Learning has NO Constraints

David, a senior at Birdville High School, continues to make an impact on both myself as an educator, as well as the learners of Room 27!  Meeting David, during his sophomore year, opened my world to the joy of learning, through a student's eyes.  David brings a love of learning about math, science, music and technology, as well as a desire to grow in his knowledge as a learner.

I extended the invitation to come work with the learners of Room 27, as we embarked on participating in the National Hour of Code.  Like my previous post, David came to NRMS, rather than the BCTAL on Friday, December 9th.  Seats in our classroom began to fill with eager students shortly after 7:45, ready to explore the world of coding.   Knowing I had an expert in the field, ready to answer questions, who brought first hand experience, opened the doors to a day of creativity & critical thinking, for both my students and myself...excitement was an understatement!

David in his element @BISDBCTAL
  

I asked David to reflect and share his thoughts on his participation in Hour of Code:

As a student of computer science, I am always looking for opportunities to expand my horizons and further develop the skills upon which I will build my career. Recently, Elizabeth invited me to attend an Hour of Code event at North Richland Middle School. I did not hesitate to accept as I have no doubts of Elizabeth’s ability to create opportunities for me or her students. Though I have been tutoring students in geometry and algebra for a while, I had never been in a group setting like I was during Hour of Code.



My job was to be available to students with questions about the coding activity of their choice, helping them use basic commands to make a turtle move and draw a picture on the screen. A task as simple as drawing a house proved to be a great way to introduce the students to new concepts in programming, namely the importance of translating math equations into commands that the computer can understand.

Most students are excited about programming because they view it as an escape from math; however, computer coding is just an application of it. I have written many programs along my journey of teaching myself to code, and for many of them, I have had to draw from my knowledge of geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and even calculus. Pairing math and programming is an essential tool for getting any student excited about learning, as I saw firsthand during the Hour of Code.

Giving students the chance to see their math in action as they “teach” it to the computer is a great way to reach a better understanding of the fundamentals of math. Through teaching myself to code, I have strengthened not only my knowledge of the way computers work but also I have become more comfortable with adapting to the sometimes unintuitive concepts of calculus. No two programming challenges are the same, so coding requires the creative adaptability that is so valuable to the world of engineering today.

Who knew Pythagorean Theorem could be written in code?

Overall, the Hour of Code proved to be a learning experience for both myself and Elizabeth’s students; I love the idea of Hour of Code and wish it was around when I was in middle school. I would strongly encourage hesitant teachers to give this incredible program a shot and provide for their students potentially one of the most pivotal hours of their lives.

**Because of David's passion for learning and coding, we now have kids who are beginning to come in before and after school to code.  We are in the midst of putting together a Coding Camp for area students...Stay Tuned for More Learning!