(9/3) 3 Takeaways from Readings

1. Firstly, I believe its really important to eliminate my old mindset and views towards computer programming. Despite coming from the millennial generation, my education was relatively traditional, while we had computers in class, it was always using pre-programmed games such as Mavis Beacon for typing, or Sims City to create an imaginary space. Now, the learning begins even before that, children are able to utilize computer programming for expressive means. I’ve played around before making a really simple project on Processing and I can attest to how interdisciplinary it is. It’s not like using Microsoft Paint, which we may be more familiar with from our childhood, rather even making a simple line requires writing a line of code. It incorporates a lot of basic geometry, using the Cartesian plane, and simple calculations, which opens up the realm of possibilities of combing art with math and science, which are typically viewed as opposites. 

2. The maker movement is increasingly popular today, and I agree the Maker Faire is a wonderful platform. However, from what I’ve heard, it is largely dominated by 3D printing. This highlights the elephant in the room: is there actually equal access to these spaces? I somewhat agree with the point of the reading that there is a growing ubiquity of 1:1 computing. The author does state that most children have their own computer, smartphone, or tablet, but this needs to be reexamined. I think this blanket statement only applies to middle class and above—which neglects a large segment of society still. We cannot truly democratize learning without acknowledging these barriers of entry. There is a fantastic talk by Dr. Leah Buechley, that states the majority of the people on the cover of Make magazine are men—specifically white and asian men. How do we involve underrepresented minorities and women in this movement when there are both structural and financial challenges? This video, which I highly recommend, can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/110616469

3. I’m also interested in this notion that a sense of community can be formed via these technological explorations. Lines between public and private knowledge are blurred, and encourage sharing and collaboration. When I read what was most important to Nick was the comments and sharing similar positive comments in the Scratch community, I was impressed that a nine year boy had the sensitivity to consider the feelings of others. Similarly on Diabetes Daily, there is an online network of netizens that provide one another emotional support. I often think about how to provide a well-rounded education, and my definition of a quality education builds kindness and self awareness, not just information based knowledge. It seems to me that through using these technological tools, games and spaces, it is possible to build and shape character.