UOIT’s March Break digital literacies camp featured in Teach Magazine

Forget the image of the geeky, anti-social computer programmer sporting a pocket protector; coding is now officially cool among the young crowd. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) Faculty of Education (FEd) is keeping up with this trend, employing unique methods for preparing teacher candidates to impart programming skills to elementary school students.

A recent article entitled Coding is cool, authored by Dr. Ami Mamolo, Assistant Professor, FEd, and published in Teach Magazine, describes how UOIT FEd courses in digital literacies, electives in game design, and educational camps for local school children are demonstrating the benefits of learning through coding. The article highlights this year’s March Break digital literacy camp, hosted by FEd, which focused on gaming, gaming culture and coding.

Led by Dr. Janette Hughes, Assistant Dean, FEd, her Research Assistant Laura Morrison, several UOIT Primary/Junior teacher candidates, and Brock Dubbels, a gaming and coding expert, the camp taught the students skills that were both fun and important in the digital age.

According to Dr. Suzanne de Castell, Dean, FEd, the camp helped show teacher candidates how teaching coding skills can help prepare students for their upcoming Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) tests. “Through coding activities, we can foster the development of digital literacy skills that integrate computing science and math content in a way that prepares students to succeed in an increasingly digital world,” she said.

Dr. Hughes also noted that coding can be empowering for students. “Kids are engaged in difficult problem-solving activities that allow them to make progress at their own paces and see the results right away,” she said.