Coding Journey

Learning How to Code

My coding journey, Fall 2021

This semester, I have been learning how to code in my graduate class titled EDU 744: Coding for Educators. Overall, this course has been very informative and really helped me learn more about ways to support my students and their technology experience. One really important thing I learned in this course is the importance of slowing introducing students to coding. Coding can be very complex and particular, so it is important to introduce students to the coding process slowly and in a way that is super hands on and engaging. You don't want to overwhelm students with coding or move too quickly because it could discourage them from coding forever! For example, starting off coding with a fun exploration process or integrating coding with a video game that students love would help support students in the coding learning process. I will use this knowledge in the future to help me plan lessons and introduce my students to coding in a fun, engaging way. I hope to inspire students to like coding and support them in their coding endeavors! 

In this course, I was surprised to learn how specific and tedious coding can be at times. I knew it was a complicated process, but I never realized just how specific it needed to be. For example, just one extra space, capital letter verse lowercase letter or an extra symbol facing the wrong way could ruin the code and make it not run. While coding can be frustrating, when it finally does works and you figure out the puzzle, it feels amazing! I didn't know many ups and downs the coding process had and how much time and effort it takes to create a simple code. I can't even image coding a whole game! Overall, I gained a new appreciation for the coding that people do everyday and hope to learn more about coding in the future. Thank you!

- Emma Lewis :)