June 2007

Teaching Programming From "Scratch"

Computer programming has always seemed a little like brain surgery and rocket science: something better left in the hands of truly gifted specialists in white lab coats. Recently, though, the people at the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT's Media Lab unveiled a new product that may change all of that.

The product, "Scratch," is an easy-to-learn programming language designed to be used by grade-school children. "Scratch" is named for the DJ technique of mixing music, and it actually has a bit of a hip-hop vibe about it. There are no manuals, no complex rules of syntax to be mastered. Instead, "Scratch" uses jigsaw-shaped programming pieces that can be dragged together to create sequences of code resulting in really cool animations and games. It's so intuitive that actual kindergartners are using it to build their own creations.

The MIT folks have also built a social networking site where young people can share and critique "Scratch" projects made by their peers. "All the social networks out there now are basically about chatting with one another," says the head of the "Scratch" development team Mitchel Resnick. "[They're] not about creating things or sharing their creations." Resnick and his team see "Scratch" as a ground-breaking tool that will give young people who've grown up consuming technology the chance to create their own.

And it seems to be working. Minnesota teacher Karen Randall has been testing "Scratch" with her students. "It is very, very easy to share projects online now," she says, "giving kids the motivation of having an audience for their work." And she's seeing that "Scratch" can appeal to all kinds of children: "The kids really 'own' their work," she says, "it matters to a wide range of kids, not just he computer nerds."

And could "Scratch" have an impact beyond the classroom? Mitchel Resnick believes that it can. "[The students are] learning about the process of design - what it takes to create something, how to debug it, how to revise the thing you've created," he says. "That process is important whether you're designing a building or a newspaper article or an animation on the screen."

To learn more about "Scratch" and to get the free download, visit http://scratch.mit.edu/.

 

Are Today's Students Under A Spell???

Spelling has never been sexier. In fact, it's all over pop culture these days. There was the documentary, "Spellbound," the Broadway musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," the movie "Akeelah and the Bee," and, of course, the Scripts National Spelling Bee, which is broadcast nationally… on ESPN, no less.

But do spelling bees actually teach kids how to spell? Not so much, say some educators.

Sue Ann Gleason is a first grade teacher at Cedar Grove Elementary School in Maryland's Montgomery County. And she sees no educational value in spelling bees. "They honor the children who already know how to spell," she says, "but they do little to support those who need explicit instruction." Another teacher at Cedar Grove, Brian Lucas, agrees. "Quite frankly, I think it could be embarrassing to kids," he says, "Humiliating would be the better word."

So why are spelling bees so popular in the classroom? Researchers cite two potential factors: 1.) many teachers are spending less time teaching spelling because they don't believe spelling is necessary for success on most of today's standardized tests; and 2.) an increasing number of teachers simply don't know how to teach spelling. These researchers believe that teachers may be substituting spelling bees for actual spelling instruction. "Most teachers - unfortunately - think of spelling as a rote visual memory skill, and it's much richer than that," says University of Virginia professor and spelling researcher Marcia Invernizzi. "They think that somehow it is less important than other educational subjects, and that technology, such as spell checkers, has further diminished the importance of spelling… But spelling is critical to reading and writing."

As if to prove the point, a Rockville High School senior recently reported that she refrained from using certain words on an Advanced Placement writing test (a test that does require students to spell) because she just wasn't sure how to spell them. "I didn't have a computer [to do spell check]," she said, "and I didn't want to spell [them] wrong."

For more on spelling and spelling bees, visit the Got Game Podcast page (http://www.thinkport.org/technology/gotgame/doandview/podcast.tp) where you can download Podcast #2 and hear Learning Games to Go game designer Scot Osterweil speak on the subject.

 

A New Roadmap for Online Learning

With more than 700,000 K-12 students currently participating in online learning, it was about time someone created a reference guide to explain just how online learning works. The people who put the guide together are the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL), and the guide is called "A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning."

The guide is addressed to educators who want to implement online learning programs and to the parents of students taking those courses. For parents, the guide answers questions about what online courses are; how their kids will interact with the teachers of those courses; and how online learning can be successful. For educators, the guide explains what kinds of courses can be taught most effectively online; the qualifications and training teachers will need to teach the courses; and the policies that states or school districts should have in place when starting an online learning program.

According to the Susan Patrick, NACOL's president and chief executive, "we get so many phone calls every day from legislators, school board members, parents, and teachers, asking the same questions… We thought we should put this in writing, so we can help people understand [online learning] a little bit better."

One way that online learning can be especially useful, says Patrick, is to help meet the demand for math and science teachers needed to help students succeed in the 21st century economy. In fact, Patrick says, one major misconception the guide addresses is the idea that online learning is "teacherless." In fact, Patrick notes, just as is the case with almost every other kind of education, "nothing is more important to the quality of an online course [than the teachers]."

"A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning" is available for free at NACOL's website (http://www.nacol.org).

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