End of Course Reflection: EDU 774 Coding for Educators

I was nervous to take this course as it was unfamiliar territory, however, this course has taught me that the unknown can be intimidating, but with an open mind and an eagerness to learn, computer science skills can be acquired by almost anyone! One of the main takeaways for me was the idea to make computer science more accessible by introducing it to students through a hands on approach. Starting a course off with command line code can turn potential computer science students off and make it seem intimidating. After speaking with my school’s computer science teacher he has wonderful things to say about Code.org’s curriculum, so I would like to dive deeper into it!

Learning about Scratch and Python, although just the beginnings, has given me the curiosity to keep learning more on my own. There are so many resources available on the Internet to keep me learning. I especially loved the search feature in Scratch, through viewing other projects I was easily able to be inspired to create projects and advance my skills. I am also interested in what students are learning in our AP Computer Science courses and also seeing what student projects have been developed in our Byte Club (after school club).

I am planning on applying for the Marketing, Business, Computer Education - Computer Programming (6-12) endorsement as I believe I have finally met the requirements of 9 Business Computer Programming credit hours. This endorsement would allow me to teach the Mobile Apps Creation and Coding class that my school offers. If I was able to teach the class it would definitely be a learning curve, but a challenge I would happily take on. I believe computer science skills are a must for our students and I want to be a part of creating that future!

Picture Credits:

Scratch: https://steamsyouth.org/product/creative-computing-for-kids-scratch-2/

Python: https://www.techworm.net/programming/introduction-python-programming/