Code.org created something ingenious. The plethora of learn it yourself fun game-like software design programs have created this bite-sized introductions and made it available for free on their website the week of December 8-14.
How do you take part?
Librarians from Beaver County attended an inservice last week and learned all about Scratch Programming – just one of the ‘introductions’ available on Code.orgs web site. Stop by your library and spend an hour on the website completing the Scratch holiday card for a certificate, badge, or your name on a leader board.
Schools across the world (yes – WORLD!) are offering students a window of an hour of instruction to get them excited about computer programming. Baden Academy has every student K-5 popping into the media lab to try their hands at making an Angry Bird flap through a maze, or an electric circuit reach a light bulb, to create a card in Scratch, their first mobile app in App Inventor, a database in SQL,Visit CSEDWEEK.ORG for links to the most incredible opportunities that await.
Grow a Generation is offering a free Scratch Animator White Belt in Honor of the Hour of Code. Click the Link, do your hour, create your card and submit it to earn a virtual white belt, receive a certificate, and start your own Grow a Generation online portfolio. This is a good alternative to schools with limited bandwidth. Scratch 1.4 can be downloaded to computers and tutorials watched as a class.
Not sure how to teach programming? These tutorials on Code.org and GrowaGen are made to use in groups. As a teacher/coach, your role is to encourage:
Tell students, “Ask 3 then me.” Ask 3 classmates, and if they don’t have the answer, then ask the teacher.
Encourage students and offer positive reinforcement: “You’re doing great, so keep trying.”
It’s okay to respond: “I don’t know. Let’s figure this out together.” If you can’t figure out a problem, use it as a good learning lesson for the class: “Technology doesn’t always work out the way we want. Together, we’re a community of learners.” And: “Learning to program is like learning a new language; you won’t be fluent right away.“
Parents, teachers and librarians who have students who want to go deeper after Code week are welcome to contact me for help developing meaningful projects that enable your favorite young people develop skills in programming games, robots, and engineering projects.
I live in the intersection of mathematics (originally trained as a math teacher), a business owner, a parent, and a theologian exploring what brings meaning to life. My passion is for every child in our world to thrive. I believe the most important resource each child has is you, their parent. May we together Grow a Generation that of innovative, critical thinking collaborators, emotionally intelligent and resilient, with great leadership and vision.
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