Coding/Maker's Space

   As mentioned in the presentation, both coding and maker's spaces bring amazing opportunities for students in our classrooms. I work for Regina Public Schools and have booked and used a number of coding kits over the years; an assortment of bots, 3-D printers, Arduino boards, Scratch. There are experts available to come in to educate and guide teachers on how to use these devices in their classrooms (although the technology PD opportunities seem to have diminished over the years) and also opportunities for experts to come right into the classroom to teach the students about the programs and devices.

                                            

    It has been three years since I have had 3-D printers in my classroom, so I should certainly book them again soon. Three years ago I was able to have two 3-D printers in my classroom for a one month period. One of the tech specialists from the school board came into my classroom for an afternoon to do an extended lessonswith my Grade 5/6s on how to use Tinkercad to design and print 3-d objects. All of the students began with a personalized nametag and got to spend the remainder of the month experimenting with the program and printing an array of objects. Not only were the students excited to experiment with the program and printers, their explorations and creations could be as simple or complicated as their knowledge and creativity allowed. As a result, the learning that took place was very personalized.

    Using Ozobots, Arduino boards, programs such as Scratch in my classroom have also lead to many learning successes. Not sure that I would have been able to have had that success without my own PD training or support from tech experts. In each case, all students were able to develop code successfully and then had opportunities to challenge their learning and creativity on personal levels. Students who were focused on fitness were able to program their Arduino boards to act as a step counter, where others could program theirs to tell a story with pictures, or compose a melody. In my experience, these opportunities result in 100% student engagement and learning.

    I do not believe that Coding/Maker's Space content should only be taught by 'technies' but I certainly believe that if educators are feeling hesitant because of their own knowledge base, they should certainly seek support from 'techies'. In my experience, there have always been students in my classroom who instantly take on the 'techie' role once these devices are in the classroom. Due to the reality of the worlds that kids have been born into and because most of them have been connected with digital technologies from a very young age, their knowledge base and natural instincts will most often times surpass even the experts. These students have opportunities to become leaders and 'classroom' experts. In my experience, these are often students who have not had the opportunity to take on leadership roles and act as experts in the classroom.

    As discussed in class presentation, coding and maker's spaces are highly aligned with constructivist models in education. Providing students with these opportunities enhances their ability to problem solve, navigate challenges, and gain experience with programs and devices which they may not otherwise be able to get their hands on. I believe it to be the educator's duty to provide these experiences in the classroom.