Computational Thinking

The idea of 'Computational Thinking' has been thrown into conversations since the start of the year.  Initially when it came up at the start of the year I wondered how it would actually be relevant to my subject area.  Would it be something I could realistically be enthused about?  Was it something I could implement in a classroom without spending a month trying to plan a one hour lesson?  Today I have been challenged and forced to try something completely new and outside of my comfort zone.

Empowerment.  Thinking about social inequality and how money can provide opportunities which empower people.  I guess in a way I think that money won't make you happy but not enough of it will make you unhappy.  Today the discussion has made me think about money and how much power money has over our students.  The slides showing the rubbish on the side of the road has made me question whether we should be asking our families to pay for a chrome book.  If we are having discussions about families struggling to dispose of rubbish due to financial limitations then are we putting pressure on families to pay for chrome books?  Some families may have more than one student who needs it, what if you have four of five kids who need one for school?  I see the value in chrome books but is it putting more stress on people?  Are we inadvertently putting additional financial stress on our families?  However, I do fully think creating a transparent link between school and home is the way forward.  We need to ensure our families are involved in the learning of the students, able to share in what they are doing within the Education sector.  Solutions?  I like to think I am a solutions based person, by this I mean I can identify an area which needs rejigging and come up with a couple of different options which fix or offers a solution to the identified problem.  For this, maybe schools should have the chrome books and the students borrow them?  I know that some schools already do this but does it work?  Currently our year 9, 10 and 11 students have their own...in theory all of them have a chrome book charged and ready for learning.  The reality is that this isn't what happens.  Carting chrome books across the school does not appeal.  I think funding will always be an issue, Education is evolving and one can only hope that the Government acknowledges this and makes funding the digital initiative a priority! 

Words.  How many words does a child hear before they arrive at school?  I went to a Professional Development session with Nathan Wallis where he spoke about the importance of the first 1000 days.  This idea of how important language and interaction was touched on by Dorothy today.  This makes me realise how important it is to ensure our students feel they are empowered and not being controlled by factors outside of their control.  It is kind of amazing to think that when I was at school, I finished 16 years ago, we were still completely digital free.  I remember having a digital technology class where learning how to setup an email account was a  biggie and using BEBO was pretty awesome!  Maybe BEBO was the start of my Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest affair!  When I think about what I am learning and how overwhelming it is I realise how our students probably sometimes feel.

Today I have had the opportunity to make a short video using software which I am unfamiliar with.  I have titled this short clip "Jurassic - Unplugged".  I do believe I will be needing time off work to go an collect my Oscar!