The Rookery

There is something incredibly exciting about computer programming.  We have come to rely on these magic boxes that just "do" things without us knowing how.  But, programming (or coding as it's more often called) lets us take back control.  Suddenly, we're the bosses again.  We get to tell the computer what to do and how to do it.

The Herons got a taste for it during our geometry work in the fall.  Logo is a great way to explore angles and polygons.  It's also a great starting place to learn some key elements of computer science such as defining new tasks and looping.

I considered continuing our work with Logo but was intrigued by "The Hour of Code" project at code.org, an organization that wants to expand participation in computer science education by making it available in more schools.  They facilitated the creation of several hour long tutorials to learn the basics of computer science.  Each one I did was wonderful.  Maybe the Herons could learn the basics of several languages…

I realized that what I really wanted the Herons to discover during the theme was the way one learns coding – the language itself was secondary.   There are some universal structures and logic in all computer languages — once one has experience with "if…then" statements, for example, one can use them in a variety of settings and languages.

Equally important is the flat hierarchy of learning in computer science.  One learns by exploring, trying, failing, and asking peers.  One digs into the "documentation" of a language – which is kind of like a glossary.  One looks at how other programs work and use the pieces that fit one's needs.  One takes guesses and then refines those guesses.  One does not sit and type in the code which the instructor has written on the board, then wait to be told the next line of code to type in.

I did not tell the students what I wanted them to do — I let them explore the tools and then set challenges for themselves.  Sometimes, I would suggest a direction, "Can you make it _________?" because I knew that a child could learn a key concept through that experiment.  Most often, though, the students were trying things out that I didn't know exactly how to do.  That made their work very real – not only were they creating something that functioned (eventually) but they were often teaching me along the way.

This theme has been among the most progressive I have ever taught.  Students were defining their educational needs and using the tools of inquiry to satisfy those needs.  They were using real tools to make real things.  I really hope you'll sit down and learn some code along with your Heron.