Blackland Prairie Elementary School This week, Blackland Prairie participated in the world wide Hour of Code. Every student was able to participate in an offline activity where they learned about a specific programming topic without ever touching a computer.
- Kindergarten learned about what a program was by “programming” each other to follow certain sets of directions.
- First grade learned that it is often easier to write blocks of code and then repeat them by “loooping” dance moves to create their own personal dance they then taught a partner. They were delighted to learn the word “iteration!”
- Second grade learned that computers convert letters and numbers into binary and then they were able to write their initials in binary and create a bracelet.
- Third grade used game boards to write programs that moved their superhero around obstacles to find their treasure. They learned that the order of directions in their program is very important.
- Fourth grade expanded on the ideas presented in third grade as they programmed two candies to move around a game board and avoid colliding into each other.
- Fifth grade wrote programs to create certain shapes using cups. They learned that if their program isn’t exact, the cups will fall and their program will fail. They enjoyed finding the bugs in others’ code.
Overall, the students built on knowledge they gained in previous years of the Hour of Code. It was an amazing (and exhausting) week for Mrs. Inzana, our librarian, and Mrs. Rollans, our instructional technology coach. We are looking forward to extending our Hour of Code into another week where the students will get to apply the knowledge they learned while using computers and iPads. Stay tuned for our second hour of adventure!