I recently attended Jil’s launch of Intro to Coding for Knowledge Network – really awesome!!
I was so confused about coding; I wasn’t sure what it was. Everyone was constantly talking about coding and I had this huge pressure to do coding but what do you do and can I do it?
In fact I was avoiding it because I didn’t know what to do.
Jil’s Intro to Coding, which she launched countrywide, for all the teachers who present Knowledge Network, was worth every minute. It explained the different types of coding, programming and block-based coding to me. It gave me the confidence to become a beginner coder/programmer, it also gave me the tools and confidence to be able to present it to my class which I did last Tuesday -with great success. You can read more about it later in my feedback to you.
My two principals from School of Merit, one from the primary school and the other from the high school also attended the Intro to Coding. They had thought it was a wonderful opportunity to find out more about what is going on in the market place with regards to coding and programming, and how we can incorporate coding in our school day.
During the course with principals and other teachers we had such a fun time and many moments of laughter. I got involved in the play acting where I had to make the sound effects of a flying parrot and the bouncing sounds of a rather surprised looking dinosaur on a trampoline. My costume was a hat and purple scarf to help explain the animation part of the coding.
I left the six hour course with skills, knowledge, confidence and materials to work with my learners, primary and high. My next step was to launch the coding in my school.
At the end of my first lesson, much to my surprise I saw my two principals standing in my classroom clapping and congratulating me on the completion of my first Knowledge Network coding lesson with my Grade 6 class. All of them handled the coding like superstars. What an awesome response, I was so proud.
To all the other teachers out there S 42 “You are being watched” which has been in our files all these years is a success. My thinking – maybe we just didn’t have the courage or time to do it until 2018.
My next challenge is the Grade 7 class, who are about to go into high school and are so busy being super cool they sometimes forget the fun in learning. Now on their minds is gaming coding which we won’t get to for a while…. In the meantime they will be gaining the skills for programming gaming apps later.
Ashley Grant, School of Merit
Knowledge Network Mentor Grade 04 – Grade 12
For iPads and Windows computers
Grade 08 Natural Science Teacher
May 2018
