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In this ever-changing world with technological advances, coding has become one of the biggest trends in the education sector. If children learn coding from a young age, it opens the door to plenty of opportunities in acquiring very important life skills. Coding allows children to understand the world better by interacting with the technologies we use. It helps improve your creativity, like learning a new language. This new language will give children the power to come up with their own app, video game or website. Coding requires tackling problems and breaking then down into smaller parts where children are required to use logic and computational thinking. This enables children to make mistakes along the way, where they gain the valuable skill of persistence.
For me, I returned to education as a 48 year old mum of three children. Born in the 70’s, I have seen the technological changes first hand which have occurred throughout my life time. My children have grown up with i-pads and smart technology as part of their daily lives, where as I learned to type on an old-fashioned typewriter. For me it is very important not to get left behind in this ever-changing world and to keep up-to-date with what is happening. Taking part in the two Microsoft courses this summer has given me some confidence in going back to the classroom in September. The school I am going to work in is very progressive in terms of technology and I want to be able to contribute to their whole school approach.
For me the potential challenge is the fear of the children knowing that my skills are not what they should be. I have listened to Michael discuss other teachers in terms of their ability to facilitate rather than have all the technical skills required and this has given me some hope. I have found the two courses really interesting and have given me a great grounding in STEM and the importance of coding for children.
As we are all aware, the children of today are growing up in a world of ever-changing technological advances. It is paramount that schools equip children with the skills and competencies they need to survive in today’s society and make a contribution towards the future. Digital tools can be used creatively to develop computational thinking and coding skills in children across all subjects. With the clever use of technology, children will not even realise that they are learning. Using the six step approach to evaluation, it is vital to identify your focus and gather your evidence. To improve your teaching, analysing and making judgements are important steps in your journey. It is then necessary to write your report and your improvement plan. The next step is to put your plan in place, monitor your actions and evaluate the impact. This will help to ensure that you are a reflective practioner.
As mentioned above, schools need to ensure our young population have the necessary digital skills and literacy required to contribute to today’s society. As a teacher, it is part of my role to ensure I develop the digital skills required to teach effectively in the 21st century. If teachers fall behind this will have a detrimental impact on the school. We should all take it on ourselves to make sure we are keeping up with technology as the responsibility for developing the future generation lies in our hands
The inspiration for this Minecraft challenge came from a family holiday in the summer of 2024 to an eco-friendly holiday sports resort. As a family we attended a workshop which show-cased the resorts dedication and commitment to the environment through extensive sustainable projects under the umbrella of the sustainable development goals.
Working in teams the children must design and develop their own family friendly holiday resort using Minecraft education, ensuring that it is environmentally friendly and sustainable. The curriculum areas covered under this project include: science, geography, mathematics, visual art and music.
The children will be shown a video and a power-point outlining how Club La Santa offer an environmentally friendly fun resort for all the family. As there are 25 children in the classroom, they will be split into groups of 5 with the following student roles: Project committee leader who will be responsible for leading the team and project management – each team will then have two builders, a researcher and a presenter. Before the build phase, the children will work on researching their idea through brainstorming.
In terms of learning outcome’s the children should be able to work collaboratively to design an environmentally and family friendly holiday resort.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HvhbGVJp2nTlZVkLF4DDrHBwZDCXOsbUlqZEcBBuIg0/edit?usp=sharing
apologies, first link did not work, kind regards, Suzanne Behan
Part 1
For all the children who did not win a golden ticket, use the materials provided to design your favourite scene and character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Resources: card board, glitter, scissors, glue, twistable’s, googly eyes, recyclable materials such as bottle tops, string, old clothes
Part 2
The research has demonstrated that computational thinking is an essential skill needed in the 21st century. The skills include recognition of patterns, conceptualisation, planning, and problem solving as well as abstract thinking to find a solution to a problem. This article highlights the importance of introducing these skills in early childhood to ensure they are developed thorough out the formative years.
It is vital that countries introduce CT experiences into the classroom so that children are ready for active participation in the digital jobs market. It is highlighted that there are barriers in translating these skills in the classroom setting, including but not limited to the budget required, instructional time as well as teachers not being trained in the area. This needs to be addressed to ensure educators better understand the classroom of today. Despite studies claiming far reaching benefits of integrating CT skills into the classroom, the research is in its infancy. As technology becomes a reality of society today, it is important that the mathematics curriculum encompasses the CT skills too. The article discussed the idea that children learn best through the medium of play to the point where if the lessons are creative they won’t even know that they are learning. When programming is taught with a playful approach, children are not afraid to make mistakes.
