Making things… Learning Things
"I am convinced that the best learning takes place when the learner takes charge…" –Seymour Papert
Don't get me wrong. In the summer, I think it is essential for teachers to relax, unplug, take a break, spend tons of time with family and/or friends, and enjoy some sunny summer weather. The summer break makes us fresher in the fall and reconnects us to other parts of our lives, friends, family and... Continue Reading →
It's effortless to hop onto social media, whatever social media you interact with (for me it's primarily Twitter, Medium, WordPress, and news sources), and read through stories and ideas created by other people. In fact, I 'found' myself the other day after work having spent about 90 minutes straight on social media. But many other... Continue Reading →
No, I am not rethinking "empowerment" in the sense of is it a good or bad thing? But after reading a very thought provoking essay called Empowerwashing Education by Benjamin Doxtdator @doxtdatorb I am rethinking how I have used the term and what the term means and implies. The first thing that jumped at me as I started... Continue Reading →
During the summer of 2016, I read this book (left) edited by Yasmin Kafai and Mitch Resnick. I was inspired by Chapter 4 (called Learning Design by Making Games). In it, Kafai described her study in which a group of 4th grade students spent one hour per day (over a six-month period) writing, designing and... Continue Reading →
Okay... indulge me! Try this experiment (and try it with your students, too!): Activity #1 - Think of a topic in which you have a strong interest, and broad, expert knowledge/skill. Then, search the web and find three really good sources of information for that topic. Activity #2 - Think of a topic in which... Continue Reading →
Where is the math in coding? As much as I think that the connections between coding and mathematics are obvious, I think that there is a process involved in noticing and noting when mathematical concepts are demonstrated--some are clearly in use in students' code and are easy to notice; other concepts are also in use... Continue Reading →
“I wanted to make it play the theme from Star Wars.” So began a Grade 5 student’s response this week when I asked her what she was working on with her micro:bit program. It was her very first session with it but she, and the rest of class, did have several other experiences in recent... Continue Reading →
[Updated July 2017] I want to share my set of "coding to learn" outcomes. These are the things that I am looking for in children who are coding in educational contexts. These are the targets in my mind. To me, these represent the powerful learning potential in coding to learn. "Coding to Learn" Outcomes Students... Continue Reading →
At this point in the information age, our personal digitals tools, data and valuable resources are often protected by a username and password combination. Maybe this will change in the future but currently, the task of remembering dozens or hundreds of passwords is a challenge. Many people I know use one, or just a few,... Continue Reading →
One of my favourite chapters in Constructionism in Practice was written by Yasmin Kafai: Learning Design by Making Games (pp. 71-123). She was interested in learning more about the development of children's design strategies within the context of creating an authentic artifact - a computer game. Children were asked to design and create an interactive computer game that... Continue Reading →
Making things... Learning Things 