Parlez Vous HTML? Coding as a Foreign Language

Yes, there is some thinking-differently going on, at least in Florida. There is a bill in the Florida House of Representatives to make in-person and virtual computer-science classes count as Foreign Language credits towards graduation. THAT. IS. AWESOME!

I am all for changing the way we teach and what we teach and where we teach in this country. I would love for us to break out of our traditional classrooms of desks in rows and teachers as sages, and let students have more choice in subjects they, and have more options of courses. For example, not every student needs calculus, but EVERYONE needs Personal Finance - and yet, it is not an option in most school districts, or if it is, it is often an add on. (See my previous posts on Financial Literacy if interested....1) Math Curriculum - What Should We Be Teaching 2) Financial Literacy - Bring It Back to School! and 3) Financial Literacy -
Real-World Math, Really!)

Math itself is a foreign language, so the idea to make coding officially designated as a foreign language is just brilliant. Now, granted, it's just at the higher ed level - public colleges and universities, but it's a start. I think K-12 schools should adopt a similar approach. Computer-science is such a vital skill these days, and so few students actually take computer-science in large part because it doesn't fit in the path of required courses for graduation. I look at my own daughter, a recent graduate with a degree in Advertising, who has had a difficult job finding work because she was lacking coding skills, which were NOT part of her advertising/marketing curriculum. And yet -

every job out there for an entry-level marketing/graphic designer requires the ability to code for websites, emails, etc. She is thankfully employed now, and is learning to code on the company' time, so she will be gaining some needed skills for future endeavors. But the fact that she spent four years in college, and before that, four years in high school without the opportunity or the push/requirement to take computer science is ludicrous. Especially when she is in a field that REQUIRES this skill. How can it NOT BE TAUGHT in the very program she graduated from (and she was at a very prestigious school in a very prestigious program - Creative Advertising at UT in Austin).

My point here - lets rethink the requirements for students as they go through high school and college. What skills do they need in the careers they want to pursue? They should have choice to choose subjects that will benefit them in the future so they are, as the popular lingo these days goes, "college and career ready". Let them take computer-science as either one of their math requirements (instead of say Algebra II or PreCalculus) or as Florida proposes, a foreign language requirement. I know my daughter would have been a lot better off with a couple semesters of computer science instead of the required two-semesters of Spanish, for the career she has chosen. The same goes for Personal Finance - a very needed course for all students. It should be an option and count towards graduation. Not everyone needs the traditional path of Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Trig, PreCalculus, Calculus. If a student plans to be a business major, Personal Finance is going to be a much bigger benefit than Trig.

Let's rethink our curriculum. Let's making learning relevant, useful, and personal. Coding as a Foreign Language? Hell yes!

Implementation Dip - It's Not Just Test Scores, It's Any Change

I read this article yesterday by Andrew Ujifusa entitled New Tests Put States on Hot Seat as Scores Plunge . Basically, states that have implemented new standardized tests to address revised academic standards, such as the Common Core State Standards, have seen a drop in student scores, so panic has ensued. What I want to know is: has no one ever heard about the implementation dip? Whenever you try to implement something new, there is going to be a period of adjustment, scores will go down if we are talking tests, classroom behaviors will change and achievement will go down if new teaching strategies are being implemented - in short, any time you try something new, it is NOT going to go exactly as planned! Mistakes will happen, things will be bad before they get better - it's part of the whole change process. Which is why we need to be implementing changes slowly, early, and over time so that things that go wrong can be adjusted. Image from images.google.com What is th

Social Media's Impact on Personal Life - Personal Reflections

The question - does social media impact personal life? The answer - yes. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? The answer - it depends. I have been on vacation the past week or so and am currently on personal leave to finish writing my dissertation proposal (which, as you can see, I am procrastinating!) During my vacation, I swore I would take a break from blogging, Twitter, email, and all things electronic. I lied. I admit - I did honestly make the attempt and in fact, did not turn on my computer one time. However, the iPad is a constant companion, especially since the books I am reading (currently, the Game of Thrones series) are on there, so I had the iPad with me a lot - even on the beach. It was very easy to check if I had emails, to check out my Facebook or to send a Twitter or two. Long story short, I failed miserably at the disconnecting aspect. View from chair and under canopy! Which brings me back to the question of does social media impact personal life? The o

Lecture, Direct-Instruction or Talk - There's the Confusion!

In yesterday's weekly #edchat Twitter collaboration the discussion focused on the flipped classroom, where, naturally, there was quite a bit of debate around the idea of video lectures. What became apparent was the many different interpretations of the term 'lecture'. This came to the forefront for me when I offered up the idea of TED Talks as one option for learning rather than a teacher's video lecture, and someone said "TED talks are just lectures, so how is that better?" This stumped me as I have never thought of a TED talk as a lecture, which is funny, because now, forced to think about it, I guess they could be construed as lectures, depending on your definition. Which of course has led me to this post! Obviously, my perception of a lecture is not the same as others. What is MY definition of a lecture? Perhaps it's my many years of being both a student and a teacher, but for me a 'lecture' has rather negative connotations, as I envisio

Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

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