Social discussion of CS in K-12

["Reese, George Clifford" <reese AT illinois.edu>]

Finally reading this.

It’s a terrific article. Many of the points that we’ve been discussing around the Papert work, the Agalianos history of Logo in schools, and the Larry Cuban skepticism about technology. I feel that we have viewpoints like this in mind, but still need to be remember these caveats. To my mind, especially the ones about Disneyfication.

 

The one important point that skepticism doesn’t touch on is the question of what really IS transformative. To my mind, democratic structures like Mission Hill’s are what make genuine transformation possible.

 

Yeah, that Gary Stager piece. It’s all in his last paragraph. He doesn’t pull his punches. On the other hand, has he been in charge of any schools? I really don’t know. If so, I’d like to see the results.

 

George

From: ctrl-shift-bounces AT lists.mste.illinois.edu [mailto:ctrl-shift-bounces AT lists.mste.illinois.edu] On Behalf Of Matt Sly
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 1:42 PM
To: Todd Lash; Wolske, Martin B; <ctrl-shift AT lists.mste.illinois.edu>
Subject: Re: [Ctrl-Shift] Will an Hour of Code Change Schools?

 

I agree that it is a mistake to think of the Hour of Code as transformational to education.  The reason I (and other Ed Tech Coaches) worked so hard the past two years on making the hour of code possible in Unit 4 was that we wanted every student and teacher to have a working, living concept of coding.  We wanted them to see problem solving and computational thinking in a way they may have never considered before.  It was about exposure.  The Hour of Code helped many teachers across the district begin to work coding into stations in their elementary classrooms, it showed students they could do something different during indoor recess, and it began conversations at schools other than Kenwood about how computer science finds its way into the K-12 curriculum. 

 

Martin, I also found the last line interesting as well.  My worry that we did use our hour wisely, we did not capitalize on the excitement and interest enough.  We didn't take advantage of a newly exposed group of educators who might want to see computational thinking ne a lived experience at their school.  However, I think that many seeds were planted in the process.

 

Thanks for sharing, really brought my attention back to the subject,

-Sly

 

Matt Sly

Ed Tech Coach

Champaign Unit 4 Schools
slyma AT champaignschools.org

Follow me: @masly1

---

From: ctrl-shift-bounces AT lists.mste.illinois.edu <ctrl-shift-bounces AT lists.mste.illinois.edu> on behalf of Todd Lash <lashtodd AT champaignschools.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:47 PM
To: Wolske, Martin B; <ctrl-shift AT lists.mste.illinois.edu>
Subject: Re: [Ctrl-Shift] Will an Hour of Code Change Schools?

 

​Fantastic read Martin and thank you for posting.  I think it points to the idea that so much of the value in Kenwood's efforts is not necessarily in the computing itself, but in the potential ramifications for educational shift.  Efforts like Hour of Code are not going to be transformative, but if we, as the article states, choose our metaphorical hour wisely, how we use it, and what we value about it, there is hope for substantive change. 

Also, to those that have not read the Staeger piece mentioned in the article, I would highly recommend it.  

Thanks,

Todd

 

Todd Lash

Magnet Teaching Specialist/Instructional Coach

Kenwood Elementary School

1605 W. Kirby Ave

Champaign, IL 61821

217.351.3815

Twitter:  @Todd_Lash

The Kenwood Tech Story

 

"If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow."  -John Dewey

 

#daretoshare

---

From: ctrl-shift-bounces+lashtodd=champaignschools.org AT lists.mste.illinois.edu <ctrl-shift-bounces+lashtodd=champaignschools.org AT lists.mste.illinois.edu> on behalf of Wolske, Martin B <mwolske AT illinois.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:29 PM
To: <ctrl-shift AT lists.mste.illinois.edu>
Subject: [Ctrl-Shift] Will an Hour of Code Change Schools?

 

A GSLIS student forwarded me this link of interest: http://hackeducation.com/2015/03/09/hour-of-code/

 

I found the concluding statement particularly intriguing!

 

— Martin