Coding for Kids

"Next week, students at 155,000 events around the world will learn their first Hour of Code, jumping into a field that can change the rest of their lives!"

~from an email from Hour of Code.org 

Truth is that coding is quickly becoming one of education's fastest growing trends. It doesn't matter if you teach kindergarten or high level computer science courses, there is definitely something for everyone in the subject of teaching coding. Join in with thousands of educators around the globe during the Hour of Code during the week of December 7-13.  Or better yet, use these resources and activities ongoing all year long. Your students (and our future generations) will thank you!

*Sign up for "Hour of Code" and find free resources for participating in this annual celebration for any age level: https://hourofcode.com 

Then, visit code.org and sign up your class or school for the many free lessons for teaching coding to kids. If you sign in, you can track your students' progress and watch them progress through the levels. 

View an archived Wednesday Webinar from Heidi Rethmeier on Preparing for Hour of Code:

Coding for Kids Resources

https://sites.google.com/site/visionsbyvicky/handouts/cue-2015
http://teachwithict.weebly.com/computing-blog/strategies-and-resources-to-support-the-teaching-of-computational-thinking#sthash.oRnKuTJJ.dpbs

Primary Coding Adventures

An iTunes U course with many video explanations for primary classroom on how to move from learning to code to coding to learn. 

The Key(note) to Coding

This foundation course gets kids familiar with instructional language and cause & effect decision-making... all with Apple's free Keynote software!

Coding and Robotics for K-5 with Dash and Dot - Lesson Ideas using Dash and Dot programmable robots

From Clueless to Coding by Megan Ryder - Multi-Touch book on how one educator set up and developed a summer game design class for students grades 3-8.

Websites for Coding

• Scratch
• Tynker

Apps for Coding

• Kodable
• Daisy the Dinosaur
• The Foos
• Hopscotch
• CargoBot
• Scratch, Jr. 
• Tickle (see additional resources below)

Coding with Tickle

https://www.tickleapp.com/en-us/hour-of-code/parrot_drone/

Lesson 1: Intro to Flying

Lesson 2: Flying Time, Speed, and Distance

Lesson 3: Fly in a Square and Triangle

Lesson 4: Pilot a Drone using Motion Sensors

Programming a Quadcopter with Tickle (Time, Speed, and Distance lesson)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dup4FrqXUko

Programming a mini-drone and Sphero interactively

Learn to Code with Sphero

http://www.sphero.com/education

Lesson Plans for Sphero

The Martian: Sphero Edition is a free course available for anyone with the iTunes U app. Your students can learn about the Mars Rover as they complete challenges with the Sphero.