Johanna Emptage
Teacher of ICT
Teaching Kids to Code | EdSurge Guides. Every era demands--and rewards--different skills. In different times and different places, we have taught our children to grow vegetables, build a house, forge a sword or blow a delicate glass, bake bread, create a soufflé, write a story or shoot hoops. Now we are teaching them to code. We are teaching them to code, however, not so much as an end in itself but because our world has morphed: so many of the things we once did with elements such as fire and iron, or tools such as pencil and paper, are now wrought in code. We are teaching coding to help our kids craft their future. In this collection we share many different perspectives on coding, from a university professor's vantage point (MIT's Mitch Resnick describes why learning to code is like learning to learn) to an entrepreneur's reflections from his cross-country roadtrip to bring coding--and his stuffed dog--to classrooms across the U.S.
We should always teach children to bake bread, feed the goats and wield a hammer. Gamestar Mechanic. Tynker | Coding for kids. 15+ Ways of Teaching Every Student to Code (Even Without a Computer) According to Code.org, 90 percent of parents in the U.S. want their children to learn computer science—it will be crucial for many jobs in the near future—but only 40 percent of schools teach it.
Critics claim that it is mainly the more affluent schools that offer computer science courses, thus denying those who attend poorer schools the chance to learn necessary skills. A focus on STEM is not enough: Code.org also reports that while 70 percent of new STEM jobs are in computing, only 7 percent of STEM graduates are in computer science. It is imperative that savvy schools begin to focus some STEM resources on computer science and programming. In my opinion, parents of every student in every school at every level should demand that all students be taught how to code. They need this skill not because they’ll all go into it as a career—that isn’t realistic—but because it impacts every career in the 21st-century world. Any country recognizing that will benefit in the long term. Should every school class be a computer coding class? This spring, at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia, the fifth-grade Spanish class programmed computers to produce bilingual, animated photo albums.
The seventh-grade science class rejiggered the code behind climate models. The first-graders programmed robots to run mazes. And that’s just for starters. “We’d like everybody to be more comfortable with computer science, because it’s running our lives now, and because it enhances what’s possible in the classroom,” said Kim Wilkens, a technology teacher at St.
They’re not alone. One of the biggest challenges for computer science advocates is that many kids simply don’t see why coding matters, in a world of preloaded software and the vast resources of the Internet. While enrollment in Advanced Placement computer science, a Java coding course, has been growing rapidly, the numbers pale in comparison to most other STEM AP courses. But are stand-alone computer science courses enough? Of course, that’s easier said than done. 7 Apps for Teaching Children Coding Skills. It's hard to imagine a single career that doesn't have a need for someone who can code. Everything that "just works" has some type of code that makes it run. Coding (a.k.a. programming) is all around us. That's why all the cool kids are coding . . . or should be.
Programming is not just the province of pale twenty-somethings in skinny jeans, hunched over three monitors, swigging Red Bull. Not any more! The newest pint-sized coders have just begun elementary school. If you're concerned that that a) elementary school students don't have the ability to code, b) there's no room in the curriculum, and c) you don't possess coding chops to teach programming skills, throw out those worries. In no particular order, we have listed all the coding apps that are appropriate for young learners. GameStar Mechanic Platform: WebCost: $2 per student GameStar Mechanic teaches kids, ages 7-14, to design their own video games.
Scratch Platform: WebCost: Free! Tynker Platform: WebCost: Free! Move the Turtle. Teaching Kids to Code | EdSurge Guides. Teach Coding As Early as Possible. 4 Coding Apps For Kindergarten and Elementary School -- THE Journal. Teach Your Kids to Code: 6 Beginner's Resources for Parents. Introducing computer programming to your kids can be a challenge, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the nuances of code.
Fortunately, in the last few years, a number of apps, software, and guides have been produced that make the often-complex subject of computer coding easy to grasp for young learners. So where to begin? These are a few resources that parents can share with their kids to help them start learning about programming. Programming Tutorials From Made With Code by Google: Google's Made With Code project has a mission of encouraging girls to pursue careers in computer science.
The Made With Code projects are easy to follow, and if your kids are completely new to coding, don't fret. Inspiring Articles About Kids Learning to Code Still looking for some ideas? Coding Organizations for Kids For the non-coding parents, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Learn To Code, Code To Learn. Is it important for all children to learn how to write? After all, very few children grow up to become journalists, novelists, or professional writers. So why should everyone learn to write? Of course, such questions seem silly. People use writing in all parts of their lives: to send birthday messages to friends, to jot down shopping lists, to record personal feelings in diaries. I see coding (computer programming) as an extension of writing. The recent surge of interest in learning to code, reflected in sites like codecademy.com and code.org, has focused especially on job and career opportunities. But I see much deeper and broader reasons for learning to code.
