I have fond memories of the first Hour of Code. My now G11 students were in G6/7 (I was teaching a combined class at the time) and their level of enthusiasm was high. While the code.org site was still in its infancy, the students were highly enthusiastic and rather than stop at the end of the lesson or carry on coding in isolation at home, several of them went down to the Apple Store at the local mall to continue coding there and filmed the experience. The code.org website always has been and always will be our strongest foundation for for Computer Science Education week. As our Computer Science program has grown, so too has our collection of resources and the way we think about CSEd week as a whole. If our goal is to get everyone coding, how can we do it? This is my top 5: 1. Run drop ins when we first started with the Hour of Code, we ran several open sessions for faculty and staff to come by the the library and be supported in completed the 'Angry Birds' coding activity. I fondly remember our MS Admin Assistant coming to play and then going home, calling her daughter in California and telling her all about it. Last year, our SS Digital Coach ran lunchtime coding sessions for MS students. This year, our PS librarians are running an after school coding session for PS students- they will be using Scratch to design holiday greeting cards. 2. TOYS! We have Beebots and Probots and Sphero and Dot and Dash. Encouraging younger students to code with hands-on tools is incredibly powerful and supports them in making explicit connections to their learning in math and the humanities (directional language and coordinates anyone?) and that leads me to my next suggestion... 3. Unplug With parent concerns around screen time, digital isolation and a desire for greater STEAM, schools have the opportunity to lead the way in modeling balance. The 'unplugged' coding lessons from code.org were something I had overlooked until they were pointed out to me at a free workshop last year (suggestion 3a; take a free code.org workshop). Unplugging provides more opportunities for collaboration, for students to make their thinking visible and to quickly, verbally and practically see and correct their errors. 4. Think about the why... This suggestion came from our Head of Research and Learning Design (she of sticky notes and colored dots.) Her suggestion was to pose a code related question- of the 'why code?' variety, rather than the 'what does this code mean?' variety- place a pile of sticky notes next to it and invite students to respond. Responses could then be shared in the school magazine, at assembly and through social media. It reminded me a bit of the 'opinion' polls they do at the Newseum- social voting. There's the potential there to ask different questions in different sections of the school or different questions every day, engaging students (and faculty) in some essential reflection around STEAM and programming. 5. Make it easy, make it fun
A few years ago, a colleague took all the coding resources we curated for CSEd week in a website that was shared with faculty, along with specific suggestions for their subject/ grade level. There was a very positive response and we have continued in their vein, with an updated website last year. It isn't possible to go it alone so pulling in other colleagues to help is essential- we love our librarians for this very reason. Making it easy, making it fun means that everyone has an entry point. This year, we will share resources with parents, if they want to HoC at home with their child, or if their child comes home talking about it, they have a reference point. Apple is also hosting Swift Playgrounds workshops in-store- expanding the resource bank and their engagement with the promotion of coding. Google has their CSFirst program- get students to run experiences from there... the list goes on. My final piece of advice is to make sure you thank teachers (and students and parents) for being involved and get their feedback. After all, CSEd week comes round every year- perhaps this is the year you get to take it beyond an week.
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About the AuthorPassionate about learning, creativity, innovation and tech. Brit Abroad keen to work with others to make the world a little kinder. Archives
April 2019
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