Fall SAVY 2017, Day 1 – Intro to Programming: Coding 101 (1st/2nd)
Dear SAVY Parents,
It was my pleasure to meet and work with your child for Intro to Code! Each child brought a different level of knowledge and experience with this subject, however everyone seemed engaged and very excited to learn concepts and achieve new skills.
We began our classroom time together with a small group physical challenge (to build a structure with given materials that met a height requirement and could hold up a given weighted object for at least ten seconds). While this doesn’t seem like coding, we were able to reflect on and gain a mindset of persistence. We learned that persistence is trying again and again, even when something is very hard!
In the computer lab, we began our lessons on using blockly style code (with the option to view the embedded Java script) to program and debug tasks in a maze game. We wrote algorithms (a list of steps to finish a task) for Angry Bird involving movement and orientation in order for him to get to the pig without being blown up by TNT! This was really hard detailed work, but engaging and fun for all.
Back in the classroom, we observed a fish aquarium in order to learn a model for observing systems. Systems are characterized by boundaries, elements, inputs, outputs and interactions. We will use this model in further discussions to analyze computer systems, language systems, game systems and others in the coming weeks. Finally, we worked with iPads and Shpero SPRK robot devices to experience a controller and machine interaction that we can learn to program in coming weeks using both drawn and a new blockly style code. If you would like to experience an “Hour of Code” with your child, consider this link: https://hourofcode.com/us.
We have many more challenges ahead next week!
Carol Byrd
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