[Pay no attention to that principal with an iPad behind the curtain!]
Then, throughout the week, I demonstrated how to play some fun online games in the library that are designed to teach the basics of computer programming. We talked about how the students would be paired up and each student would have a turn to be the "driver" and the "navigator". Then I set the students loose! They worked remarkably well together as they collaborated on solving a series of puzzles, and the room was abuzz with laser-focused learners!
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| "Drivers" control the mouse and keyboard while their "navigator" partners make suggestions for solving the puzzles. After completing each level they switch places! |
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| Assistant Superintendent Jane Daly came to visit and was able to watch the "Hour of Code" in action! |
In the following weeks I experimented with a program I had discovered through my exploration of Code.org. Called Kodable, this learning website allowed me to enter my classes, along with the students' first names, to enable the students to keep track of their own progress. Now they can access the game from any computer, at home or at school, and pick up where they left off! They were so excited to see evidence of their progress as they achieved each new level. Click on the video below to see the reactions of some third graders!
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| The students were so excited to know that each new level they achieved would be saved for the next time they got to play! |
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| In addition to the desktop computers in the library, some of the younger students used iPads while the older students used their classroom Chromebooks! |
We will be continuing our exploration of Code in all grade levels during the new year as part of the Computer Science for Rhode Island Initiative, or CS4RI. I'm as excited as the kids are to explore this new territory!!