Final Vision Project: A Cross-Curricular Coding Journey
For my Final Vision Project, I explored cross-curricular coding. I wanted to integrate coding into the B.C. curriculum, demonstrate why coding is an important skill to have, and why Computer Science is important to explore within the classroom. I chose grade 8 because in my district most of the Computer Science courses are for grades 11 and 12. As an English teacher, I have always wanted to branch out and discover new ways to tell a story. As a life-long learner, I have always wanted to explore coding. I find it fascinating. In many ways it is similar to learning a new language, in others, it is a series of puzzles that when put together in such a way something new happens. That’s exciting! I wanted to take that excitement and turn it into something.
After reading Will Richardson’s Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere, I realized that my excitement could be channelled into a bridge between traditional schools and digital learning. Richardson’s question of why school? propelled me to finding an answer to that question. Why school? Well, because school can still be relevant if schools become agents for change.
Vision & Purpose
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I approached my Final Vision Project with the idea that to learn coding, one doesn’t need a classroom, only the will and time to do so. I had this lingering feeling that maybe if teachers could learn new skills separate from their subject area and tap into the changing digital and technological world, then a bridge could be formed between the now and the future, between teacher and student. I had to pause, talk to teachers in my district, and reflect on the fact that apprehension towards coding due to time constraints were real.
So how could I get teachers interested in trying coding in their English 8 classes? I tossed around a few ideas: a presentation, an infographic, even step-by-step video, but ultimately, a website that teachers in my district could use get an introduction to coding created the best option. The content of the website gave me fits and starts. At first I was doing too much, jumping far too down the line. I had pages of coding language with descriptions and pictures. I deleted all of that and focused. What was my purpose? To get teachers interested in coding in an English 8 Class. I focused on storytelling because that is a fundamental part of the B.C. 8 Curriculum and telling a story is universal.
Rationale & Artifact
My rationale behind the artifact was to make things easy for teachers. They are so busy and if I provided a step-by-step approach, then maybe they would be more inclined to try something new like coding. I decided my artifact would be a website made with Wix.com: www.toteachalibrarian.wixsite.com. My technological speed bumps were finding a Wix theme/design I liked and that worked. Ultimately, I decided to just work from scratch without a fixed template. I was familiar with building websites, so it wasn’t difficult, just laborious. Wix.com does make it easy to choose a template or create your own. I love how it shows guide lines, how to size images to match others on the page, and how to add shapes and vector art.
The one problematic aspect about Wix.com was layering shapes and text boxes. I wanted a box border on my step-by-step sections, but if you place that over the text, then the links wouldn’t work. I had to place the text over the box shape. I should have known this was ordered layering like Photoshop, but sometimes learning curves hit you at the most inconvenient moments. Overall, Wix.com was easy to follow, far less time consuming that WordPress, which I use for my blog. Designing a website is a process. I wanted to make sure it was cohesive in design, with connecting elements and colours. Links, resources and information had to be presented clearly. I also wanted it to be functional, ensuring that all the links worked was tedious, but necessary.
Reflection & Journey
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My overall journey was an ebb and flow of frustration and excitement. As challenging as it was trying to find grade 8 level coding resources and the appropriate format for my artifact, the excitement over discovering Scratch and Minecraft, and how wonderful coding can be pushed most of my frustrations aside. The overall reflection I’m left with is that whether a teacher just has students try coding or if they jump right in an integrate it into their course and learn along with their students, there really is no downside. Learning ICT Skills and digital literacy can only create more opportunities, never hinder them. Students want to learn something that is part of their world, something that is relevant to their lives. Coding is part of their lives. I have learned that teachers want to branch out but they are so busy and work so hard that asking them to try something outside their course materials is challenging.
Key Learning & Future Connections
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I have learned to not over think my approach to coding. I have tried both Scratch and Minecraft and yes, they do take a bit of time to learn, but something challenging is usually worthwhile in the end.
I hope to introduce this website resource to the teacher-librarians in my district, so they could link it in their resources page on their websites. Also, I plan on sharing it with a few teachers I know, who have expressed interest. I hope to gain feedback from them, adjust the site as I need to and go from there. If anything, this process taught me that there is no final artifact or resource. I have to view it as something malleable and ever changing because that is what learning and education, inside and outside of the school, is all about.
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To Teach a Librarian 