Coding Resources - Divided by Type & Age Specific

A recent Time article worth reading, Why Basic Coding Should Be a Mandatory Class in Junior High http://time.com/2881453/programming-in-schools/

Coding Resources

The list below contains coding resources. They are divided into different categories, have a short description along with the website link, and the recommended age level.

BEGINNERS

On the computer:

Code.org--Learn the basic concepts of Computer Science with drag and drop programming. 15-25 hours of "unplugged" classroom activities interspersed with game-like, self-directed tutorials starring video lectures by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies. Learn repeat-loops, conditionals, basic algorithms, functions, and variables. US students earn awesome prizes for completing all stages!

Age level: 6-106 | Modern browsers, tablets

http://learn.code.org/

Tynker--Tynker makes it fun & easy to learn programming. It makes it visual. Kids build games and mobile apps by arranging blocks of code. It removes the need to know programming syntax. Kids transform ideas into animated stories and math art right away. It promotes progressive learning. As kids learn fundamentals, Tynker introduces more advanced concepts including syntax driven programming.

Age level: 5-13 | Modern web browsers

http://www.tynker.com

Scratch--With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share your creations with others in the online community. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century. Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is provided free of charge.

Age level: 8+ | Any browser

http://scratch.mit.edu/

On an iPad OR Android tablet:

LightBot--Learn core programming logic, starting from super-basic programming, for ages 4+, on iOS or Android (or Web browser) . Learn how to sequence commands, identify patterns, use procedures, and utilize loops!

Age level: Elementary or All ages | iOS, Android (or web browser)

http://light-bot.com/

Cargobot Two Lives Left--Cargo-Bot is a puzzle game where you teach a robot how to move crates. Sounds simple, right? It features 36 fiendishly clever puzzles, haunting music and stunning retina graphics. You can even record your solutions and share them on YouTube to show your friends.

Age level: 8+ iPad

http://twolivesleft.com/CargoBot/

Kodable-- is a free educational iPad game offering a kid-friendly introduction to programming concepts and problem solving. For kids ages 5 and up, and tools for grownups too!

Age level: 5+ iPad

http://www.surfscore.com/

Hopscotch--looks a lot like Scratch and Tynker and uses similar controls to drag blocks into a workspace, but it only runs on the iPad. The controls and characters are not as extensive as Scratch and Tynker, but Hopscotch is a great tool to begin helping students without coding experience learn the basics of programming, logical thinking and problem solving. Age level: 9+ https://www.gethopscotch.com/

Learn JavaScript

KhanAcademy--Learn the basics of JavaScript programming while creating fun drawings with your code. Do it on your own or with your class!

Age level: Middle school + | Modern Web browsers

Codecademy--is an interactive, student-guided introduction to the basics of CS through JavaScript that's used by tens of millions of students around the world. We've prepared a no-hassle Hour of Code experience with accompanying quizzes, slides, and a completed project for students at the end.

Age level: High school | Modern web browsers or iPad

http://www.codecademy.com/

CodeHS--Learn the basics of programming with Karel the Dog, a fun, accessible and visual introduction to coding, where giving commands to a computer is just like giving commands to a dog. This tutorial is great if led by a teacher, but can also be done independently.

Age level: High school | Modern browsers

http://codehs.com/

Learn to Code Websites

Code Avengers--Learn how to program games, apps and websites. Designed by experts with perfect level of difficulty for beginners, easy to understand instructions and great help when you need it. Our HTML, CSS and JavaScript courses include code challenges and revision games that make learning fun and effective for all ages.

Age level: Middle school + | Modern Web browsers

http://www.codeavengers.com/

Other Programming Languages

**Note some require an install to desktop

Grok Learning--An introductory course using the programming language Python for people with no programming experience. Our unique mix of introductory content and challenges will bring you to a thorough understanding of Python and programming itself. We've taught this content to students of varying ages from diverse backgrounds and we're sure it'll suit you too.

Age level: Middle school + | Modern web browsers

https://groklearning.com/

RoboMind Academy--Students learn the basics of programming by controling their own virtual robot. The online course is fully self-contained with short presentations, movies, quizzes and automatic guidance/hints to help with the programming exercises.

