Innovation 4 Everyone

Hi! A couple of weeks ago, the grade 5 students set out to what promised to be an exciting field trip. Very nearby the school is a gorgeous canyon. With the guidance of an expert explorer and a young geologist, each of the grade 5 groups took turns to go deep into the canyon. I was lucky to be asked to accompany one of these groups and their teacher. So, here's my story. It turns out that we were the first ones to take the trip. I had no idea of what to expect. I carried my water bottle, a light lunch, my iPhone, sunglasses, and a cap. So did the kids. They were so excited! The ride getting there was really fun, but what they were about to see I think blew everyone's mind even more. Fifth graders had been studying the Changing Earth unit. They had learned about plate tectonics, erosion, deposition, earthquakes, etc. Imagine being able to witness the forces of nature first hand. Imagine being able to see where plates have collided; where layers of earth ha

Having a computer science background myself might explain why I always get so excited when it comes to coding. In my good old days, I learned to program in computer languages such as COBOL, Fortran, Basic, Pascal, 6502 Assembler, and Logo. Each problem I was faced with represented a new programming challenge. Bring it on! Well, many years have passed since then and throughout them I became more involved with education, which is why I appreciate even more how programming (or coding as it is commonly known now) can benefit children. Knowing that coding can develop important lifelong skills in children makes me even more excited! Imagine being able to develop critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, logic, abstract thinking, design, experimentation, and algorithmic thinking, in a fun, play-like way. What is coding? Computer applications and games, Apps, websites, etc., have all been developed through coding. In short, coding is putting together instructions (or commands) to