Coding: the smart future for our kids

Presenter: Chau AuCode Club Volunteer Facilitator

Bowen Library, Maroubra Junction

HSC and Education Forum@ State Library of NSWTuesday 08 March 2016

Hello! About me…• Currently studying B Education in Primary

Education at the University of Technology Sydney.

• Love playing around with computers & fixing them during school

• Still have interest in computer technology

• First learnt programming through database Filemaker Pro, MS Excel & HTML through Adobe Dreamweaver

• Never into action games and robotics as a child

• Love data entry and making movies

My journey…Where and how did I come across Code Club?

January 2015Wanting to find some volunteering experience around computers

How do I get Code Club started???I never used Scratch program before…

Term 2 (April 2015)– First Code Club• Full group of 11 kids• Most never coded before, a couple have used Scratch before• Had a IT library staff who assisted Code Club sessions• 9 weeks (found it too long) – preferrably 6-7 weeks.

What have I gained from this?

� More confident in facilitating & public speaking

� More knowledgeable about coding in Scratch as visual language

� Build a great relationship with the kids

� How fun and interesting coding is

� How important coding is for the future

� How running an after-school program is so fun

� How to overcome challenges in running Code Club

Sustainability with Continuation

� Continuous support

� Ongoing volunteering

� Getting more volunteers on board!

� Getting more kids an opportunity to code

� Professional learning experience

� Evaluating and reflecting on my facilitation

� Shifting methods of running Code Club

Structure of running Code Club in library settingHow did I run Code Club?What resources were available?Number of students and types of students?

Curriculum structure & resource projects from Code Club

2015 Code Club Terms

� Term 2 - 2015� Scratch 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #1 = 11 kids

� Term 3 - 2015� Scratch 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #2 = 11 kids� Scratch 2 (Continuers) – Cohort #1 = 9 kids

� Term 4 - 2015� Scratch 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #3 = 15 kids� Scratch 2 (Continuers) – Cohort #2 = 9 kids

� Term 1 – 2016� Scratch 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #4 = 20 kids� Scratch 2 (Continuers) – Cohort #3 = 14 kids

Future terms

� Term 2 - 2016� Scratch 2 (Continuers) – Cohort #4� Python 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #1 = Scratch cohorts 1-3

� Term 3 - 2016� Python 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #2 = Scratch cohort #4� Python 2 (Continuers) – Cohort #1

� Term 4 – 2016� Scratch 1 (Beginners) – Cohort #5� Python 2 (Continuers) – Cohort #2

Resources� Computer training room – 11 desktop computers

� Used Scratch offline version

� Printed booklets of each set project each week (in B&W)

� Max. 11 students for Term 2 & 3

� Introduced BYO laptops in Term 4 with the new cohort group doing Scratch 1 (Beginners)

� Increased numbers to max. 15

� Increased numbers to max. 20 this Term

Kind of students� Receive registration forms from parents

� Mixed boys and girls

� Most never experienced coding before

� A couple were highly experienced with other coding language but not Scratch

� A few kids are from non-English speaking backgrounds

� A couple of kids with a learning difficulty or a condition requiring additional needs (undisclosed – don’t need to know).

� Kids that want to learn, have fun and enjoy.

Demo

The kids!! Their experiences & case studies

Survey responses from T3, S1(B)

Survey responses from T4, S1(B)

General comments

Case study #1: Confidence Amy, Brendan & Leo - dynamics

� Amy, 9 & Brendan, 8� Was not very confident in the

first couple of weeks

� Working on a slower pace from others

� Became more confident & fast over the Term

� Leo, 10� Over-confident with completing

scratch projects early

� Likes to challenge

� Providing additional projects as extension set a higher challenge

� Peer-to-peer assistance

Case study #2: FreedomJenny and Dom – parent expectation & no fear of failure

� Jenny, 10� Fear of making mistakes

� Keeps asking if she was coding correctly in each step before continuing

� Over the Term, she learns to make her mistakes .

� Dom, 10� Parents had very high expectation

from Code Club in the beginning

� Was pushed to code as fast as he is expected to and complete everything within the session

� He was given the space & time to work on the project at his own choice of pace over the Term

Case study #3: Problem-solvingPhillip and Tiara – dependent to independent

� Phillip, 11� Was very dependent on following the

leader’s instruction step by step at the beginning. Had bugs and issues with program without solving issue himself

� Through the middle of the Term, he worked through the project on his own and use problem-solving skills to fix an issue on his own

� Tiara, 10� Always put her hand up to ask to fix

something for her� Did not know how to problem-solve

something – lack of attention & human error

� In the last few projects, she was able to solve on own without asking any help!

How does coding benefit a child?

� Knowing how to carefully follow instructions

� Become confident & engaging

� Problem-solving issues on their own

� Learn coding language and skills from very foundation level

� Inspire them to pursue digital technology & computer science subjects in future years of schooling school

� See how coding works with current games and app they play or use

� How coding is important for their future in the digital age

Possible implications

� Resources

� Interest of students in coding & content

� Not following instructions affecting concentration and attention level

� Physical environment – how small or big the room is

� Knowledge and understanding of computer literacy & coding terms

� Not enough time to explain computer jargons & concepts

� Facilitation style – lead-directed vs. student-to-student

� Number of volunteers

Before I conclude…

� Consider setting up Code Club at your local library

� Program or be programmed

� Network with Code Club Australia & other organisations

� Develop professional knowledge with coding. Using Scratch is a great start

� Promote STEM learning: robotics, 3D printing, drones, programming.

� Invest in books and resources around computer science and coding

� Learn as you go, play as you go, enjoy as you go. Have a go!