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Part 1 -prompt for a Computational Thinking activity
Class Level – JI to 2nd (can be used at all levels)Subject – Science Stand: Energy and Forces Strand Unit: Forces
Learning outcome:
The students will be able to create something that can float in water and carry a small doll.
Unplugged Activity – Help Moana!
Team Mission – Build a canoe for Moana to catch Maui to get him to put back the heart.
Resources – video clip, lollipop sticks, rubber bands, plastic cups, tape, toothpicks, plastic, Lego, tinfoil, pipe cleaners, cardboard, newspaper, glue, Moana, basin of water
Brief outline of lesson –
To spark the students interest in the lesson play the 1 minute video of Moana and Maui. Have all the resources (listed above) laid out at the top of the room. Explain the mission to the students – “Moana needs to get to Maui but he keeps getting away from her. You must build her a canoe to catch up with him.” The students will be divided into groups of 4. The students will be allowed use any of the resources given. They must build a canoe big enough for Moana to sit in and still float in the water. [Depending on the class level – the older students could have a time limit. You could have sample pictures on the board for the younger students]
Part 2 – Reflection on “The State of the Field of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education”
This article was very interesting and informative to read. As a teacher, a challenge I have faced is explaining to parents that technology is not bad for their child and does not mean they will become ‘anti-social’. This report clearly and concisely explain that this is not the case. “Early work with technology and young children has shown that computers can serve as catalysts for social interaction in early childhood education classrooms (Clements, 1999), and an experience with primary education children has shown that children can have twice as many social interactions in front of a computer than when they are doing other activities (Svensson, 2000)”When I read that statement I realised how true it was. When we use technology effectively it can spark so many conversations as well as collaborations between people.
This report is informative and detailed and is difficult to narrow down to a few line. However, for me personally some of the key things I have taken from it is:
1. Technology can enhance and develop a person’s socio-emotional skills.
2. I love the saying “Computational thinking activities should be designed with a ‘low floor, high ceiling, and wide walls’ approach” Activities using this approach provide an amazing learning environment that allows students to really engage with their own imagination and explore the world around them.
3. The need for ‘unplugged’ activities. They report does not solely talk about the need for technology. The outline the recommendations of WHO and AAP for limited screen time for children of different ages. Unplugged activities can help develop CT ‘without spending time or cognitive resources on syntax and grammar of programming languages’ (Bell et al., 2009; Bell and Vahrenhold,2018)
4. It is essential that all teachers be given the opportunity for professional development. Technology is developing and changing at a fast rate and it is important teachers are included in understanding these changes and how to use it.
Overall, from reading this report, I have learnt about the importance of computational thinking. It is an important skill in todays society and needs to be integrated into our educational system and curricula.
This is a lesson I have done with my senior infant ASD class. We were learning about directions in Maths. I incorporated technology into the lesson by using Go Robot Mouse (exact same as BeeBot).
The use of technology in this lesson kept the students engaged in the lesson. (Learning/ teaching left and right can be boring….) It also allowed them to investigate and discover by themselves.
The final activity was a great assessment tool for me as a teacher and the students did not even realise they were being assessed. They thought they we given free play to play with the mouse.
I loved this lesson and would use it again in the mainstream classes.
I believe the use of technology in the classroom today is vitally important. Students are more engaged and excited in lessons with we use technology. Students learn in so many different ways and the use of digital tools makes it a lot easier for all students to access the curriculum and feel confident in their abilities. It also is a fantastic tool for teachers when assessing their students.
The reason for School Self-Evaluations are to unsure everyone is constantly reviewing and improving. It is easy as a teacher to find a style they like and to stick with it. However, this might not suit their class every year. It is important that we are evaluating our teaching and learning all the time. Evaluating ourselves and learning new ways of teaching (by using technology or not) is very important.
Over the last couple of years our school has begun to invest more into digital technology. More teachers are becoming interested in implementing it into their everyday teaching. We have bought more iPads and laptops. We have also developed our Digital Learning Policy. Using SSE, we identified key objectives and created a timeline to achieve these. One of our main objectives is to provide support to staff members who are not confident in technology and help them integrate it into their lessons more.