Age level: 8-13 | Modern web browsers, Mobile web

http://www.robomindacademy.com/

**KidsRuby--Have fun and make games, or hack your homework using Ruby! Just tell your parents or teachers you're learning Ruby programming... ;). Free and works on any computer. [Note: Desktop install required]

Age level: 12+ | Desktop install

http://www.kidsruby.com/

**Learn Ruby--Hackety Hack will teach you the absolute basics of programming from the ground up. No previous programming experience is needed! With Hackety Hack, you'll learn the Ruby programming language. Ruby is used for all kinds of programs, including desktop applications and websites. [Note: Desktop install required]

Age level: High school | Desktop install

http://hackety.com/

**Alice--Using an innovative programming environment to support the creation of 3D animations, the Alice Project provides tools and materials for teaching and learning computational thinking, problem solving, and computer programming across a spectrum of ages and grade levels. In Alice's interactive interface, students drag and drop graphic tiles to create a program, where the instructions correspond to standard statements in a production oriented programming language, such as Java, C++, and C#. 

Age level: Middle school, Desktop install

http://www.alice.org/index.php 

Build an iPhone game in your browser

MakeGamesWithUs--Know some ObjectiveC? Learn to make an iPhone game in an hour! We'll guide you through the process, to code, test, and play your game entirely in the browser and then share it on Facebook for friends to try! No prior iPhone development experience is required. You must understand what variables, methods, and objects are.

Age level: High school | Modern Web browsers

http://www.makegameswith.us/

LearnStreet--Get started with a free beginner course in Python, JavaScript or Ruby

Age level: High school + | Modern browsers

http://www.learnstreet.com/

Make your own apps

AppInventor--MIT Center for Mobile Learning @ The Media Lab--Entertaining, video tutorials walk you through building three simple apps for your Android phone or tablet. Designed for novices and experts alike, this hour of code will get you ready to start building your own apps before you know it. Imagine sharing your own app creations with your friends! These activities are suitable for individuals and for teachers leading classes.

Age level: Middle school + | Modern browser + Android

http://appinventor.mit.edu/

TouchDevelop--TouchDevelop lets you create apps on iPad, iPhone, Android, PC, Mac, Windows Phone. Our touch-friendly editor makes coding fun, even on your phone or tablet!

Age level: High school | Modern browsers, smartphones, all devices

https://www.touchdevelop.com/

Codea Two Lives Left--Codea for iPad lets you create games and simulations — or just about any visual idea you have. Turn your thoughts into interactive creations that make use of iPad features like Multi-Touch and the accelerometer. We think Codea is the most beautiful code editor you'll use, and it's easy. Codea is designed to let you touch your code. Want to change a number? Just tap and drag it. How about a color, or an image? Tapping will bring up visual editors that let you choose exactly what you want.

Age level: High school + | iPad

http://twolivesleft.com/Codea/

Learning Along With & From Our Students

Fisher Price Blue Bird Music Box

When I was a baby, I had a Fisher Price Blue Bird Music Box hanging on my crib. I would pull the red string on it, and it would play a little song to help me fall asleep. Being a bit nostalgic, I searched online to find one of these so I could use with Gia, my little toddler. They don't make these anymore, so it was hard to find one, but I finally did thanks to the internet and Etsy! It was used and in good shape, and now it's hanging on Gia's crib. The only little flaw it had was that when I pulled the string, the song would play only part of the song. No big deal, though. It was still so cute, and I was so happy to have it for Gia.

Something really cool happened this past weekend having to do with the Blue Bird. What happened was my almost two-year-old daughter taught me something for the first time! Now, I know I’ve learned things like life lessons from having my daughter, but this was different. She literally taught me something totally new about something I thought I already knew all about. When Gia woke up that morning, I did what I normally do. I walked to her room, opened her bedroom door, and saw her little face light up with a smile when she saw me. Before picking her up out of her crib, we started playing with the Blue Bird. I pulled the string once, and it played only part of the song, like normal. Then, Gia started playing with it and I was just watching her. She started pulling the string, and instead of pulling it just once, she started pulling it about five or six times in a row. Initially I thought, "Woah; please don’t break it" but, I didn't stop her though. I just let her do it. Then she stopped pulling and the song started playing. But, instead of stopping part way through, the song kept playing. The song played the whole way through! My eyes opened wide and I was smiling SO BIG! I was so happy! Because she pulled the string a bunch of times, it made the entire song play. My happiness came not so much because the song played through, but more-so because I was so proud that my little girl taught me something I didn't know before.

