Binary Code - week 6

Binary code is a number system, similar to the decimal system except that it represents numbers to base 2 rather than base 10. This has taken me a while to understand! To try to get my head around it I watched many tutorials on youtube on how to go from a base 10 number (using the numbers 0-9, our normal everyday number system) to a base 2 number (using only the numbers 0 and 1). I even played binary number games online (which are very addictive!). Once I got that figured out I then thought, why? Why do we need to teach this in a classroom, isn't this just for people wanting to program computers, wanting to create games, apps, robots, and then I realised I had just answered my own question.......

Once again I headed to Youtube. I found a great TED talk by Dr Marina Bers (you can view it below) on how creative expression for children is now not only found in the playground but also through using their imaginations to created things and become not just consumers but producers. She says coding is the new literacy.

This is why we need to teach binary numbers in our classroom today! All information in a computer is stored and transmitted as sequences of bits, or binary digits. A bit is a single piece of data which can be thought of as either zero or one.

Binary numbers are how computers talk! 

But 'Computers are just one of many technologies that use the binary number system — zeros and ones — to convey information. All ‘digital’ technology, such as CDs, mobile phones, fiber optics, and satellite communications use binary numbers. We now live in a digital world, and the most important digits are 1 and 0' (Lord, 2011) Binary code is just the start, we are teaching our children how technology can be manipulated to produce amazing things.

How would I teach binary numbers in a classroom? I found a blog post on how one mother taught her sons class about binary code which I thought was a nice simple way to get started. It explains about base 10 and base 2 systems using basic principals and props. You can see this post here.

I was then asked to come up with a game using binary numbers. After asking for help I came up with this game which would probably be used in a classroom of year 5-6.

Binary Numbers Game:

Needed:

• Three groups of 8 (two groups if class is smaller)
• Three sets of 8 cards with the number 1 on one side and 0 on the other.
• Headbands with large binary numbers on them (1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128)
• Jar with numbered cards in it from 1-255

Place each group in a line  facing the teacher with their binary number headbands on in order from smallest to largest number.

Have another student pull out a number (up to 255) from a jar and hold it up so students can see.

The first group to write the binary number with their 1/0 cards wins.

I definitely think there is a place for teaching binary code in the classroom. Not only is it teaching children about coding which is going to become vital in our future world but it also teaches basic maths components.

Reference:

Lord, M., 2011. Bits and Binary, retrieved from http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/bits-binary/