I had thought coding was so difficult and boring even before I tried it and I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it because my son who just graduated from University took a coding class at 200 level and he complained throughout the class that coding is difficult and boring.
I guess it depends on who your professor was and materials/resources given to learn coding. I bet I enjoyed every second of my coding class during EDTC 300 and an hour of coding on Hour of Code | Code.org . Dr Katia Hildebrandt was the professor who taught us this class and she gave us so many options to practice Coding. I started with Scratch and I did some stuffs there then I decided to check Code.org and immediately i started I knew I was not going back to Scratch.
I tried the Dance Party AI Edition and I used every block available , changed the music several times, changed the animals and made them do Body roll, Gangnam , floss, clap high etc , generated different effects and backgrounds, changed positions of animals, random size and so on and when I finished the hour of code I continued to part 2.
After I got my certificate and was confident in what I was doing with the Dance Party AI edition, i asked my son to come see something and he joined me and we both continued on Hour of code for some minutes and then he took over and he said if this is how he was taught , then he would have enjoyed Coding as well. Now my son likes coding and he said its not boring.
After taking the hour of code, the next day I went to work and there was an EYES workshop in the classroom where I work, students were taught coding and I said is this a coincidence. I was able to help the kids and they enjoyed the coding workshop and never regretted they did not go outside for recess. Students did not want to put away their laptops at the end of it. They kept saying this is so cool.
I am definitely going to be integrating coding into so many subjects . Ienjoyed coding , my son enjoyed coding , students i work with in grade 4 enjoyed coding so why wont I give the students i teach in future to have the opportunity to learn about coding and it will also add to digital literacy in the classroom.
Before I teach coding , I will play this video for students and we understand what coding is before they start using the computer to practice.
I have shared benefits of teaching coding to kids and also what coding teaches kids.
The Benefits of Teaching Coding to Kids – Little Learning Corner
Hello Ola!
Your experience with coding sounds incredible! It’s amazing how the Hour of Code coincided with the EYES workshop, and it’s clear how engaged and enthusiastic the students were about coding. It’s wonderful to hear that they enjoyed it so much they didn’t even miss recess! Your enthusiasm for teaching coding is inspiring! Keep up the great work, and I’m sure your future students will benefit immensely from your dedication to integrating coding into their learning journey.
Thanks Rowena for the comment. I believe you enjoyed coding as much as I do
Merci Rowena!