As a future educator, it is important to me to stay up to date with what students are learning outside of the classroom and our society. This semester, I’ve observed too many virtual classrooms where young students, as young as 7 years old, know more about technology than the teacher. Can you think of some consequences that come with that? I know I certainly can! I definitely know it’s not the teachers intention to spend more time addressing the behavior of the class with technology problems such as: students in the chat box, the PowerPoint or presentation won’t load, screen backgrounds, not staying muted, etc. Here’s the top 2 reasons why I think Educators should take time to become more tech savvy to best benefit their students.
Reason #1: So many resources online that allow students to explore and expand their knowledge with a variety of content.
As of 2015, there were at least 80,000 educational apps so imagine how many educational apps and platforms are available now!
- Top resources that educators are using RIGHT NOW to make their virtual teaching more engaging: Nearpod, Thinglink, Book Creator, Pear Deck, IXL, Clever, Arc Bookshelf, Online Whiteboards, Document Cameras, and SO MUCH MORE!
Reason #2: Coding is their future and it develops critical thinking skills.
Did you know that there are so many apps and programs out now that allow students to learn code without them actually knowing that? These apps and programs require students to think in an indirect and abstract way, which is usually a skill that is explored in 4th or 5th grade. Except students today are now learning this skill with code at age 5. It is very beneficial for educators to provide time for students to problem solve with coding apps. You’ll notice that with time, students who practice solving problems with an app or game, will begin to solve problems on their own in their life because they can think outside the box. As an educator, we are constantly encouraging our students to think outside the box. However, everything especially through virtual learning needs to be modeled and explored before we can have such an expectation. Then the teacher can later implement time for students to code on a program like Scratch that actually gives students the opportunity to create their very own story or game through an animation. The main reason why a person wants to become an educator is because of their passion to make an impact. Well learning how to do basic code for your students is certainly a way to best benefit them since coding is their future and over a million positions will be filled by the future high school/college students because of our society’s advancement in technology.
How Can You Get Involved
If you are either:
- An educator and you want to learn the coding resources and online resources that you can implement in your classroom OR
- Not a licensed educator but you want to run coding programs for your community
or email: brittany@happycodeclub.com
Benefits of this conversation:
- Educators learn from one another and share valuable information/resources to best impact and benefit students.
- You can find a way to make extra money if you want to run coding programs.
