Coding: A 21st Century Skill

“the twenty-first century classroom is a connected networked classroom” (Drake, Reid and Kolohon, 2014, p., 24). 

Dear Passionate Educators,

Merle Hureta and her blog post on Edutopia Coding in the Classroom: A long Overdue Inclusion, strongly encouraged me write this blog post.
We live in a world that is dominated by technological innovations (Ingerman & Collier-Reed, 2011).  Coding is becoming an important part of educational curriculum's across the globe as a way to promote technological literacy and to equipped students with 21st century skills. However, according to this CBC 2015 article, Canadian schools are "lagging" behind to implement coding into their schools and it is important that we catch up!


 After conducting an interview with Seymour Papert, an advocate for teaching children how to code, Schwartz (1999) wrote:

"anyone who has witnessed a toddler using a computer has probably experienced a sense of awe at that child's facility with what for adults can be an infinitely frustrating gadget. It's one thing for a child to play a computer game; it's another thing altogether for a child to build his or her own game. And this, according to Papert, is where the computer's true power as an educational medium lies -- in the ability to facilitate and extend children's awesome natural ability and drive to construct, hypothesize, explore, experiment, evaluate, draw conclusions -- in short to learn -- all by themselves. It is this very drive, Papert contends, that is squelched by our current educational system." (Schwartz, 1999). 

As this quote illustrates, coding can begin at a very young age. Also, as Merle's blog highlights, coding is a new type of literacy in the 21st century and students who are taught to master coding are better prepared for "a technical revolution that spans cultures and language boundaries. That's because coding isn't just a language. It's a way of thinking about problem solving." 

I remember being in elementary school and learning how to type and use a computer at the most basic level. In the 21st century however, children who come to elementary school will probably know more about technology than you as a teacher. According to Sweeney (2010), students do not view technology as something new or complicated. Thus, implementing coding into elementary lab periods needs to happen. Code.org is a great resource for elementary level teachers to incorporate coding into their curriculum. 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OJlxaOIQMA

Above is a quick video illustrating Code.org's coding curriculum and how beneficial but also fun it can be for young students. 

Lastly, this website examines some of the main reasons why coding should be implemented into curriculum's such as: 

1) Programming as a basic literacy in the digital age 

2) Programming can change the world 

3) You have an idea for then next big innovation? Great. Can you bring it to life?”

4) Programming doesn't have to be hard to learn. 

Thanks for reading! 

With every good wish, 

Miss Roberts 

Work Cited 

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L. & W. Kolohon. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and assessment: Engaging 21st Century Learners. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.

Ingerman, A. & B. Collier-Reed. (2011). Technological literacy reconsidered: A model for enactment. (21), 137-148. 

Schwartz, D. (1999). Ghost in the Machine: Seymour Papert on How Computers Fundamentally Change the Way Kids Learn. Retrieved from: 

http://www.papert.org/articles/GhostInTheMachine.html

Sweeny, M. S. (2010). Writing for the instant messaging and text messaging generation: Using new literacies to support writing instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 54(2), 121-130.