11.2 Creative Coding in the Classroom!
⇧Above is my first ever experimentation with Scratch 😮! It is kind of a disaster... But that's OK! It is all part of the learning experience.
The word coding absolutely terrifies me. I can barely decipher the buttons on my school copy machine... how in the world am I supposed to code!?
Luckily, Scratch is somewhat self explanatory and user friendly. A tad bit outdated as far as graphics but definitely a great tool. You can see by my creative animation in 11.1 that I am still no expert. Far from it actually, but I do feel confident in the concepts and navigation of the Scratch website. I think with more creative experimentation (and far more patience) I would feel ready to introduce this into a classroom.
Patience was my greatest challenge. I am used to creating a mark on a canvas yielding immediate gratification and satisfaction. Coding is another breed of art. It is a technical art. Patience and trial & error are fundamental keys to success in the creative coding world. They are also important factors in the learning process. You know what they say: Patience is a virtue! and you can't forget the saying: If you fall of the horse...get back on again! Remember these phrases when coding for the first time. You have to crawl before you can run -- adding creative coding to the curriculum can help classroom teachers build strong foundations in new media. Incorporating programs like Scratch is an enjoyable way to teach technical skills in a creative manner.
Trial and error also teaches kids that it is OK to fail. This is something that has been lost in teaching today as curricula are geared toward standardized testing where failure is not an option. Creative coding practically begs for failure and learning from mistakes - making it an important aspect to include in the classroom!
This is great! I totally understand the whole fish out of water scenario that you were in. You were not alone. It is a great animation. I agree with you that it might take a little bit more experimentation before putting it in my classroom. I do find it very important for students to understand and learn. We need to take this info and run with it to keep our classrooms innovative. I also agree with your statement about failure and learning from mistakes. This would be good for upper elementary students or older. I guess it depends on how much experience the student has. It could be interesting to show students how trial and error works for you. Maybe show early coding. This might help students realize that even adults do not get it right all the time and we have to work by trial and error also.
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