For the final sandbox I chose to explore coding. I have no previous experience with coding and honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around how it works. Having been a middle school history teacher and currently being a high school history teacher, coding is not something that is pushed or even mentioned in my content area. As the article by Moen mentions, “coding is a trending topic these days…in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education” (Moen, 2016)

Despite this, I taught summer school at an elementary school while I was in undergrad and my students participated in a coding class everyday and they all seemed to really enjoy it. Additionally, as I make my transition to becoming a librarian, coding is definitely something that I both need and want to make myself familiar with. As Moen says, literacy is about more than just reading and writing and librarians can absolutely help with that (Moen, 2016). An Article by Snelling suggests that teaching coding is important as it will prepare students for their future as the world becomes more computer literate and digitized (Snelling, 2018). In fact, if I were to become an elementary school or middle school librarian I would aim to have a coding club for students to participate in after school. 

I think that the code.org website is fantastic, there are so many options for each grade level and stage of coding that one might be at. I also really, really appreciate that you don’t have to login to start coding, that is always such a help in a classroom setting! 

References: 

Moen, M. (2016, September 30). Computer Coding and Literacy: Librarians Lead the Connection. International Literacy Association. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2016/09/30/computer-coding-and-literacy-librarians-lead-the-connection

Snelling, J. (2018, April 3). Don’t Stress About Coding: Focus Shifts to Teaching Problem Solving Not Computer Skills. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=dont-stress-coding-focus-shifts-teaching-problem-solving-not-computer-skills