August 11, 2016. East Bay Educational Collaborative, Warren, RI. Library professionals participating in the RILINK summer conference dove into coding with Jennifer Robinson, from FabNewport, who is also a school librarian at Thompson Middle School in Newport. Robinson presented on Scratch Coding (her presentation is linked below), a browser-based coding tool, developed by MIT, which is widely used as a foray into coding for all ages. Her zeal and model teaching techniques coaxed a hesitant crowd into playing with tricky new technology; many participants, if not all, had never used Scratch before.
After a brief introduction to Scratch, which Robinson said was “limited only by your imagination,” the tenacious librarians launched into coding, and the room burst into life. Participants shared screens, computers, laughter, and frustrations. They raised hands to ask questions about “making the ‘sprite’ (a manipulatable character image) move right, dance, or ‘change costumes.’” The workshop was loud and fun in the spirit of modern libraries where students and learners from all backgrounds can join together and share their ideas, their knowledge, and their learning.
Jennifer Robinson and Mary Moen encouraged collaborative learning as the best way to find answers to their insightful and challenging questions. Sprites danced, spoke, and walked in circles. Participants worked on their coding for about 45 minutes, and then Robinson asked half the room to check out what the other half had done, and then they swapped roles, so that everyone could see what others had created. There were oohs; there were aahs. There were questions about, “How did you make your Sprite rotate?” and confessions like, “I just couldn’t figure that part out.”
This workshop broke the boundaries of what librarians thought they could do, challenging them to succeed as courageous technology pioneers for themselves and for their libraries. The skills gained from this workshop empowered librarians to approach code for themselves and with their students. Learning new skills is challenging, and necessary, for remaining in touch with how library professionals can guide their students through the difficulties, successes, and risk-taking necessary for learning.
Missed the workshop or want to relive the presentation? Check out Jennifer Robinson’s Presentation here.