As I stated in the last post, the students at Linden SDA school have begun to learn the basics of Computer Programming. The 6th and 8th graders have begun the process of learning this critical topic. The only question is why is it so important.

Just like the previous unit the students were prompted to give their thoughts on what computer programming is, its functions and how it effects their lives. When asked what a computer programming is most of the students who replied, said that computer programming is instructing and directing a computer. For the most part that is correct, but it is also much more than that. It enables processes and applications on their phones, video games and other technologies.

The next question was “Why do we use it?”. Most of the students ideas on why computer programming is used still refer to it enabling computer processes. Well it does to an extent, but computers are not the only thing that is programmed by computer programming. Many machines and appliances are reliant on computer programming. That can vary from accepting input from their users to running diagnostics when their is a malfunction.

Lastly the students were asked “How is it involved in their everyday lives?”. Here they gave a variety of answers that are very true. They said it allows them to communicate, enables them to be entertained and use programs and websites on different platforms. We will explore some of these in the coming weeks. It will be done through the “Robot Game” and the EV3 Lego Mindstorms Robots and program.

So, it appears that our work is cut out for us. I am really excited for the students to work on these upcoming projects. I hope they will have all of the fun they can as well as learn as much as they can. It is my goal to show them what they are doing, why it is useful and how it relates to their lives. Hopefully the messages conveyed will inspire them to hopeful go to this field of study.