By promoting “pop computing” apps to kids in schools, we aren’t doing the hard thinking that defines what the subject of computing is today, and most importantly, what it can be in the future. A new approach to learning mass computing is needed to get 55 million students in 130,000 public schools to learn to…
Scratch Blocks brings together two different programming “grammars” that we have designed over the past decade. The standard Scratch grammar uses blocks that snap together vertically, much like LEGO bricks. For our ScratchJr software, intended for younger children, we developed blocks that are labelled with icons rather than words, and snap together horizontally rather than…
Scratch is a great introduction to programming. By using code blocks, students and staff can quickly assemble a working program. But, the limitations of Scratch become more and more apparent as you try to create more sophisticated programs. That’s where Pico-8 from Lexaloffle comes in. Pico-8 – the programmable virtual game console The Pico-8 is a…
The Real Value of Computer Science Providing students with open ended opportunities to think critically (with or without coding) creates problem solvers and independence, both of which are required skills for today’s industry. Experts have branded a set of skills as “21 Century Competencies” which include computational thinking. Coding also supports spatial sense and makes…
Coding Can Help With “Math War” In the article Jonathan pushes to make kids doers of math instead of just doing math. The difference focuses more on creating an open ended math environment (Seymour Papert called this Mathland) and less on drill and skill, which unfortunately, is the model our math textbooks follow. I firmly believe…
Computer coding coming soon to Nova Scotia curriculum Nova Scotia hopes to incorporate computer coding into the curriculum next year so that students get more hands-on experience with the technology that makes the modern world work. The province is teaching students from Grade Primary to Grade 3 the basics of computers this year, and the hope is…
Programming is a brand new literacy that is quickly becoming a necessity to using technology. When the subject of learning how to code comes up, some people mistake that for teaching everyone how to become programmers. That is not the reason to learn to code. The main reason for coding is to understand why technology is behaving how it…