Six years ago, my research group at the MIT Media Lab launched the Scratch programming language and online community in an effort to make coding accessible and appealing to everyone. We’ve been amazed with the diversity and creativity of the projects. Scratch community members also begin to see the world in new ways. Teaching Coding: Where Do You Start? EdSurge Newsletters Receive weekly emails on edtech products, companies, and events that matter. Soon after I wrote my last article on Edsurge “Where Does Tech-ed Belong in Edtech? ,” advocating for the need for computer science education, there was a surprising amount of activity in this area--from President Obama’s interview to the much talked about Code.org video. The timing of my article was purely coincidence, though I wish I could say otherwise! Now that we are warming up to the idea that we must teach computer science or programming or “coding” in our schools, the next question is “Where do you start?” The advocacy channels and computer science organizations (CSTA, NCWIT, CSEdWeek, Code.org) give a number of helpful links to curriculum guides, tools, online programming courses and much more.
I decided to look for a starting point based on what I have seen work again and again in my programming classes. While searching for this answer, I realized that it was actually obvious. 'Coding Nation' Chronicles 300 Ways to Pick Up Programming | EdSurge News. EdSurge Newsletters Receive weekly emails on edtech products, companies, and events that matter. How many ways can you learn to code? Try more than 100101100--or, in translation, more than 300. That's according to a report, "Coding Nation," fresh from the digital press at the Kapor Center for Social Impact. The accompanying spreadsheet lists 316 online and in-person programs categorized by: Bootcamps, Certification programs, Corporate-focused programs and Hackathons. New high-tech jobs are growing three times faster than the rest of the economy, notes the Kapor Center report.
Why not better understand "who/what/where ARE all of these programs working to expand our nation's computer programming skills? " The report has an introductory note and shout out to Globaloria from Jennifer Arguello, tech writer for NBC Latino.com and an advisor to the Kapor Center. A growing number of business leaders are urging American kids to learn to code. 10 places where anyone can learn to code. Teens, tweens and kids are often referred to as “digital natives.” Having grown up with the Internet, smartphones and tablets, they’re often extraordinarily adept at interacting with digital technology.
But Mitch Resnick, who spoke at TEDxBeaconStreet, is skeptical of this descriptor. Sure, young people can text and chat and play games, he says, “but that doesn’t really make you fluent.” Mitch Resnick: Let's teach kids to code Fluency, Resnick proposes in this TED Talk, comes not through interacting with new technologies, but through creating them. The former is like reading, while the latter is like writing. He means this figuratively — that creating new technologies, like writing a book, requires creative expression — but also literally: to make new computer programs, you actually must write the code.
The point isn’t to create a generation of programmers, Resnick argues. At Codecademy, you can take lessons on writing simple commands in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, Python and Ruby. Lessons Worth Sharing | TED-Ed. 27 Ways to Check Students Prior Knowledge. Lightbot. Hackety Hack! Learn | The Hour of Code. Dance Party Grades 2+ | Blocks Minecraft Hour of Code Make a Flappy game Star Wars: Building a Galaxy with Code Grades 2+ | Blocks, JavaScript Code with Anna and Elsa Write your first computer program Minecraft Hour of Code: AI for Good The Grinch: Saving Christmas with Code Grades 2-8 | Blocks Make Your Own Kodable Mazes Pre-reader - Grade 5 | JavaScript, Language independent (can be taught in multiple languages) codeSpark Academy with The Foos: Create Games Pre-reader - Grade 5 | Blocks Code Your Hero Lightbot Coding Town Grades 2-5 | JavaScript Kodable (pre-readers welcome) Pre-reader - Grade 5 | Blocks | All modern browsers, iPad app Create your own Google logo Grades 2+ | Blocks, Scratch Codesters: Basketball Grades 6+ | Python Box Island All ages | Blocks Gumball's Coding Adventure Grades 6-8 | Blocks, Scratch Imagine a World Moana: Wayfinding with Code Barbie You Can Be Anything Pre-reader - Grade 5 | Blocks, Tynker Code a Cartoon Animate a Name Learn to Code with Crossy Road Grades 9+ | Blocks Boat Race Candy Quest.
