Thing 13: Coding

Coding has always been a passion of mine.  It might sound strange having an English teacher who loves to code, but to me they both are about exploring and creating worlds that can be shared with others.

I've been exposed to (and thought about) a lot of ideas of how to integrate coding into the classroom.  When I was at an Expeditionary Learning conference, I met a math and an English teacher who co-taught together.  They used coding as the bridge between the two subject areas.  It was really interesting to hear them discuss the way this pairing helps to teach traditionally hard topics, like the importance of syntax.  In spoken and written language we often hear, "you know what I mean" but in coding the computer is NOT capable of making inferences, you have to teach it specifically what you mean.

I used this as an opportunity to dabble into a number of hour of code activities.  I ran through a number of levels of the Star Wars hour, thinking about how accessible it is, and how it can teach the importance of communication, especially in expository writing.

I then explored a cool game called CodeSpells, that takes a much more creative approach to coding.  The premise is that you are a wizard capable of creating your own spells using code.  You have a problem: the pool you were trying to dig is filled with lava rocks!

Do you create a spell that lifts them?  That heats them up and tries to destroy them?  That shrinks them and then tries to push them out?  That makes them bouncy so that you can run into them?  The method becomes much more important and interesting than the question, which is often an obstacle for scholars who are interested in getting the "answer" rather than exploring style and effect.

In all, I found this experience rejuvenating, reminding me of a passion that, while still kindled, had been diminished in recent days.