Today in class we had a workshop on coding. I had never done any coding before. We were introduced to four different coding resources:

1.Scratch 

Scratch is a way to make stories with blocks. It is very basic coding and meant for younger audiences. However, it is very good for learning how to code. It has a teacher’s workbook that is helpful for creating lesson plans. The pros of scratch are that it is easy to use, has cute animals, and is good for storytelling. The cons of scratch are that it is really surface level coding. Other than teaching basic computer skills

2. Grasshopper 

Grasshopper is another coding platform that is used through google. It uses much more text but again a very basic intro for learners that have little experience with coding. Personally, Grasshopper might be where I would start with students in a classroom. I find when using it briefly, it was great to

3. The Hour of Code

“The Hour of Code” is a place where teachers can find lesson plans on coding. It is a great platform because you can filter by grade for who you are teaching. I looked into a Minecraft coding lesson. It looked a lot like how scratch works. You move a little Minecraft character around and walking. This would be great for appealing to students who play a lot of minecraft.

4. Code BC

Code BC is a web-based coding program that is directly related to B.C’s curriculum. This is the only one that

 

Overall, these are four great resources for coding. My only worry is that I can see how coding can definitely not be in everyone’s interest. I believe there would be some students who would excel and be really excited by coding as a platform. Personally, I probably would not be the best teacher of coding as it is all very new for me. However, these four platforms are great places to start. Coding is easily relatable to the storytelling through English and Theatre classes.

PS. all of these photos are from unsplash and do not actually look like the coding programs we were using.