As you think about how you currently are or how you might in the future teach Computer Science using any of the code.org or Code Studio resources, what’s your plan?
Share with us:
What are your goals for your classroom? How will CS or code.org resources help you meet those goals?
What are you most excited about when it comes to implementing some of these resources?
What challenges do you forsee in trying to meet your goals?
What questions do you have that this community might help you answer?
After posting your initial plan, feel free to revisit this thread in the future to update us on how things are going!
This was my first year teaching Code Studio to 565 2nd - 5th graders! in science lan We had a blast!! Did it go perfectly? Of course not! But we did it and I have learned alot.
Next school I am working on getting a more concrete schedule for teaching it in my lab. That year I just kind of planned weekly for it. Time issues is always a hurdle for me since I am also require to teach other lab topics in my lab. Anyone else there teaching Code Studio is a similar setting?? Would love to hear your success stories.
I can totally relate to the time issue piece. Jockeying for lab time can be so difficult. I used to sign up for an entire marking period at once just to ensure I had time blocked off in advance, whether I used it or not.
I taught some portion of Code.org’s Course 1 - 3 to all 577 of my K - 8 students. I was trying to come up with a strategy to scaffold the courses so they are not repeating the content from year to year. I believe I came up with a plan, but we will see how it changes as we move into this next school year. Here is my plan that I started and hope to continue this year.
K - Start Course 1
1 - Finish Course 1 (if complete, create activity or find supplemental activity on Code Studio)
2 - Start Course 2
3 - Finish Course 2 (if complete, create activity or find supplemental activity on Code Studio)
4 - Start Course 3
5 - Finish Course 3 (if complete, create activity or find supplemental activity on Code Studio)
6 - Start and Finish Course 4
7 - CS in Science program
8 - CS in Algebra program
This will be my 1st time doing code studio in the classroom. I am using it as a way to extend the content we are learning in my advanced classes. I am most concerned about time and making sure that all of my students have the access they need to complete activities as the internet sometimes runs slow.
Goals for the classroom include a positive learning environment for all that is focused on 21st Century Skills. I am most excited about the new features in the teacher dashboard and the drill down function with complete students data and their actual solutions for each problem. That’s a big WOW, Thank you. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the same ol’ challenge… ! Have you noticed the higher level thinking skills and colors and variety added to Course s 1-3 - thanks so much! Share what is new to you.
I am excited to bring these resources to the teachers in my district. We have been involved with code.org, but teachers have mainly been using it for the hour of code. I hope to bring more of the unplugged learning activities and integrating a more cross-curricular approach so that more can be motivated to bring CS into their classroom in a more consistent way.
I am excited to be training teachers throughout my region in the coming year. I already have a commitment from one major school district which is starting an elementary computer coding club. The Code.Org resources were key in the district deciding to embark upon this new initiative.
This will be my first year teaching CS in Science and CS in Algebra. I’m teaching them in my literacy class and as an extension with my advanced math class. My goals are to make it through each program and become more comfortable with the programming side of the curriculum. The resources are a way to help me get more comfortable with planning. I’m most excited about trying something new and seeing how my students connect with the curriculum. As with all new things, there will be a learning curve for me and my students. Challenges in math will happen when we’re trying to work on math that isn’t covered in 7th grade. I’ll have to preview this ahead prep my students ahead of time. Questions I have are for if anyone has taught CS in Algebra in 7th grade, how did you address the information that hit standards above the 7th grade level? What are some approaches that allow the students to still be successful?
I want to use code.org to excite my students. My goal is to challenge my students but not to push them to frustration. I plan on putting my students in buddy groups so that they can at least ask for help immediately. I have found when students have someone to talk to they are less likely to get frustrated and give up. I am excited that I will be able to go back and see the students solution so I can see their mistakes and I can plan on how to show the student the best way to solve the puzzle. My only concern is time restraints. I wish that I could spend more time on this program but I feel like I am going to be limited. I don’t have any questions at this point but I’m sure they will arise and it is a nice feeling that I have this forum to return back to and possibly get my questions answered.
I will have 14 students who will be attending 4th or 5th grade next year. They will be coming from multiple school districts and will have varying backgrounds. They will have four days of 8 hours each day to learn about coding. I want to give them the most valuable experience possible.
I really like these resources and for 8 hour days, the Unplugged activities are wonderful. The students will need to get up and get moving frequently during the day.
