Computational Thinking is Fun!

After having read through all of the articles, I must say that this past week’s topic of computational thinking was my favourite.  I am not sure if I love computational thinking because most of my career I’ve been a math teacher, or whether I’ve been a math teacher for most of my career because I love computational thinking! ;)

Each of the presentations were particularly engaging this week.  I appreciated the analogies for the definition of computational thinking that Kim used to start her presentation.  I must admit I was frustrated a couple of times going through the Dr. Evil activity, but enjoyed the challenge.  The video that showed how to use an algorithm for passwords could be life changing for me…..we will see how it goes. 

I was happy (and embarrassed) to finally learn what CAPTCHA means.  I never really gave the acronym much thought before. 

After reading these two articles, I had to share the content with my two boys, as they enjoy computational thinking problems as much as I do.  They grew up playing chess, Rush Hour, doing brain teaser games, Rubik’s Cube, Sudoku, Mastermind, Minesweeper, etc…  I’m not sure if you have ever played Rush Hour, but we have 3 versions in our home – junior, regular and deluxe.  (Actually, I have the junior game in my office for my students to play).   After now completing two years of science at UM, my older son has decided he does not want to continue in sciences but he wasn’t sure what he wants to take.   I was excited to tell him that Computer Science might be for him (because it is NOT computer programming) and that he should definitely take a course in the fall to see what he thinks. 

I spent some time yesterday looking at the apps we have on our school ipads, and Scratch Jr and Tynker are both there!  My plan to integrate more computational thinking into our classrooms next year is already started!  I will spend some time this summer getting familiar with them before I try to get my teachers on board.  I fully agree with Wing (2006) that “we should add computational thinking to every child’s analytical ability” and that “computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everyone”. 

Check this online game out....

Computational thinking fun

If you haven't played these games - you are missing out!

Week 5 - Lots to think about

This week’s articles were dense, to say the least.  In particular, the one by Emejulu and McGregor (2016) It was a slow read, then reread, kind of article, but worth putting in the time.  The idea of radical digital citizenship should not have felt so foreign to me, but it was.  I had many eye-opening moments reading that article.  I had never taken time to think about the resources needed to build all of the technology that we consume, nor about who was doing the labour.  And the example of Robert Moses and how he planned the freeways and bridges to exclude minority groups – never in a million years would I think that someone would think and act like that. 

I noted a couple of the quotes that Jeremey used that really made me reflect, “We know too much, but understand too little” and “When we use these sites, we’re not the consumer, we’re the product”.  Powerful.   The article by Emejulu and McGregor concludes with a comment that they are “sceptical about the possibilities of developing a radical digital citizenship in digital education”.   I believe that this is true for now, but I remain hopeful that we are making steps in the right direction.

I absolutely loved how Kimberley and Kristy provided us for the framework to use for video analysis.  What a great tool to use with students.  I would love to show them a real video and then a fake video and see how their answers compare.   We must teach children to think critically about what they see, and to look for bias.  As this article https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/opinion/fake-news-and-the-internet-shell-game.html from the New York Times shares, years ago when we heard something “outrageous” we would have ignored the information, knowing that if it were true, we would surely have heard about it from a credible source.  Nowadays, people happily retweet or repost very outrageous things without fact checking.   Our students are doing this at an alarming rate when they hear news/gossip about their peers. 

We were left with the question about how to apply this digital literacy in our classrooms, since it does not have its own curriculum.  Off the top of my head, I am thinking that it would fit nicely under the Social Studies “Research and Communication” or “Critical Thinking and Citizenship” strands, as well as the “Critical Thinking” strand in Language Arts.   We just need to be creative with the “big idea” that we are presenting to students, and dig a bit deeper into these topics. 

This Ted Talk, relates well to the template shared by Kimberley and Kristy, and speaks to the importance of helping students think critically about media literacy, and how to give them the “golden lasso” of truth.

This talk also speaks to how in social media "we are the product".  A bit of doom and gloom, but then talks about the positive aspects as well.

Week 4 Digital Identity & Being Connected

The trials and tribulations we experienced during class on Thursday helped me understand the reticence that some teachers have for using technology in the classroom.  When technology fails us, it is frustrating, but as our presenters showed us last night, we persevere and find a work-around. 

When I read the Visitors and Residents article, I found myself making connections to my own life.  I was particularly intrigued when I read, “Visitors and Residents typology should be understood as a continuum and not a binary opposition”.  After the class discussion on GroupBoard, I could see how different aspects of my life (personal vs professional) would place me in different areas on the continuum.  

I appreciated our breakout room discussion when we discussed the use of technology among the younger generation and how their “conceptions of privacy and the notions of friendship” (White and Le Cornu, 2011) is a factor in their use of technology.   

White and Le Cornu (2011) mention that some people who operate entirely as Visitors, may never leave a digital footprint behind.  This comment brought me back to the time that I created my own Twitter account.  I was at a COSL conference where the importance of protecting your reputation by creating a positive digital footprint was being discussed.  This ties in to the conceptions of privacy.  I found a great Prezi presentation that also contains three short videos.  One has a Ted Talk by Michelle Clark where she shares a powerful spoken word poem about Digital Footprints  https://prezi.com/jijoyq-jkdrr/the-importance-of-a-positive-digital-footprint/

As a mother of two teenage boys who would be considered Residents, the oversharing that happens on their phones is an on-going concern for me.   Although I am constantly met with an, “I know” response when I bring up the topic of being careful on what you keep or share on your phone, I also know that they are not yet fully aware of the possible future ramifications from a poor or impulsive choice.  My experience as a MY administrator opened my eyes to the ignorance that exists among young teenagers of the permanence of what is posted via social media.  When Jurgenson (2012) comments on the fact that "social media promises an audience" as it relates to the Occupy protests, this also applies in other contexts.   Too often, when being asked about an inappropriate post/comment/text/photo, I have heard a student say that they deleted "it" right after because they realized it was a mistake.  Unfortunately, "it" had often already been captured on someone else's phone, and shared, and so on.   Often, young students think that once "it" has been deleted from their phone, that it is gone.  It is heart-breaking to inform them that this is not true.  I am hoping that we are beginning to include more frank class discussions on leaving digital footprints these days.  I know that it is not yet happening in my K-4 school, but it may be something to explore for next year with our grade 3 &4 team.  If we can start that conversation before they get their hands on a phone, maybe we can make more of a difference.