Studio in Computing for Learning

“As teachers all over the world begin to incorporate coding and computational thinking in early childhood education, may we have the clarity to understand how these can be integrated into pre-existing early childhood education practices. May we see the children in their totality, as individuals with their own voices and their own stories to tell, and not only as problem solvers. May we encourage and support their playfulness as a way of learning” (Bers, 2017, p. 3224). To code or not to code in the early childhood classroom? Yes, please do. By: Abigail Fredrickson "Maze Game in Scratch Jr." By: Wesley Fryer is licensed under  CC BY 2.0 If there is one piece of  advice that is drilled into you as a new parent, it is to limit screen time. Bringing home our first baby, I may have not known how to effectively swaddle or change a diaper, but I did know, “back is best” and “no screen time for children under two.” Yet, screens are something we as parents are constantl

Makerspaces - where did they come from, and where are they going? If you’re a teacher, librarian, museum employee, or anyone who works with kids, it’s likely you’ve been hearing the buzz about makerspaces for a while now. The maker movement is characterized by a group of diverse individuals, with equally diverse backgrounds and skill sets, who work together as a community to make something. Tinkering, engineering, fabricating, artistry and playing are equally valued, as well as a strong emphasis on a DIY attitude. Though makerspaces, hackerspaces, and maker faires have grown and expanded exponentially in recent years, many agree that it has been around for quite a while now. Since do-it-yourself is at the heart of the maker mindset, publications like Make magazine ( “the Gutenberg Bible of the burgeoning ‘maker’ community” According to Martinez and Stager (p. 27) and Popular Science have been sharing projects for years. And since collaboration is a key component, evening DIY clas