Symbaloo. SpeedyMarks. Stache - A smarter way to bookmark web pages for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Free programs to open any file extension! Raspberry Pi projects. Raspberry Pi. Coding Resources. Code Writing. Zoomable world map in Powerpoint for free - PowerPoint Prezi non linear presentation add-ons. Presenter Media - PowerPoint Templates, 3D Animations, and Clipart. Presentations ETC Homepage. Use these free backgrounds, templates, letters, frames, and buttons for school presentations, websites, class newsletters, digital scrapbooking, and student portfolios. Thousands of presentation elements and millions of combinations allow you to customize your school projects, electronic scrapbook, or eportfolio.
A friendly license allows teachers and students to use up to 50 items in a single, non-commercial project without further permission. Select from over 20,000 background slides for your next presentation. The images are available in the 1024x768 size. Extras Select from over 30,000 extras to include in your next presentation. Themes and templates. PowerPoint Templates, PowerPoint Slides and Presentation Icons. Microsoft PowerPoint Templates and Backgrounds | PowerPoint Themes. That's why we deliver only the very best premium PowerPoint templates to suit every need. From athletics to science and from people to religion, we offer the most comprehensive and usable database of Microsoft PowerPoint backgrounds you'll find anywhere on the web.
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Create, Engage, Assess through Mobile Devices. | Interactive Lessons | Mobile Learning | Apps for Education | iPads in the Classroom. DENSO WAVE. 51 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes to Support Learning - Google Slides. HOW TO: Make Your QR Codes More Beautiful.
Hamilton Chan is CEO and founder of Paperlinks. With the free Paperlinks iPhone app, featured previously by Apple as the #1 New & Noteworthy app, consumers can scan and view QR code content with a native app experience. Paperlinks also provides a powerful platform for generating QR codes, hosting content and tracking their performance. The QR code: A thing of beauty or an eyesore? The magical barcodes that can be scanned by a smartphone to launch an offline-to-online experience are often criticized for their black and white checkerbox appearance. Those who doubt that QR codes will go mainstream are quick to point out that the look of QR codes will deter marketers and advertisers from using them.
Fortunately, QR codes are malleable and can be redesigned in truly extraordinary ways, while still maintaining their scanability. 1. The easiest way to add branding power to your code is to add color to it. 2. One of the QR code’s greatest aesthetic flaws is its numerous hard edges. 3. 4. QR Codes In Education. How to Use QR Codes in Student Projects. Scannable bar codes may be just what you need to spark some student interest in your classroom - read on to learn how to use them to showcase your student work and give some life to your classroom's infographics. Last April ago I took a trip to Tokyo, Japan. One thing that really stood out to me there was the abundance of these scannable barcodes.
These things were everywhere - flyers, posters, billboards, even in advertisements on the sides of commercial vans. Over the past few months, I've watched these codes gain popularity in the United States (If you're from another part of the world, I would love to hear about the trends you've seen - leave a comment). The world as we know it is becoming scannable. So, what is a QR code? How do I make a QR code? My favorite way to create them is with bit.ly, a free URL shortener that now automatically creates QR codes for your shortened URLs. How can I use QR Codes with my students? Bibliography of student work Inspirational quote up in your classroom? QR Codes and Bottle Cap Fun! Technology is awesome because not only does it keeps students engaged, it's also usually pretty environment-friendly! So, I've decided to combine two fun items I've been incorporating in my classroom - QR codes and labeling bottle caps - to help students practice ordering fractions, multi-digit multiplication, and long division - just a few skills we're going over in fourth grade right now.
Let's start with ordering fractions: I made 8 bottle cap groups with six fractions in each group using Avery lables (1" circles 5410). And then, lo and behold, did you know you can make QR codes in Avery? On the left-hand tool bar, there is a button for making bar codes and QR codes. So, I made QR codes for the inside of the bottle caps.
Am I making sense? Now on to multi-digit multiplication and long division: I made 6 problems each, using the same Avery labels. Then, through the QR code button on the Avery website, I made QR codes with the answers to put on the inside of the caps. Happy QR coding! QR Code Math Task Cards. Ten Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom with Online Tutorials. QR Code Treasure Hunt Generator from classtools.net. Scratch. Mobile Apps for Education. K-8 Intro to Computer Science. Coding. Code Hunt. Code & Conquer. Education Apps – Eleven Apps for Coding on Tablets. 11 apps for coding: From beginners to masters.
Hour of Code: five steps to learn how to code. Ntrol, programming, gaming - Ipads in primary. QR Codes in Education on Pinterest. 50 QR code resources for the classroom. Foundations of Coding.