Unit Rationale
With recent changes to the BC Education Plan and the ongoing advancement of technology in everyday society many employers are looking for people with the skills which can be acquired through coding such as creative thinking, critical reasoning, visual design, problem solving, and the ability to lead and work well in a group. These skills can all be learned through coding which will drive the economies of the industrialized world and is why coding is the most important 21st century skill. Furthermore, it is part of the BC Curriculum and kids love it!
As the BC Educational system tries to keep up with current technological trends, it can be somewhat difficult to provide teachers with enough professional development and resources which enable teachers to adequately and confidently cover newer learning areas such as coding. Therefore, the purpose of this site is to provide teachers a framework to introduce coding to their intermediate students and at the same time enable teachers to assess the degree of student learning taking place.
As the BC Educational system tries to keep up with current technological trends, it can be somewhat difficult to provide teachers with enough professional development and resources which enable teachers to adequately and confidently cover newer learning areas such as coding. Therefore, the purpose of this site is to provide teachers a framework to introduce coding to their intermediate students and at the same time enable teachers to assess the degree of student learning taking place.
Goals
The BC Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies curriculum contributes to students’ development as educated citizens through the achievement of the following goals. Students are expected to
The BC Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies curriculum contributes to students’ development as educated citizens through the achievement of the following goals. Students are expected to
- acquire practical skills and knowledge that they can use to bring their ideas from conception to fruition
- develop a sense of efficacy and personal agency about their ability to participate as inventors, innovators, and agents of change to solve practical problems in a rapidly changing world
- explore how the values and beliefs of cultures, including local Aboriginal cultures, affect the development of products, services, and processes
- understand the environmental implications of the products they are designing and constructing
- investigate and actively explore a variety of areas, including aspects of Information Technology, and Technology Education, and new and emerging fields, in order to develop practical hands-on skills and make informed decisions about pursuing specialized interests for personal enjoyment or careers
- develop a lifelong interest in designing, making, and evaluating products, services, and processes, and contributing through informed citizenship, volunteer work, or their careers, to finding and solving practical problems (Excerpted from BC's New Curriculum)
Objectives
1. Students will develop an introductory level of vocabulary and terminology associated with coding.
2. Students will be able to identify real-life (industrial) applications of coding.
3. Students will develop an understanding of "loops" (looping) and how to use them within the context of block coding.
4. Through the use of block coding in Scratch, students will develop an understanding of variables and how to use them.
5. Students will develop an understanding of the Cartesian coordinate system and how to use it within the context of block coding.
6. Through the use of block coding in Scratch, students will develop an understanding of conditionals (conditions) and how to use them.
7. Students will be develop an understanding of the main sound functions associated with Scratch coding.
8. Students will develop an understanding of online tools and how these tools can be used as a fun and interactive way to represent learning.
1. Students will develop an introductory level of vocabulary and terminology associated with coding.
2. Students will be able to identify real-life (industrial) applications of coding.
3. Students will develop an understanding of "loops" (looping) and how to use them within the context of block coding.
4. Through the use of block coding in Scratch, students will develop an understanding of variables and how to use them.
5. Students will develop an understanding of the Cartesian coordinate system and how to use it within the context of block coding.
6. Through the use of block coding in Scratch, students will develop an understanding of conditionals (conditions) and how to use them.
7. Students will be develop an understanding of the main sound functions associated with Scratch coding.
8. Students will develop an understanding of online tools and how these tools can be used as a fun and interactive way to represent learning.
This unit of coding study is meant to be self-directed. Students will be able to use the website to complete each lesson.
Each lesson contains two main Steps.
Step 1 involves the "hands-on" coding.
Step 2 involves the use of online tools to represent student learning.
Each lesson contains two main Steps.
Step 1 involves the "hands-on" coding.
Step 2 involves the use of online tools to represent student learning.
In order to perform the various online aspects of this unit students will need access to a computer lab or mobile lab, mouse or touch pad, headphones, and microphones, Since several lessons require the use of Google Applications or Extensions, it is recommended that students have a Google educational account.
Lesson Times and Tools
FIPPA - Student PrivacyTo adhere to BC's FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) it is important to follow your School District's policies and at the same time protect your students' personal information. When it comes to lessons involving Hour of Code & Scratch, I recommend doing one of the following: 1.Use students' first names only, 2. Assign pseudonyms, or 3. Assigning each student a number.
Unit PreparationBefore beginning Lesson 1 create a Google folder to document student work.Begin here by watching the video below and setting up your students' folder!
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VOCABULARY move to student site to appropriate lesson
Abstraction - Focusing only on the important details, while ignoring irrelevant information.
Algorithm—A series of instructions on how to accomplish a task. An algorithm is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task.
Algorithmic thinking - Design simple steps or rules to solve each of the smaller problems. Design a plan.
Cartesian coordinate system - is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length.
Coding—Transforming actions into a symbolic language.
Conditions - if, then statements that modify how code is executed. They tell the computers what to do and when to do it.
Debugging—Finding and fixing problems in code.
Decomposition - Breaking big problems down into a small, more manageable problems.
Function—A piece of code that can be called over and over.
Loops - repeat a portion of code a set number of times until a process is complete. Loops help save time and minimize errors.
Parameters—Extra bits of information that you can pass into a function to customize it.
Patterns & generalizations - Look for patterns and connections to prior learning
Sequences - The order that commands are executed by the computer which allows us to carry out tasks that have multiple steps.
Variables - store information in a program. Variables control the output of the program or what the user sees. The three types of variables include strings, integers and arrays.
Abstraction - Focusing only on the important details, while ignoring irrelevant information.
Algorithm—A series of instructions on how to accomplish a task. An algorithm is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task.
Algorithmic thinking - Design simple steps or rules to solve each of the smaller problems. Design a plan.
Cartesian coordinate system - is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length.
Coding—Transforming actions into a symbolic language.
Conditions - if, then statements that modify how code is executed. They tell the computers what to do and when to do it.
Debugging—Finding and fixing problems in code.
Decomposition - Breaking big problems down into a small, more manageable problems.
Function—A piece of code that can be called over and over.
Loops - repeat a portion of code a set number of times until a process is complete. Loops help save time and minimize errors.
Parameters—Extra bits of information that you can pass into a function to customize it.
Patterns & generalizations - Look for patterns and connections to prior learning
Sequences - The order that commands are executed by the computer which allows us to carry out tasks that have multiple steps.
Variables - store information in a program. Variables control the output of the program or what the user sees. The three types of variables include strings, integers and arrays.