Week 10: New Tool- Code.org

 

What is Code.org? 

Code.org is a website designed with the purpose of bringing computer science into the classroom. The goal is to make coding more accessible for girls and underrepresented groups of students. This resource is free to use and designed for k-12 students, meaning that any teacher can utilize it in their classroom. Its best feature is that it is user friendly meaning that students can independently explore and work through the website. 

How does it work?

Teachers can create their free account and then either manually upload students or if they have it sync their roster with Clever. Once teachers have created their account they have a few options. Teachers can start by assigning students lessons or have students work on projects. There are a number of different courses that teachers can assign, I started with Course A, but it is based on what your class needs. Once students have been assigned lessons they can begin to work through them independently. The lessons are self-explanatory and allow students to work at their own pace which is great for differentiation. Teachers also have the ability to track students progress. Code.org allows teachers to see if a student completed the lesson and if they struggled at all. In addition to assigning students lessons there are also teachers resources. Within the teacher resources there are lessons plans that teachers can use to connect what the students are doing on their computers to real world examples. There are also vocabulary terms, standards mapping and a curriculum guide. The projects are another thing students can work on. Students can create different projects that allow them to work on websites and creating apps. Teachers can either assign projects or students can start one on their own. Code.org has a lot of great tools. Checking out the course catalog for how to use this website could be very helpful with implementation. 

How I use it in my classroom?

Code.org created the Hour of Code campaign, which calls for schools and teachers to dedicate time in their classroom for coding. Hour of Code takes places December 7th-13th. This is usually when I introduce Code.org to my students. We spend 20 minutes every day that week with uninterrupted coding time. I allow students to engage with each other and explore the different tools. At the end of each session students shared out what activities they liked. This usually helps inspire others by giving ideas for what they could work on the next day. After I introduce Code.org I offer it as an option on Free Friday (where students get a chance to pick a free choice activity). With my current schedule this is all I have time for, unfortunately. My goal in the coming years is to dedicate time each week for students to work on this program. Even though my students do not get a chance to work on it a lot, it has inspired some of them to begin working through the lesson independently because they enjoy it so much. 

Tips:

• Code.org offers pair programming. This allows students to work on the same computer, which could be helpful if you have limited access to technology in your room. Code.org can track individual students progress as well as partner progress.
• Take some of the free courses they offer. I am not someone who feels very comfortable with coding. Taking some of the courses allowed me to feel more confident in my abilities to teach coding to my students. 

How could it work in your classroom:

• Participate in Hour of Code
• Have students work on it during free choice time
• Have a chuck of time once (or more) a week dedicate to students working on their coding lessons. Some exposure is better than none. 
• Morning work 
• Assign a project. Students Ould use the App lab to create flash cards or a self quiz on a topic you have covered. Or they could use the Web Lab to create a digital book report or start a blog.