Week 8 Reflection

This week we continued our digital learning experiences which focused on simple algorithmic programming. Whilst all activities are computer-based, there are many coding activities that are not computer based (unplugged), useful to consider when you do not have regular computer access in your classroom. This week's learning challenges are to explore the Angry Birds Maze and a website called Scratch. The Angry Birds Maze game can be used effectively used in a classroom as this activity meets the Australian Curriculum learning outcomes as it confidently uses digital systems to efficiently and effectively to automate the transformation of data into information and to creatively communicate ideas in a range of settings

Scratch is a website where you can create games, animations and stories that you can share around the world. Scratch is designed with learning and education in mind. A wide variety of educators have been supporting Scratch creators since 2007, in both formal and informal learning environments – K-12 classroom teachers, educational and computer science researchers, librarians, museum educators, and parents. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively essential skills for life in the 21st century.

The ability to code computer programs is an important part of literacy in today’s society. When people learn to code in Scratch, they learn important strategies for solving problems, designing projects, and communicating ideas. Students are learning with Scratch at all levels (from elementary school to college) and across disciplines (such as math, computer science, language arts, social studies).

Next I completed the Digital Learning Challenge which was creating a game on Scratch. I found this activity relatively simple as the instructions were straight forward. I enjoyed following the instructions to make the game where the Shark follows your mouse to eat the fish. The process of making this game would be a great activity for students in a classroom as they will use computational thinking and the key concepts of abstraction; data collection, representation and interpretation; specification, algorithms and implementation to create digital solutions.

Computational Thinking Skills - Algorithms ( from the Australian Curriculum):

·         Follow, describe and represent a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve simple problems.

·         Experimenting with very simple, step-by-step procedures to explore programmable devices, for example providing instructions to physical or virtual objects or robotic devices to move in an intended manner, such as following a path around the classroom.