Author: miriamhawgood

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ScratchJr – An Introduction to Coding

ScratchJr

scratchjrscreenshot(Screenshot taken from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.scratchjr.android)

Subject: Digital Technologies (Western Australian Curriculum)

Year Level: 3

Strand: Processes and production skills

Sub-strand: Digital implementation
Use visually represented sequenced steps (algorithms), including steps with decisions made by the user (branching) (ACTDIP011)

Links:
http://www.scratchjr.org/index.html

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.scratchjr.android

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/scratchjr/id895485086?mt=8

What is ScratchJr?
This is a free application available on Android and Apple devices that provides students with an introduction to coding. This fun and engaging app allows students to create their own games and interactive stories. By snapping graphical programming blocks together, students can make characters move and sing on a variety of backgrounds. Students can edit their characters, insert photos, and add text, sounds and even their own voices. This is an easy-to-use and versatile app that teaches students to code while expressing themselves and having fun.

This app requires students to use, and subsequently develop, the following general capabilities:
Numeracy
Literacy
Information and communication technology capability
Critical and creative thinking

Links to other learning areas:
This app can be used to link Digital Technologies to a number of different learning areas. For example, linking to English is made easy when using the app to tell stories. The app can also be used in Visual Arts, as students apply their understanding of colour and space, as well as being able to insert photos of their own artwork. In Science, this app could be used to allow students to create a story to demonstrate their understanding of concepts such as how living things can be grouped by their features.

How to use this resource:

  • Download this app from the Google Play store or iTunes store and install onto your tablet device (this requires internet access).
  • Explore the app and become familiar with how it works. If you desire, there are many tutorials on YouTube that you can watch.
  • Demonstrate using the app for your students.
  • Let your students start creating!

 

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Code Studio Unplugged Activities

codestuio(Screenshots taken from https://studio.code.org/ )

Subject: Digital Technologies (Western Australian Curriculum)

Year Level: 5+

Strand: Processes and production skills

Sub-strand: Creating solutions by: Investigating and defining
-Define a problem, and set of sequenced steps, with users making a decision to create a solution for a given task

Link:
https://code.org/

What are Code Studios’ Unplugged Activities?
Code.org is a website that aims to inspire students learning computer sciences. This is an incredibly valuable and useful teacher resource as there is a section of the website, Code Studio, that contains courses of lesson plans and activities free for teachers to use and adapt in their classrooms. Among the many activities in Code Studio, there are a number of “Unplugged” activities. These activities do not require a computer or tablet, hence the name “Unplugged”. This review will specifically focus on the Computational Thinking Unplugged Activity.

The Computational Thinking resource teaches students how utilise computational thinking in order to break down a difficult problem into multiple smaller and simpler problems. The main activity involves students figuring out how to play a game with no instructions. They must determine the small steps they need to take toward achieving the huge goal of figuring out how the game is played. To achieve this, students are guided in using computational thinking in small groups.

This resource package contains everything you need to teach this lesson:

Lesson overview and teaching summary1
Lesson objectives
Materials, resources and prep
Warm-up activity to stimulate students and introduce computational thinking
Main activity “Game with No Instructions”
Wrap-up activity
Assessment worksheet

Here is a video explaining the activities in this resource.

General capabilities:
Literacy
Numeracy
Information and communication technology (ICT) capability
Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social capability
Links to other learning areas:
Mathematics
English
How to use this resource:

  • Join code.org (it’s free).
  • Navigate to Code Studio by clicking on “Learn” and then “Code Studio” from the drop-down menu.
  • Select a course to view its many lessons and activities. This Computational Thinking lesson can be found under “Course 3” and is the first lesson.
  • Download all the required materials for your lesson, study the lesson plan, modify as needed and then teach it.
  • Explore Code Studio to find more great lessons to teach.