Module 4

What possibilities do you see with the Hour of Code in your own practice? Additionally, what challenges might you most expect?

I have utilized Hour of Code with my student in past years when we were one to one. While Hour of Code seems like a simple game for students, it teaches various skills and executive functions that are no longer established in the classroom. In the past I have included an Hour of Code rotation to reinforce sequencing. Within the reading curriculum in third grade, students are learning how to order their thoughts and events in writing using temporal words. To engage and excite students within centers learning, students were invited to work on specific codes in which students had to use transitions to guide their little bot through a maze. While this is not a traditional practice, students are still interacting with transition/temporal words such as first, next, then, finally to reach a goal. 

Difficulties that can be found within using this instructional tool can be the "game" factor. While we like to find tools that students can explore and apply skills to, Hour of Code has many different explorations and it is easy to get lost within the site. When we assign tasks, students are still able to bop around and click on different explorations that spark their interests. 


What opportunities are you providing for informal learning, exploration, and “play” with new technologies in your organization?

While this may not seem like a new technology to many, I have implemented items of "play" for my students to help deepen their understanding of shapes both two and three dimensional. While today's society is overly tech savvy, especially when it comes to young people, I have brought in various tools for students to explore with. My favorite exploration in second grade is the use of playdoh to make shapes. While one may assume second graders being 7 or 8 have had exposure to such a material, majority have not. 
While I know the prompt was looking for more electronic in the technologies discussed, the play doh has been the most impactful. I have used ozobots for third graders, lock boxes for fourth, and the play doh was the most direct connection to the learning targets. With a wealth of knowledge at our finger tips, we are no longer curious for we can simply google the answer. To allow students to "play" allows them to be imaginative and become problem solvers.