Coding in the Early Years
Wayne Burnett
During the Discovery Session, participants will be exposed to ScratchJr and the discussions around learning coding in school. With available iPads and Android-based tablets, participants will try a few commands. The key, however, is to demonstrate that coding with the right tools is available for children as young as 4 years old. I tell my students they are going to tell a story. Then I give them the tools to tell that story, using ScratchJr. Participants will be given the same challenge, but would have mini lessons interspersed with story building time to give them more and more tools. By the end of the 50 minutes, they should have the hang of most of the Scratch Jr. toolkit. |
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Discovery Session
In the Discovery Session, we'll have a brief intro to ScratchJr, look at actual work by students, and talk about computational thinking, coding and story telling. Participants will also get info on the app that should be downloaded for the DEEP Dive! |
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These two ScratchJr stories were created by students in grade one in October this year. They had instruction in the latter part of last school year and they did an excellent job remembering most of what they learned. Some students, but unlikely all of them, have ScratchJr at home.
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Joining me for the DEEP Dive? If so, and even if not, download the ScratchJr app on the Apple AppStore or the GooglePlay.
DEEP Dive
Delving deeper in this session as we create a story of your choosing, we will consider and learn more about:
- technical requirements and tricks (access to camera and mic)
- saving files and transferring/sharing them
- the various Scratch Jr commands
-- movement
-- starting
-- ending and repeating forever
-- closer/farther, disappearing/appearing, speech balloons
-- faster/slower, stopping/waiting, repeating
-- recording voices
-- backgrounds
-- characters
-- going from one scene to another
Teacher resources - there are lots of resources for learning and teaching on the main ScratchJr website. Most other resources are on YouTube. Three are below for your viewing pleasure.
Pedagogy - ways to teach it (storytellers)
ScratchJr is fabulous, but there are other apps out there for younger students. Choosing which one could be an interesting mindmap/flowchart.
DEEP Dive
Delving deeper in this session as we create a story of your choosing, we will consider and learn more about:
- technical requirements and tricks (access to camera and mic)
- saving files and transferring/sharing them
- the various Scratch Jr commands
-- movement
-- starting
-- ending and repeating forever
-- closer/farther, disappearing/appearing, speech balloons
-- faster/slower, stopping/waiting, repeating
-- recording voices
-- backgrounds
-- characters
-- going from one scene to another
Teacher resources - there are lots of resources for learning and teaching on the main ScratchJr website. Most other resources are on YouTube. Three are below for your viewing pleasure.
Pedagogy - ways to teach it (storytellers)
ScratchJr is fabulous, but there are other apps out there for younger students. Choosing which one could be an interesting mindmap/flowchart.
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