Jeremy Macdonald--Breaking the Technology Code or: What I’m Doing on My Summer Vacation

The following post comes from Jeremy Macdonald, a 5th Grade & Instructional Technology teacher at Mills Elementary in the Klamath Falls City Schools district in Klamath Falls Oregon.

As I wrap up this school year and look forward to new opportunities next year, I think about our use of technology in education. Is our spending justified? Do we invest in more "stuff" or do we begin focusing more on the "human" capital. Whatever it is that we choose, we need to make clear for ourselves, our students, and our community why we do what we do. But I want to take that a step further.

How many of us understand what is happening when we open up a browser window or when we click on an icon or change the font in a document? How many of us understand the coding or language that is used to run the applications that we use so regularly and often take for granted. There are thousands, even millions, of processes that are all happening at once when we interact with our devices. The nuances of coding are just as intricate and dynamic as a spoken language or mathematics. Are they just as important, though? I would say yes.