Connected Code

Abstract

Why every child needs to learn to code: the shift from “computational thinking” to computational participation. Coding, once considered an arcane craft practiced by solitary techies, is now recognized by educators and theorists as a crucial skill, even a new literacy, for all children. Programming is often promoted in K-12 schools as a way to encourage “computational thinking”—which has now become the umbrella term for understanding what computer science has to contribute to reasoning and communicating in an ever-increasingly digital world. In Connected Code, Yasmin Kafai and Quinn Burke argue that although computational thinking represents an excellent starting point, the broader conception of “computational participation” better captures the twenty-first-century reality. Computational participation moves beyond the individual to focus on wider social networks and a DIY culture of digital “making.” Kafai and Burke describe contemporary examples of computational participation: students who code not for the sake of coding but to create games, stories, and animations to share; the emergence of youth programming communities; the practices and ethical challenges of remixing (rather than starting from scratch); and the move beyond stationary screens to programmable toys, tools, and textiles.

Preservice Teacher Perceptions of Using Coding in Literacy Instruction

“…Gee (2013) offered a framework in understanding how game environments, such as those found in online coding apps Code.org and Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), assist in learning noting that video gaming itself is a form of literacy. He referred to a "good" game environment as one that enables and reinforces learning, active exploration, and player autonomy, which a coding app such as Scratch allows due to the open-ended nature and full user control (Hagge, 2017;Kafai & Burke, 2014;Thompson, et al, 2018). Table 1 provides a brief summary of this framework, featuring those principles most pertinent to the current study.…”

“…MIT Media Lab, n.d. -a;Peppler, Santo, Gresalfi, & Tekinbas, 2014). This allows students to move beyond receivers of knowledge to producers of knowledge, a higher-order thinking skill (Kafai & Burke, 2014;Krathwohl, 2002;Lee, 2011). Additionally, deeper literacy practices are experienced.…”

Programming with Scratch in primary school, indicators related to effectiveness of education process and analysis of these indicators in terms of various variables

“…Scratch intends to back up the programming education of children between 8 and 16 years. Studies, on the other hand, suggest that Scratch can also be employed in different age groups (Kafai and Burke, 2014). It aims to design an active online community who can design, share, discuss and combine the projects (Resnick et al, 2009).…”

Empowering K–12 Students With Disabilities to Learn Computational Thinking and Computer Programming

“…Allowing students ample opportunities to develop and practice skills that have been taught is an essential component of delivering effective instruction. With that said, it is important to balance explicit instruction of discrete skills with open-ended inquiry for students to have the opportunity to use skills learned through explicit instruction to engage in open-ended, problem-solving computing tasks (Israel et al, 2015; Kafai & Burke, 2014).…”