In order for me to expand my PLN which I showed in my post I participated in a Twitter chat. My last post can be found here. Just to make it is easy, a PLN is a collection of professional and personal ways of which I collect my information.
The chat was led by @mpilakow about how important coding and game creation is in learning environments. The chat happens on a weekly basis on thursday nights at 7pm EST and has been going on since 2016. The chat consisted of questions regarding the theory behind teaching code and the importance of it, as well as examples of what other teachers have used to push the importance of coding. The people participating in this chat came from a multitude of backgrounds, ages, and fields. There were students, secondary level teachers, and even professors that truly had a passion for showing how coding can provide more than just making programs. The best part about it was that no one had to be truly proficient in coding to partake or understand the conversation Here are a few of the different introductions: 
The first question that was asked was the main point I was able to focus on actually put in my 2 cents.
Here is my answer: 
I discussed this with a few other people participating in the chat. It was basically agreed that in order for coding to be taught productively it needs to be a hands-on experience that fully engulfs the students. Having a lack luster computer science program at my high school lead to me barely experiencing code. I have some experience with C++ and java thanks to my own exploration. Another user and I, @mr_isaacs, discussed how in order for students to actually be fluent in coding that they have to experience it themselves and explore the multiple different aspects of it.
The second question involved the importance of teachers showing coding to their students. I strongly believe that knowing how to code has many more advantages than just knowing how the system works. Coding involves the proper use of logic and ordering of sequences which is a difficult aspect just to innately learn. I discussed this with @misterwashburn:
I really did enjoy being a part of this twitter chat and it gave me a chance to really experience how other teachers are incorporating this subject into their classrooms. I knew it was important but I was not aware of how many people also had the same thought as I did.
I learned quite a lot from the twitter chat. There were many different resources that were introduced to me such as CodeCombat and a book about scratch that can be found here. These sources really introduce coding in a fun way for students. CodeCombat shows students how to code while creating a game that they can be proud of and enjoy. Scratch is the programming system that does the same thing as CodeCombat but is focused at a younger audience. I have never heard of either of these resources but from what was said they seem to be widely used in elementary to middle school aged classes. Introducing code at that age is something that I would never have tried to do. I find it quite interesting that these students are coding that students do not normally get to do until high school.
Before going into this twitter chat, I was very weary and confused on how this would actually work. Now that I’ve participated in one, it makes me pushed more towards conversing in another. It is a very easy and fun opportunity that really expands your PLN and allows you to get new routes of information.