My biggest challenge will be how to deal with different levels and backgrounds of students. I will supplement Code.org with Scratch and two Arduinos just to make sure that everyone is progressing.
Goals: To introduce code.org to my teachers in my building. By allowing them to explore the resources during our training, they will be able to not only understand the “side effects” of learning code, they will understand the impact.
I’m most excited to see the kids excitement. After teaching it to my class last year, I know that they will all find an area that they enjoy the most. Some will like gaming. Some will like the art. Some will like the story telling. And others will enjoy mastering the art of coding.
The challenges I foresee is understanding from the district level that this curriculum is important enough to implement. This isn’t just “fun”…this has meaning.
In my 7th and 8th grade Programming class, I have used Code.org as a supplemental language in the past. I teach Small Basic, Scratch, and Alice (if we have time). I hadn’t known about the Answer Viewer before. I think this is a fabulous addition to Code.org. Having this and the ability to see exactly what students have tried to do with the solution will allow me to use Code.org for an additional assessment tool. As for challenges, I feel that some students will try to jump around and only do what they think is fun.
My programming course is usually during the spring which is also when I’m usually booted out of my room due to state testing. I will be out for about 4 weeks.
My plans are to teach CODE after Thanksgiving break for 3 weeks before we go into winter break. The students will learn to do the coding as we work together as a class and with partners. Some of the puzzles will be a challenge but overall it will help my students understand algebra more and also it helps explore word problems more as well.
The goals for my classroom continues to be exposure to more CS elements within the curriculum. Although I don’t directly work with the K-2 students, I am hoping to encourage the classroom teachers to expose them over the course of the year to the Code Studio lessons. In the upper grades, I am looking at Code Studio as a great kick start to even more CS projects / activities.
I was lucky enough to implement code.org K-8 this past school year. For the upcoming year, I am hoping to add a collaboration with the math teacher to incorporate CS for Algebra. I am also working out some kinks in a classroom management system that will allow the students to work at their own pace, but still get the benefit of the unplugged lessons.
What are your goals for your classroom?
My goal is to partner with teachers and model teaching Code.org Course 1 to first grade students.
How will CS or code.org resources help you meet those goals?
I will integrate the unplugged lessons with curriculum activities and have students to demonstrate understanding through code.
What are you most excited about when it comes to implementing some of these resources?
I am most excited about teaching real world skills to students while at an early age. This will give them a career option to consider as they grow through their academic years.
What challenges do you foresee in trying to meet your goals?
My challenge will be working with teachers who are not confident enough to give it a try.
What questions do you have that this community might help you answer?
What has been your experience with resistant teachers and how did you deal with them?
I am ready to launch a program for kindergarten through fifth grade in computer science and coding using code.org as part of the the curriculum along with ScratchJr and Scratch 2.0. My goals are to expose each of the students to the concepts and practices in computer programming. I also want them to realize that in today’s world, coding underlies many of the tools and services that we use, therefore coding jobs have become very important.
I am happy to find this well-organized collection of resources from which I can draw to create a complete program for our students.
I have two big challenges to overcome. The first is convincing the administration and faculty that coding is valuable enough that we need to carve out time for it in our program. The schedule is already packed full of classes and events and I am not sure how they will fit this in. Second, we have just dismantled our computer labs and gone to 1:1 iPads for grades JK to 8. That means that it will be tricky to find enough laptops in one place to teach a class. The students will definitely have to use the “pair programming” model.
How have other school added coding to their curriculum? I have been told we need to integrate lessons into what the students are already learning (language, math,science) and while I can see how the thinking practices can transfer to other areas, I do think that at the beginning, coding must be taught as just coding. If not, it is like asking students to write a story or build an animation in a language they have never used before.
This will be my first year to teach CS to my 2nd graders. I would like to work with my TRT to help me teach Course 2. I hope to have access to my computer lab weekly and use our class computers to supplement. I am very excited to give my students this great learning opportunity. I also would be interested in starting a Computer Science club after school or next summer.
This will be my first year using Code.org. I will be teaching 7th Grade Accelerated Math and plan on using this program weekly in the computer lab or as a station in my classroom to supplement my curriculum. I will have 7 computers in my classroom so it will be very easy to make this one of the stations the students will work on during guided math.
! Have you noticed the higher level thinking skills and colors and variety added to Course s 1-3 - thanks so much! Share what is new to you.