Education
App-Based Blockly ProgrammingWelcome to Programming in the primary grades: Beyond the Hour of Code (https://www.teachercast.net/bhoc001-learning-programming/) ” Why Blockly?Blockly is a tool for building visual programming editors Teachers, once they are familiar with the platform, can spot errors much more quickly than they could find a misplaced semicolon. Blockly based apps allow students to get programming fast. In a 45 minute class period, a student can complete multiple iterations of a functioning video game, an animation, or a model. The speed of creation is especially astonishing to anyone who has spent time working in a text-based programming syntax. The work the students are doing in Hopscoth, Tickle, and Tynker, during grades 2-4 is preparing them to be productive in Scratch in grades 4-8. When students work in several different apps that are based on blockly they are able to transfer lessons learned in one programming environment into another. The fluid use of apps also helps students practice learning Programming in AppsThere are many tablet-based programming apps available and there seems to be more every day for both iOS and Android. Check the last chapter of this text for our annotated bibliography of programming apps. Programming apps are generally categorized as leveled game-style apps or as open studio apps. The leveled apps are designed to teach the user the basic principles of programming through a gamified experience where level by level the challenges become greater. Open studio apps aim to let the user design and build programs within the app that can often be shared with others using a community within the app or a web-based interface that connects to the app. One style of app is not superior to the other, they just do different things. When you’re deciding which to use in a lesson, think about your learning goals and match the app to fit. Leveled Programming AppsLeveled programming apps, like Kodable, Cody's Quest by Tynker, and The Foosuse all of the mechanics of games to guide students through a process of learning tools, commands, and structures available in that platform. These are introduced one at a time in the context of a challenge. These apps can be powerful learning tools to use in whole class instruction as well as individual and choice-based learning contexts. Kodable (https://www.kodable.com/) Cody’sQuest by Tynker (https://www.tynker.com/school/courses/show?id=11-codey-s-quest) TheFoos (https://thefoos.com/webgl/) As a teacher, you will notice that the apps self-differentiate. Students work quickly through the levels they “get” and have to spend more time with others. Even though the leveled apps can be fairly self-contained, using them in the classroom is not a simple matter of handing out iPads. There are a few tricks and structures that can help support student learning and success. TipsFor Teaching Code with Leveled AppsDon’tundercut the tutorials. Many of the apps have a good library of built-in tutorials. Ask your students to engage the tutorials and ‘read the screen’, or look for tips and solutions in the app. Focus on communication and problem-solving. Since the app is going to do the heavy lifting of teaching the programming concepts, this frees you up to teach the important things, like how to ask another student for help, or how to notice when someone needs some help and how to offer it, or how to politely refuse help when you want to work through a problem on your own. Hang back and watch body language. Observation can yield a great deal of data. A general guide is this: fist pumps = good, face in hands = bad. Build in some reflection.One of the greatest challenges to teaching with a self-contained leveled app is that it can be hard to tell how the students are doing other than what you observe. OpenStudio AppsOpen studio programming apps, like Scratch Jr, the create side of...