look at coding and computational thinking as cross-curricular tools we can use to enrich our curriculum, and potentially recommend tools our learners can use to aid them in their inquiries. I hope that there aren’t too many groans while I tell yet another fainting miniature goat story to illustrate an example of computational thinking. We will also have some fun as we take a good look at Gaming and Gamification in Education.

Week 8 Learning Objectives

• Describe how computation thinking can help learners become better problem solvers.
• Identify non-math-related opportunities for integrating coding and computational thinking into your subject area’s curriculum.
• Describe how computation thinking or coding can turn math abstractions into concrete form to aid students with their inquiries.
• Create a Scratch “program” and embed it in your weekly reflection blog post.
• Describe the kinds of features that can make games effective learning tools
• Understand how gameplay can be used as a tool to make traditionally less popular topics more engaging for some learners
• Be able to discuss the pros and cons of learners using games as consumers, compared to learners creating games (like subject-focused escape rooms for example)

Pre-class Activities

Coding

Watch the Digital Literacy + Computation Thinking for Children video below (4 min).

Skim SD 61’s Computational Thinking resource web page.

Watch this overview of a curriculum that integrates coding with English & Language Arts activities (4 min):

In what ways could “coding” be used to enrich one of your favourite non-math subjects?

Code with Scratch by MIT

This is optional, but consider creating a Scratch account at MIT’s free Scratch website.

You can use Scratch without creating an account, but you cannot save and share your programs with other people without an account. Note: Scratch is hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the data is stored in the USA and is subject to the US Patriot Act.

Gaming in Education

Skim the American Psychological Association article on Gaming to Learn. While skimming, please ask yourself these questions from the article:

• Do certain features make a computer game more effective in promoting learning?
• Do people learn useful cognitive skills from playing an off-the-shelf game?
• Do people learn academic content better from playing a computer game than from conventional instruction?

Watch a CNN interview with Jon Roozenbeek on GetBadNews (4 min)

Skim the Bad News Teachers Guide, and please ask yourself the following questions as you skim:

• Does inoculation theory make intuitive sense to you? 
• Is there any evidence that inoculation theory works in practice?
• How effective do you think Bad News would be at inoculating middle and high school learners from “fake news” in social media?

Test, video game, or cool inquiry project?

• As you watch the video, please reflect on what motivates you, or demotivates you, to learn new skills or new information. 
• What are some of the unstated assumptions that are made in Mike Rober’s video?
• Could Mike’s projects be framed as inquiries?

(15 min)

Class Time

(12 min)

Links from the above instructional video:

• Coding Resources Connected to BC’s Curriculum
• Hilarious peanut butter and jam sandwich instructions step-by-step
• Jillian McCue’s Goat Condo project, with some stealth math included (here’s Jillian’s blog)

(4 min)

Hands-on Lab Time

Coding

See what a finished, or nearly finished Scratch games look like by playing two or more of the games below in your favourite subject areas. This will allow you to see some examples of finished coding projects that are geared toward K-12 learners:

• Storytelling: Multimedia & Interactive Storytelling
• Social Studies: Equity vs Equality
• Physics: Ballistic Arcs with Artillery 
• Math & Geometry: Regiomontanus’ angle maximization problem 
• Logic, Looping, & Fun: Star Catcher 

Next, please explore the Hour of Code website or CS First websites below by searching for a coding project for the age group you want to teach at. Note that on the top you can filter based on grade. Then on the left-hand column, you can filter by topic, and activity type. Please select the activity type: “Self-led tutorial”, and the Language: “Blocks”:

• Hour of Code Hands-on Activities
  –OR–
• CS First – Hands-on Activities 

Complete one or more of the following coding activities:

• Complete one of the activities you found interesting from your Hour of Code or CS First website searches.
• Learn to code with Anna & Elsa from Frozen
• Learn to code with Flappy Birds

Games in Education

As you play the games below, please think about the following:

1. If you were to use this game as part of a lesson, does the game help achieve the lesson’s learning objectives?
2. Are there instructions & explanations about underlying concepts?
3. Does it include adaptive scaffolding mechanisms & guidance?
4. Does gameplay offer just doable challenges?
5. Are there dynamic in-game scores that provide learning progress feedback?
6. Is a learning attitude promoted without time constraints or penalty scores?

Game time!

• (10 min)
• Go Viral! (5 min)
• Digital Escape Room (10 min)
• Harmony Square (5 min)
• OPTIONAL: The OG educational game: The Oregon Trail.
  You can learn more about the origins of the Oregon Trail game here.
  The algorithm for the Oregon Trail game (think peanut butter and jam sandwich making video):

  

Learning Pod Time & Homework

1. Weekly blog post to document your learning in class:
   • Review the 336 Blog Post Rubrics to make sure you’re including all the minimally required elements for your weekly blog posts.
   • Here is a  on the topic and/or technology of the week.
   • Please do the following:
     • Embed or link, or post a screenshot of one of your coding projects into your blog post.
     • Either use onr or more of the prompts below or critically reflect on Coding & Computation thinking on your own:
       • Can computation thinking help learners become better problem solvers?
       • Are there any non-math-related opportunities for integrating coding and computational thinking into your grade level’s curriculum?
       • Could computation thinking or coding turn math abstractions into concrete forms for students with their inquiries at the grade level you’d like to teach?
     • Either use onr or more of the prompts below or critically reflect on gaming in education on your own:
       • Describe the features of games that can make them effective learning tools
       • Discuss how gameplay can be used as a tool to make traditionally less popular topics more engaging for some learners
       • Discuss the pros and cons of learners using games as consumers, compared to learners creating games (like subject-focused escape rooms for example)
   • Use the category, “weekly-reflection“.
   • Share your post with your learning pod at your next meeting (usually at the end of class time).
2. Weekly Free Inquiry blog post:
   • Document your free inquiry progress, reflecting on your progress, as well as identifying and evaluating helpful resources you found. Provide details on your learning progress (through success or failure).
   •  Employ a multimedia strategy in your post to help document your inquiry by using text and one or more other media to help make it more engaging (e.g., image, screencast, video, or other formats).
   • Utilize social writing strategies such as hyperlinks to blog posts (e.g., trackbacks) or to articles/resources consulted, including web pages, images, videos, etc.
   • Use the category, “free-inquiry”.
   • Share your post with your learning pod at your next meeting (usually at the end of class time).