Thanks Barbie, for another reason NOT to want to be you!

November 23, 2014November 24, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code background, Insipration, learning to code, programming, resources 1980s, Barbie, beginner mindset, coding, gender issues, learning to code, learning to program, math, programming

This is the fatal page from the 2010 Barbie book I Can Be a Computer Engineer. Barbie goes on to give her sister Skipper’s computer a virus, get some boys to help her fix it, and finally take individual credit for the whole shebang (including the robot puppy game that the boys programmed). At no point does Barbie do any coding at all. You can read the original blog post that brought this controversy to light here.

2434262975_079aec8640 — Oh the Nostalgia! That peach gown was my favorite. http://goo.gl/XBhYad

I never really identified with Barbie. Sure I played with her, but what little girl in the 80’s didn’t? However, I wasn’t blonde or skinny. I didn’t care to drive a pink corvette, wish to own a “dream house”, or marry my very own Ken doll. I didn’t want to be Barbie, and didn’t care what kinds of new careers she was trying out. I mostly liked to dress her up, which might have had a slight impact on my love of costuming and fanciness, but that is the extent of her influence.

She was fun, but never any real impact on my life (or so I like to think…) Continue reading →

A Disequilibrium Reprieve and a History Lesson: Logo

November 4, 2014November 4, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code early childhood education, languages, learning theory, Logo, programming, teacher education, ways to learn coding, computers, discovery, early childhood education, edtech, Education, education trends, infants and toddlers, Logo, math, Mathematics, Piaget, programming

I have been focusing pretty singularly on learning Ruby, but have noticed that the tutorials are getting harder for me to work through. Of course this is expected, but I find that when my brain gets overloaded, it’s helpful to take breaks. I try to keep my breaks productive by and working on something easier, totally different, but still coding: Logo.

I’ve worked through the Logo lessons on Turtle Academy, and think it’s fun to go back to the Logo play ground and draw pictures. This gives me a chance to give my memory a workout, do something I love (draw), and feel successful.

A friend who knows I’ve been playing with Logo lent me a great book called Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, by Seymour Papert, one of the inventors of the Logo programming language. I started reading it today, and was blown away by the relevance of the ideas, even though the book was written in 1980. Continue reading →

“Rails for Zombies” for Halloween?

October 31, 2014November 7, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code background, experiments, programming, ruby, ruby on rails beginner mindset, coding, halloween, interest-based learning, learning to code, learning to program, math, ruby, ruby on rails, zombies

I love Halloween! The whole spirit of the day is so refreshing and whimsical. Everyone has fun, and there are few family or religious obligations attached. (…obligations that can make other holidays more stressful!) Plus, if you happen to be a Halloween grinch, all you have to do is make sure your porch light is off, and Viola! You have the perfect excuse to curl up in your basement with a good book or a movie and ignore the world for a night. Halloween is a win-win.

One of my favorite parts about the holiday is that it gives all of us over-worked, over-tired, over-stressed, and entirely-too-serious adults an excuse to just take a breath and to think like children for a day. We can delight in the excitement of the little ghosts and goblins (and Elsa’s and Spidermen) that haunt our streets for just one night every year We all get to have fun, forget our troubles, and pretend we are someone else. We can adopt a sense of wonder and just PLAY! Continue reading →

Fighting Back Against “I’m Terrible at Math”

October 18, 2014November 7, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code background, Math, teacher education coding, David Hawkins, early childhood education, Frances Hawkins, gender issues, interest-based learning, learning to code, learning to program, math, Mathematics, preschool math, psychology, STEM, teacher education, teaching

Many teachers, and many people in general feel terrible at math. In the article, The Myth of “I’m Bad at Math”, by Miles Campbell and Noah Smith analyzes this phenomenon and makes a very compelling case for why this is so dangerous in our society. They say “We hear it all the time. And we’ve had enough. Because we believe that the idea of “math people” is the most self-destructive idea in America today. The truth is, you probably are a math person, and by thinking otherwise, you are possibly hamstringing your own career.”

I grew up thinking I was bad at math. Many of us did! I believe this phenomenon is part of why I’ve never (until now) considered that computer programming was even worth trying to understand. “I’m terrible at math”, is something that many of us feel completely comfortable and even proud saying to pretty much anyone.

When we think about a teacher proudly proclaiming “I’m terrible at reading!”, it does not seem acceptable. We’d all probably think less of this person. So why is it acceptable with math and not acceptable with reading? This is a question all teachers need to examine. There really shouldn’t be a difference between the two.

Continue reading →

Ruby or JavaScript?

October 12, 2014November 6, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code background, Java Script, learning to code, programming, ruby, ways to learn codecademy, coding, constructivism, JavaScript, math, ruby, teaching

Which Programming Language to choose to learn first? As I said in this post, I’ve received opposing advice from more knowledgeable peers about which might be easier and why. I need to figure out which language is easier for me, and start there.

I thought it might be helpful to break down what I know about each so far. I can not boast feeling very knowledgeable about either, but I have done some pieces of tutorials for both. So far, it’s not too confusing to do both at the same time. In fact, it’s helpful! Both tutorials contain the same vocabulary, for example Math, Strings, and Functions. Those are some of the things that you can write using JavaScript or Ruby. Learning about those and other basic components of coding in two different languages is actually helping me feel like I can understand them more deeply. Each tutorial explains them differently, so each new explanation provides a little more depth to my thinking.

I can’t yet say which I think will be easier to continue with, but I can simply say that I’m understanding more, making coding in general feel easier.

Here’s a snapshot of some differences, thanks to resources from Github, Codecademy, and TryRuby.org.

Math is probably the most basic thing you can do with programming, so possibly the easiest to understand for complete beginners or non-code types:

Ruby JavaScript