Computational thinking

Another cold start in Christchurch this morning as we embark on our Fourth week of DFI. Today's focus was Computational thinking.

We began with Dorothy Burke’s Wisdom which continues to increase my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy. Today this related to initially discussing connected learner’s and the importance of sharing. Humans have been sharing since the beginning of time. For most of us sharing is what we do. We share stories food, laughter, tears, successes and failures. We all share in different ways.

I clearly recall the Y2K hype that Dorothy discussed. I recall in the year 2000 what we were potentially awaiting... and how what we perceived didn't actually happen. However, in 2005 things certainly did change. This time was when introduction of the likes of Bebo, twitter and various other platforms were created. Tag lines were about sharing yourself with the world. One of the significant changes in this sharing time was the speed at which this information was shared and the amplification.

Post 2005 our teenagers were provided with a platform for positive sharing. This involved many positives alongside challenges. Sharing in the digital age gives us the ability to share beyond what we were once able to. Reaching out to a global audience provides us with greater connections...beyond our class, school and community. This now means that an aunty or uncle living on the other side of the world can see what our children are doing. They can connect in new ways and comment on students blogs.


Blogger was selected as an appropriate platform for student's due to having the functionality of the spaces students want to be in. It may not be the latest or most elaborate platform, however fundamentally it provides students with an important place to show their learning, their creations and to share. Also under the G suite we can legally provide children with something that is owned by the board.

Blogger provides us with a wider authentic audience, a platform where further learning can happen due to connections created and questions asked. A class isn’t necessarily an authentic audience. There may be times in a classroom when students may be forced to listen, where they respond in ways that don't provide the learner with a connection that ignites further learning. With digital technology and the likes of a remote you may have some choice with what you do and don’t listen to as well as opportunities to learn more.

Old school text books is something Dorothy spoke of. She spoke about how many students may have rarely experienced completion of something when they worked in these old text book's. Sharing on line is so different than ways we learned in the past. While Dorothy speaks of acknowledging and  that it's part of the linear process, sharing to learn provides our young people to make connections with ideas, further learning and the ability to go beyond.

When commenting on blogs I continue to encourage students to promote the Manaiakalani model of commenting with something: Positive, thoughtful and helpful . This is a great platform to scaffold students in effective use of their blogs. This does seem to require ongoing reminders that I endeavour to persevere with. I do also need to timetable in more set time to increase my commenting on other's blogs.

Today also involved exploring developments in computational thinking. From the first smart phone and the impact this had to an EGC on a wrist to 'Big Dog' and looking at Boston Dynamics with built in AI. Why this creation was made to do extraordinary things it also had some ethical concerns. For instance the likes of big dog was created and funded by military. We discussed ethical implications of smart cars and choices they may be expected to make regarding safety.....the implications of such things clearly involve in depth conversations and careful consideration. Next we moved onto looking at scratch and the loops and codes associated with this programme that cover many aspects of computational thinking.

Some great resources I have been introduced to today that will be useful in the hub:

• Hour of Code
• Toxic Code for more advanced
• Binary Maths

Dorothy's reference to Fail- first attempt in learning- is something I will be using in the hub with students. In terms of personal development, the fact that I am continuing to learn improves my confidence and skills which enables me to better utilise the technology that is part of our life in 2019.