Every era demands--and rewards--different skills. In different times and different places, we have taught our children to grow vegetables, build a house, forge a sword or blow a delicate glass, bake bread, create a soufflé, write a story or shoot hoops. Now we are teaching them to code. We
Soon after I wrote my last article on Edsurge "Where Does Tech-ed Belong in Edtech?," advocating for the need for computer science education, there was a surprising amount of activity in this area--from President Obama's interview to the much talked about Code.org video. The timing of my article was
Summer's coming and for kids across the U.S., that means one thing: camp. And nothing beats the summer brain drain than learning to build things. No, not Popsicle stick houses and lanyards--we're talking code. Although they've been around since the late 70's, computer camps are seeing a surge of int
Music recitals, science fairs, walkathons and other events fill a school calendar. This year, Los Altos School District (LASD) added another type of school event to its calendar--a coding showcase and competition. On Friday April 26, in the Almond school multipurpose room, tables with laptops conn
Historically, the U.S. educational system has struggled to get young people excited by and involved with STEM-related fields, especially computer science,..
If you've got school-age kids, you know when they're working on reading and math. But if their homework includes loops, goto commands, and branches, don't be alarmed. They're probably learning to code, and that's a very good thing.
These coding programs and apps help students develop programming skills-and they're free Educators and stakeholders agree that computer science skills are some of the most in-demand skills in today's workforce, and encouraging students' interest in coding and computer programming in early grades can help foster interest in computer science as students enter college.
Digital learning specialist Anna Adam provides a quick overview of seven apps that are appropriate for teaching younger children one of the most critical 21st century skills: coding.
Learn to code in the comfort of your browser with video tutorials, programming challenges, and screencasts.
Learn programming with a multiplayer live coding strategy game for beginners. Learn Python or JavaScript as you defeat ogres, solve mazes, and level up. Open source HTML5 game!
Wouldn’t it be great if kids could play computer games that taught them how to analyze and strategize instead of just blasting away at space aliens and zombies? Puzzlets was developed by Pittsburgh-based startup Digital Dream Labs for ages 6 through 10. It’s designed to teach basic programming and coding skills and to make gameplay time educational as well as entertaining. “Ultimately, we want to transition kids from being consumers of technology and media to creators of technology and media,” said Digital Dream Labs co-founder Matt Stewart. 'We want to introduce kids in a fun and engaging way to topics that they’re going to need to learn or have an interest in.” Digital Dream Labs was founded by Mr. Stewart, Peter Kinney and Justin Sabo, who met while graduate students at Carnegie Mellon