The article illustrated that you should get children to create something easily, then over time the project can become more difficult with a variety of learning styles this will broaden and develop their skills. Within this article many types of programmes are mentioned but there may be a cost associated with them. Not all schools will have the funding to invest large amounts of money in these items. Teachers can use lunch breaks to put the likes of Numberbots on for children as they eat which are especially designed media tv to promote computational thinking.
Programmable robotics kits allow young children to explore the foundations of computer science in a hands-on way. If your school does not have the funding for expensive resources unplugged activities can be an excellent way to acquire the computational skills. These can include engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around. The idea of a ‘makerspace’ is becoming more common place in school settings with children learning perseverance, creativity and persistence through a dedicated space. It is important to invest in CT tools that support children as creators with technology rather than as consumers of technology.
Findings from a recent study of 21 countries in Europe reported that coding is already part of the curriculum at a national, regional, or local level in 16 countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China have all launched national curricular reforms to address the current movement in CT education with Australia and New Zealand working on changing their curricula to include computer science and digital technologies. Findings from the article discussed the idea of linking with parents to explore ways in which parents can help foster CT skills through every day play. In the younger years it is vital to select tools for children who are unable to read and write.
In conclusion, the theories and research reviewed and analysed point towards childhood as being a critical time in developing natural curiosity and fostering CT skills and there is a growing demand on curriculum developers to incorporate these skills in the schools.
We have been asked to design a lesson plan that incorporates STEM skills. I have designed a
mathematics lesson plan for the algebra strand for senior infants which involves the important skill of sequencing. In order to teach children the importance of algorithms, it was decided to use the Julia Donaldson story ‘What the Ladybird heard’ as a stimulus. The children will watch this story and the teacher will then use questioning to elicit previous knowledge. The aim of the lesson plan is for children to be enabled to explore, extend and create patterns and sequences based on the picture book story ‘What the Ladybird Heard’. With the use of Sphero Indi they will design and make a map of the story. The children will respond to the maps created in the class by talking about their work, as well as the work of the other children. The child should be enabled to discuss the idea of sequencing in relation to a story and collaborate with their group to create a map based on the story ‘What the Ladybird heard’, putting it in the correct sequence, using Sphero Indi. The child should be enabled to look at and describe the map that they created using Sphero Indi.
In order to develop the STEM skill’s the teaching methodologies utilised will enable the children to:
Talk and Discuss: Discuss idea of sequencing, what happens if things are not in the correct order and how this is linked to coding
ICT: Show Video of the story, use Sphero Indi to create a map and record the work through an e-portfolio on a chromebook
Pair Work/Group work: Working collaboratively to plan and design their map
Inquiry based learning/Problem solving: Figuring out how to use Sphero Indi to design their map
Evaluation: Looking at and talking about his/her work and the work of other children and reflect on their work.
In groups the children must discuss the importance of sequencing and how it relates to this story. The teacher will ask the children for some real-life examples, whilst adding some humorous ones herself. The teacher will introduce math’s language based on this story. Once all the maps have been completed pupils will reflect on their own work – identifying what worked well and anything that could be improved.
They will each get a chance to look at the maps the other groups did and see if Sphero Indi worked.
The teacher will conclude with the following discussion: What do you bring to this task? Was it difficult to do?Did the use of Sphero Indi make the task more interesting?What did you learn about sequencing during the course of this task? Do you feel that the use of technology enhances your understanding of how to sequence?
After the discussion, the children will then fill out their self-assessment rubric and load a video of Indi completing the designed map and this will be added to the children’s e-portfolio. This lesson plan will help children with the STEM skills of problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, team work, curiosity, computer literacy and mathematical logic.
As we are all aware, the children of today are growing up in a world of ever-changing technological advances. It is paramount that schools equip children with the skills and competencies they need to survive in today’s society and make a contribution towards the future. Digital tools can be used creatively to develop computational thinking and coding skills in children across all subjects. With the clever use of technology, children will not even realise that they are learning. Using the six step approach to evaluation, it is vital to identify your focus and gather your evidence. To improve your teaching, analysing and making judgements are important steps in your journey. It is then necessary to write your report and your improvement plan. The next step is to put your plan in place, monitor your actions and evaluate the impact. This will help to ensure that you are a reflective practioner.
As mentioned above, schools need to ensure our young population have the necessary digital skills and literacy required to contribute to today’s society. As a teacher, it is part of my role to ensure I develop the digital skills required to teach effectively in the 21st century. If teachers fall behind this will have a detrimental impact on the school. We should all take it on ourselves to make sure we are keeping up with technology as the responsibility for developing the future generation lies in our hands.
