Friday, May 8, 2015

Week 8 - Digital Learning Challenges

Back again with more engaging digital activities that I have been exploring to enhance my future pedagogy in the learning area of digital technologies!!!

So, I followed a link from my course materials in the study of digital technologies. I led me to fun game which was based on franchise 'Angry Birds'. The aim was to get the bird to the 'annoying pig' to chase him away through the maze. It was  engaging, challenging and addictive to play I would definitely recommend you try at,  http://code.org/learn

    Angry Birds Maze

 

So while it was all fun and games, little did I know I was...

All of these terms explain what I was actually engaging while enjoying the activity at leisure.

Here are some snippets which make the idea of the game a little clearer...

Each time I completed a quest, messages would appear that challenged me to enhance my own skills.

 
 
 
 

FYI (For your information),  the game involves a lot of coding, let me show you.

 

 And most importantly it relates to the Curriculum...

                                                                                                                (oops ignore that little textbox
                                                                                                                I forgot to delete before I
                                                                                                                snipped)
 
Here is another example of how it links with the curriculum.
I noticed that I was doing the things above while playing the game. I realize that this is not the only digital implementation that would provide opportunities to engage in these concepts, however it is definitely effective due to personal trial.
 
 

Key words here linking between the game and the curriculum:

design - visualize a path to the pig

modify - change the route to get there safely

algorithms - follow the instructions initially given to implement a route

steps  - following a sequence of actions to get to the pig each time

repetition - repeating the use of steps to become familiar with new skills

visual program - an online game free for all ages to play

problem  solving - learning from mistakes and using computational thinking to

                               problem solve

 

I can conclude that digital technology is involved with a lot more than what I initially thought (shown in week 6 post). I understand how computational thinking can present itself naturally even when doing something enjoyable. This can be used as an advantage in classrooms to engage students while expanding their knowledge.

 
 
 

Week 7 - Working with Digital Technologies

This week is all about working with the technology world! I am exploring into computational  thinking challenging myself to some activities to get me thinking about what kind of things I will include in my own pedagogy.

(I will provide a full detailed reference list at a later date - however links will be provided throughout in case you want to challenge yourself to similar activities!)


Firstly, it is important to  note the following processes that involve computational thinking:
  1. abstraction
  2. patterns
  3. decomposition
  4. algorithms
This website below:
http://games.thinkingmyself.com/
is an amazing way to understand each of these terms. I was a little nervous about trying to conquer each computational strategy however this site helped realize it is something we do every day!

Decomposition ...

I learned that all this means is to break a problem down to take make it more understandable to solve!
Here's an example:  

"What is the sum of: 4+5+5+6+3+3+4+2 equal to?"

Make it easier! Something I would automatically do is pick out the rainbow facts!
 4+5+5+6+3+3+4+2
5+5 = 10
 4+5+5+6+3+3+4+2
4+6  =10
 4+5+5+6+3+3+4+2
3+3 = 6  (+4) = 10

So now I know the answer is simply:


10 + 10 + 10 + the remaining 2 = 32

And that, my friends is decomposition!

Patterns

Again, the link helped uncover something that I already knew! All of these things come naturally. In this activity I needed to replicate the picture given on a larger scale. This is patterning. I  had no idea. It can be as simple as having a daily routine or doing your hair - it all as a pattern to it.



Abstraction




 
I did activities on through the link to get a thorough understanding of this. This can be as simple as adding 'blanks' to a sentence so that different variables can be add in order to make different solutions.
 

Example - The _______ has __________  _______

                      The boy has long hair.

                      The car has old tyres.

Again, easy! 
 

Algorithms

From what I have learned about algorithms, I would use this as hook to open the topic for a classroom lesson...
 

 

Ingredients                                         Method:

  • 2 cups flour                                 1. Whisk 2 eggs with, milk, butter (melted)

  • 2 eggs                                            2. Add flour, sugar and cocoa powder

  • 1 cup milk                                    3. knead until dough is think and moist

  • 1/2 cup sugar                               4. add to oiled cake tin and bake at 180

  • 200g butter                                    degrees for 45 minutes.

  • 3 tps cocoa powder

 
 
 

 What is this? A recipe? There is another name for this...

I would go on to inform students that there are other types of algorithms. In fact,
 
Here are a couple of examples...
  • math problems
  • recipes
  • treasure hunt

Exploring computational concepts in a classroom would be engaging and effective to implement. I would suggest making a circuit like activity centre including: patterns, algorithms, abstraction and decomposition. The activities I would use would be very similar to the ones I described above as I believe they could be manipulated to suit a variety of age groups. 

 
Before I sum up, may I add the importance of visual literacy. In fact this is relative to computational thinking and more closely, algorithms!
 
An example could be made using good old pen to paper or digitally using a website such www.bubblus.com - check it out to create an amazing mind map to document thoughts and ideas! 
 
Here's mine!
I will definitely include this in my own pedagogy to encourage visual literacy, collaboration and computational thinking!
 

Week 6 Personal Learning Experiences



pedagogy to reach specific learning goals for future students (particularly in the technology-rich society in which we live in).

Despite being quite knowlegeable in this learning area, I am aware that my learning will be an ongoing factor that I will need to monitor and keep up to date with the fast moving world of technology. We are advised at University that it important that we do not compare our level of experience and expertise with the progess of others. This is the attitude that I will implement in my future pedagogy in all areas due to the fact that we all come from different backgrounds that have governed where we stand academically and capability-wise at present. In saying this, equal learning opportunities will be provided through appropriate learning frameworks suited to a range of student abilities.
 

Overall, I discovered the link between digital technology and design and how these need to interrelate between one another in order to work.

These words come to mind when I think about digital technology, (I made this word cloud using www.tagxedo.com)

 

MOVING ON...

Linked with digital technology is the 'all mighty' binary code!!!
Allow me to let google explain this in a much clearer way...

Different counting systems are useful in different contexts. They can interrelate and be converted between systems to create equal values.
 
 
 

SO what I gather from this is that each number system serves a different purpose. Each present themselves as a worthy concept to explore/learn about as I found through my own experience that it is a real ‘eye-opener’ when it comes to understanding fractions, understanding conversion and representing numbers in different ways for different reasons.
 
 
 
 
 
This inspired me to create a binary card game of my own. I would definitely implement this within my future pedagogy for fun, engaging learning!
 

 
 
Obviously I learned a lot this week! I could go on for so much longer! That's all for now, until next time :)