Connected Code: Why Children Need to Learn Programing
By: Yasmin B Kafai & Quinn Burke
Notes by: Jenae Lovercamp
Research
Classroom Application (Chapter 3)
Ideas for My Class
Past Beliefs (Chapter 1)
Coding should be done independently
Looking at others screens is "cheating"
Coding is for high schoolers & college students
Learning to code is just for CPU scientists
Coding is HARD
Learning to code is an isolated skill
You are either "good" or "bad" at coding
Group projects- create a computer quiz to showcase your knowledge on a subject area
Math- code geometric shapes and designs in the Angles chapter (Grade 4)
About Ms. Lovercamp game/quiz for students to take on the first day using scratch
Research the science middle school code.org programs and integrate into 4/5 classroom...
Collaborative Coding activites- on paper & on the computer. Thoughtful partnerships for a week long project.
Elements of the Program
High Ceiling- the tool must allow experienced users to create new and exciting things
Wide Walls- must allow for a wide range to projects, personal experience and pop culture, backgrounds
Low Floors- intuitive for new users to begin and feel sucessful
Community is important when building new skills (Chapter 4)
Buckman's principles for creating meaningful online learning:
Maximize each individuals opporunities for creative expression
Assume average people are smarter then average
Encourage users to be creaters
Maintain equality by enforcing minimal standards
Develop community learning supports
Allow/Encourage students to share games
Give students chances to show of their games/work
"To make is to share, to share is to make"
Give encouragment through comments
Feedback gives students new energy to create
DIY online Collabs & Camps in Schools
customizable projects
Scratch
wide range of members
need explicit space for event
apply regular classroom rules
REMIX (Chapter 5)
27.64% of all projects at the website are remixes of previous projects
Idea: make a basic project and have groups remix the project with ideas/ information/ edits
Important: Still give credit to original creater
Idea: Have students work on a project, and each student makes a remix of the previous students work. Way to build on top of each others work and improve it.
Remixing is not cheating: make sure students understand crediting sources and are okay wit others remixing their work.
Schools tend to be top-down, and need to examine more bottom-up approaches to learning
Shareability- sharing content on social media
From Screens to Tangibles (Chapter 6)
makes it more approachable in all classrooms
Hands on "simulations"
Afterschool Robotics programs!
Incorporated sewing projects.
page 110
Teaching! (Chapter 7)
There are only 2 things wrong with schools, "What we teach & how we teach it!"
Nationwide, few students have the opportunity to take these programming classes!
US treats computer science as an elective
Currently- After school programs > in classroom work
Dewey- learning activites that schools promote must be applicable and testable in the worlds that children occupy outside the classroom.
The Computer School: Tutor, Tool & Tutee by Robert Taylor
Tutor = computer
Tool = computer amplifies communication
Tutee = student gives the computer directions
How can we design better programming activites, tools, and materials for learning
Coding for All (Chapter 8)
Connected Learning (Chapter 2)
Personal Dimensions
Social Dimensions
Cultural Dimensions
Tangible Dimensions
"learning is not solely a technical matter of skills to be mastered. When people learn to code, the technical component may be the least problematic" (p.28)
There are MANY skills to be mastered in the act of learning to code other than the outcome of knowing how to program.
Communication, Creativity, Teamwork, & Problem Solving
Goal: to achieve equity and diversity because computational participation cannot be achieved if only a select few have access (p.133)
We need to get kids coding inside and outside of schools
Coding is Connecting
computational thinking should be reframed as computational participation
Connectivity- emerges as crucial fundamental skill