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Computer program is fun and educational

A new program at Begbie View school lets kids learn the basics of computer coding
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Nyola and Xandrei, two students in the grade six class at Begbie View Elementary, use a laptop computer and circuit board to discover new secrets of technology while they study.

Tim Collins/News staff

While students in the Revelstoke School Division engage in a program to work out self imposed limits for and the risks of the digital world (see feature on Screen-ager film in the Revelstoke Review), a classroom in the elementary school is exploring a new way to incorporate computers into the classroom.

“We have a new technology that we’re trying out in a grade six classroom this year, and the results are really amazing,” said Connie Haworth, the teacher responsible for piloting the program.

The program was made possible by a grant from the ministry of education that funded the purchase of ten lap top computers for the classroom. Those computers have special software installed that allows them to link to an external circuit board through a standard USB port on the computer.

The idea is for the students to use the circuit board to connect to any number of conductive objects in a way that allows them to interface with the computer in a variety of learning adventures.

“Play-dough is a favourite material for them to use to connect the circuit board wires to other objects. Who knew that play-dough was conductive?” laughed Haworth.

The students in Haworth’s class partner up and use a combination of computer voice recording and pre-written code fragments that they combine to conduct a variety of learning experiences. In one exercise they connect wires and set up the software to correctly identify geographical locations such as continents. In another exercise, they use fruit and other material to create musical sounds that react as they touch the material they’re using.

“We try to use the computers at least once a week…more often if we have time. The children learn about electrical conductivity, grounding, computer coding and operating the software…all in addition to whatever the lesson of the day might be,” said Haworth.

She added that the program provides a basic grounding in the technology and, by the time the students get into the high school, some will be learning how to write their own computer code.

“The students are so engaged that, when it’s time to clean up and move on, they’ll be complaining that it all went by too quickly. It’s a fantastic way to have an obvious curriculum (like learning geography) combined with a hidden curriculum that involves learning about electricity and computer language and technology,” explained Haworth.

“The truth is that they learn so fast that I’m sometimes struggling to keep up with their knowledge of the technology.”