Scratch That
As I opened up Slack and took my initial scan, I thought it looked a lot like Code.org. Code.org is a site that my students love to use in the classroom, so I was immediately engaged by what was in store for this week.Learning about Slack and having the opportunity and time to explore the site definitely got me thinking about so many ways I could bring this exciting software into my classroom.
It was stated that this new age media needs to have background what design, problem-solving, and socioemotional capacities. To me, problem solving stands out as the biggest factor when it comes to a participatory culture. Perhaps the reason I think this is so important is because of the age level I teach. At 7 or 8 years old, these kids are learning how to handle their emotions when something does not go their way. Perseverance is a huge word that is constantly discussed in my classroom, but I do feel it is something that is learned. Teaching students the importance of problem-solving is not just a skill needed for a participatory culture, but a skill needed for life as well. The introduction of Code.org is actually when I saw a huge gain with their level of problem-solving. At first, many of my kids would level through challenges and would stop playing once the level got too hard or they couldn’t make it through to the next level after many attempts. After months of lessons on perseverance, growth mindset, and positive self talk, I’m seeing kids challenge themselves further than they ever have done before.
“Members can download projects to study their construction, remix downloaded projects to be reshared online, create galleries of related projects, comment on projects to ask questions and provide feedback, and discuss issues in the forums.” -Brennan, Monroy-Hernandez, Resnick
I bring up this quote because as I initially read it, I thought to myself “What happens when someone comments negatively to someone’s work?” Ironically enough, my question was answered immediately after this quote. I was incredibly impressed that an online community recognized that their users were feeling frustrated that the their work was being reflected negatively or if it was not being acknowledged at all. By creating groups, this helped to promote a better stronger, community. In a way, I can connect this idea do how our course is designed. By placing our class into small groups, we are able to become better connected and provide each other with valuable feedback. If the course wasn’t placed into small groups and you had to comment on two people a week, we would probably see certain people receiving multiple comments, while others have few to none.
After watching the video for this week, it was also made clear that the creators of Slack take advice from their users in order to make it a stronger community for all. I was really impressed with Slack right away. What initially noticed was the home page that included “Wiki Wednesday,” a forum for users to check out. If you scroll through, you see that Scratch is being used all over the world! The site also shows how many posts the user has made, which allows other users to check the validity of their content. You also have the opportunity to “follow” discussions so that you can stay updated with what interests you. I actually use the “follow” tool on Facebook if I see an educational tool I’d like to know more about.
Most of the posts are people simply commenting “Hi” or “This Is so cool,” but the discussion center allows you to filter what you’re looking for to help you head into the right direction.
I LOVE that their are videos included with each tutorial. This is how Code.org is structured and I have seen the benefits of having the step by step videos. My students are taught to watch the entire video before starting their activity. I found myself watching a video three times because I couldn’t figure out the step.
I could definitely see myself using Slack in my classroom. My only concern that I have is the community piece and how parents might have some hesitancy with it. It’s understandable, but I think with proper supervision and digital citizenship lessons, students would be able to handle the responsibility. Right away, I think about my students animal research project. Students could record their information and create a video about their animal. They could create a game where their animal has to make it’s way through their habitat, or a game where their animal needs to get away from their predator! These are my ideas, but knowing how creative my kids are- I know they would have incredible ideas as well!
The instructional coach at my school is amazing (shout out to Ravan- you guys rock!), so I could definitely see myself inviting her into my classroom to co-teach this to my students. I would definitely begin with a more guided lesson but would allow more exploratory freedom as they grow. My class also has fifth grade buddies that I could partner them with to help them create a project together.
In conclusion, I felt that so much of what we have learned in the past couple of weeks has really come together with the application of Scratch. I’m looking forward to exploring Scratch in the future.