This week is Computer Science Education Week! In class, first graders participated in an Hour of Code. This is an hour dedicated to practicing simple coding concepts, to “demystify” coding and show students that anybody can learn the basics. Coding is basically telling a computer what to do. We watched the video below for a silly introduction into the idea behind coding. After that we discussed two different types of basic coding – block coding and directional coding. Block coding uses drag and drop blocks to tell a computer program what steps to follow. Directional coding uses arrows to tell a program how to move.
After we learned the basics, students got to explore with a wide variety of coding activities to practice block coding and directional coding. Students could choose between coding programs on their computer, iPad apps, OSMO (an iPad app that use tactile pieces to allow for hands-on engagement) or some of our classroom coding robots. Ms. Amy stopped by to visit us, too! We had so much fun trying out new coding skills and building simple programs! Students can use these programs at home by accessing our first grade Google Classroom and using the links under the heading “Hour of Code”. The students will get to experience even more coding practice tomorrow in STEM class!