After Gia taught me this new little thing, it made me think of so much afterwards....

• It made me think that accidents can turn out to be successes.

• It made me think that I might have missed the lesson if I had stopped her from pulling the string over and over so many times (which was my first instinct, but I stopped myself).

• It made me think that children have so many abilities that we need to allow them to discover and amaze us with.  

• It made me think that if we put children in the "drivers seat" more often, I think we would be so surprised at what they could teach us.

• It made me think of teaching and that we can be ok with learning along with our students especially in this culture of technology which is essentially "their world". We can be ok when learning goes past what we may know and be confident enough to embrace the students who may know more about something than us, and not hold them back. There is so much to learn and understand and we can choose to go along this amazing path together with our students.

• And, it inspired me to write this blog post. :)

EdCafe - "Students in Charge of Their Corner of the Universe"

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the spring EdCamp Chicago this year held at Palatine High School. It was such a fun professional development opportunity! If you haven't attended an EdCamp, they are referred to as an "unconference" because it's a conference that is participant driven. The sessions are not pre-determined by someone else. They are created that same day by the people who attend. People volunteer session ideas and the ideas get plugged into a schedule grid for the day. After the schedule is complete, you choose what you want to go to. The hard part is choosing because there end up being so many great ideas!! Once you get to the session, you along with everyone there can participate. If you volunteered a session idea, you may end up leading the group discussion, but you don't have to have anything prepared ahead of time. You'll find as the session gets going, people will share things they know about the topic, ask questions about it that maybe someone else knows, and it goes from there! It's just awesome being with people who are interested in learning about the same topic as you. 

Because I'm such a fan of the EdCamp model, I was super excited to hear about one particular session idea! The session idea was on having EdCamp in the classroom, or an  #EdCafe. Brilliant! This session was volunteered and led by Katrina Kennett. I loved it! 

Here's a great explanation for What is an EdCafe (more info found HERE): 

An EdCafe is a way to structure class that promotes student choice and ownership over learning. 

The model was inspired by EdCamp conferences, where participants build the schedule and choose what sessions to attend. 

This bottom-up approach shifts energy, engagement, and opportunity for exploration to the students, and transforms the teacher into expert facilitator instead of gatekeeper/manager.

So, what you'll need to have an EdCafe in your classroom: 

• a class of students and a space to work with them
  (12-15students works well with three corners, 15-23
  with four corners, 24+ students use the center of the room too)
• a way to make and see the schedule
  (a piece of paper on an overhead, a whiteboard and markers, or a projected Google Doc)
• a topic / theme / text / stage in the writing process
  (ex. WWII, Leaders as Behavior Monsters, 1984, thesis statements)

There can even be corners designated to where the students are at in a project they're working on. For example: stuck, confident, finished, beginning. The possibilities are endless!

Video: "Students in charge of a corner of their universe"

5 Stages of a Twitter User -- Weekly Twitter Chats

Learning through Twitter will become a part of your life (like breathing).

Twitter has become one of my favorite PLN's for education. Connecting with other amazing educators, learning from each other, and getting inspired by each other, has never been so easy. It really is a whole new world of learning. Beyond following amazing educators and learning from each other, each week there are opportunities to join chats on Twitter. These chats are moderated by different individuals, focus on a different topic, and they run for an hour. If you're using Twitter or the Twitter app on your computer, phone, or tablet, you search (# discover) the specific #hashtag for the specific chat (chat list below). You can also use something like Tweetdeck to customize columns for the chat #hashtag. Then you can view the questions posted by the moderator, share your answers to the questions, and read everyone's responses as well. Using Twitter chats for learning is an exciting way to have educational discussions, and you put professional development in your own hands. I can bet that after joining a chat, you will take away something useful from it, whether it makes you think about something a little bit more, makes you want to try something new, or get inspired about something that interested you.

Below is a great list of all the Twitter chats going on all week long! Choose what and when you want to learn. The benefits from joining the chats with so many educators from all over, who are interested in the same topic that you are as well -- are endless!

Weekly Twitter Chats List