This school year, I am working on a very special project with two other educators in Manitoba, Mrs. Connie Lowe and Mrs. Devon Caldwell. We have been fortunate to receive support for our work from the MTS Reflective Professional Practice Grant. Our project is called Kids Who Code and it's all about helping our young learners develop coding skills.
So... what is coding? According to Code Conquest, "Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites. Your browser, your OS, the apps on your phone, Facebook ... they’re all made with code." Coding is what many of us call "computer science" or "computer programming" and we're excited to bring it to our classrooms.
So.. why teach coding? Personally, we feel that coding will help us develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in our young learners. Code.org asserts that, "Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path."
Kids Who Code project goals:
- explore coding tools with K-2 students
- provide opportunities for students to try coding, using a variety of tools
- get involved with the Hour of Code movement
- document our professional learning and our students' learning
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Fantastic project idea Devon and Leah!
ReplyDeleteI've created an Hour of Code group in Maple http://www.mapleforem.ca/pg/groups/12597/hour-of-code/ and will be adding resources for teachers the big event and beyond! Teachers can also collaborate and share their experiences in the group.
Looking forward to following along as you and your students learn to code!
John
Thanks John! We're really excited and so are our students. :)
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