Coding

What is coding?
Coding (also known as computer programming) is giving a computer step-by-step
instructions, which result in the production of something.

How to use coding:

Coding traditionally is created using text or programming language. Many programs for
teaching code today use Blockly. Blockly uses visual blocks that represent coding that a
person can drag and drop to interlock to make programs.

Why should coding be used in the classroom?

Students are surrounded by coding every day. Watching a YouTube video, sending
text messages, and creating a webpage all involve coding. Almost everything with
a plug or battery uses code.
With technology advancing, there are expected to be a large number of jobs
involving the use of coding in the future.
The earlier students learn coding, the more comfortable they will become with it.
Coding involves logical thinking, problem solving, persistence, collaboration, and
communication.
Coding teaches students how to understand computers and will help in creating a
population of technology producers rather than just technology consumers.
Coding can be integrated into other subject areas such as math, writing and
science.

Ideas and ways coding can be implemented in the classroom:

Code.org has a number of lesson plans on this website that are geared towards
elementary, middle and high school.
Students can use coding to explore motion and look blocks with the scratch
website. Students then write their own story that reflects the product they created.
There are a variety of lesson ideas for grade levels available on the Teachers
Learning Code website that connect to different subject areas.
Students can create computer games as an end of unit project that integrate ideas
and concepts learned throughout a unit.
The RM Unify Blog has a lesson plan involving coding where students can write
a good luck letter to their favorite Olympian and use coding to fly a helicopter
showing the good luck letter across a computer screen. There is also a tutorial on
how to complete the lesson.
Students can learn about speed, velocity, and motion in the classroom and use the
SPARK Lightning Lab app along with a Sphero to have hands-on experience with
utilizing these variables.
Resources available to implement coding in the classroom:
Sphero: A Sphero is a robot that connects to apps (on an electronic device such as
an smart phone or iPad) which use coding to controll and make it perform actions.
There are many apps available to use with the Sphero. The SPARK Lightning Lab
app is particularly good because it allows an individual to program their own
Sphero using visual block-based interface which allows the user to choose
features of the app to drag and drop onto a screen that will give orders to the
Sphero.
Ollie: An Ollie is a robot much like an Sphero. It also connects to apps (on an
electronic device such as an smart phone or iPad) which use coding to controll
and make it perform actions. Some of these actions involve spinning, lighting up,
rolling forwards and backwards.
The Scratch website provides access to numerous coding lessons.
The Code.org website provides many resources and tutorials for teaching code to
different age and ability levels.
Coding in Scratch: Projects Workbook, and Coding in Scratch Games Workbook
by Steve Setford and Jon Woodcock: both of these books contain detailed step by
step directions on how to code on Scratch and how to create different projects.
These are great resource for coding for beginners and to have available for
students in your classroom.

Research available on coding:

Soule, T., & Amador, J. (2015, March). Girls build excitement for math from
Scratch. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 20(7). Retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?q=teaching+coding%2fcomputer+programming+to+student
pr=on&id=EJ1053579

A computer-coding unit was created for middle school girls in hopes to heighten
mathematical understanding and digital literacies by integrating math and technology.
During the unit, students learned to use the software scratch to learn and take part in
programming activities. Students completed two projects during the unit: a scene with
animated, interacting sprites and a game involving user-controlled objects. Some
mathematical concepts integrated into the computer-programming unit were movement,
potion, vectors, scaling, acceleration, and motion. Students who took part in the coding
unit learned the relationship between mathematics and coding. They were able to improve
their knowledge of mathematical sills while using the computer software scratch to build
animated scenes. The unit allowed students to use and practice their mathematical skills
in a creative way.

Du, J., Wimmer, H., & Rada, R. (2016). "Hour of code": Can It change students'
attitudes toward programming? Journal of Information Technology
Education: Innovations in Practice, 15, 52-73. Retrieved from
 https://eric.ed.gov/?q=teaching+coding%2fcomputer+programming+to+stu
ent pr=on&id=EJ1101099
Du, Wimmer, and Rada, (2016) conducted a study on students attitudes of
computer programing and their understanding of computer programing. The study
consisted of involving a sample of Undergraduate students to complete a pre-survey on
attitudes towards coding, the Hour of Code tutorial program, and a post-survey on
attitudes towards coding. The Hour of Code program provides one-hour of visual
instruction of coding organized by Code.org to bring awareness to coding. Results of the
study indicated that after completing the Hour of Code, student reported having more of a
positive attitude toward computer- programming, and reported being more positive
towards learning how to computer program, and students were inspired to take part in
computer programming.

Recourses:

Beginning of the year in CS and Electronics! (2016, September). In Coding in Math

Class. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from
https://codinginmathclass.wordpress.com

Du, J., Wimmer, H., & Rada, R. (2016). "Hour of code": Can it change students'
attitudes toward programming? Journal of Information Technology Education:
Innovations in Practice, 15, 52-73. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?
q=teaching+coding%2fcomputer+programming+to+stu ent pr=on&id=EJ1101099
https://studio.code.org. (2016). In Code Studio. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from
https://studio.code.org

Scratch. (2016). In Scratch. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from https://scratch.mit.edu

Soule, T., & Amador, J. (2015, March). Girls build excitement for math from
Scratch. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 20(7). Retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?q=teaching+coding%2fcomputer+programming+to+student
pr=on&id=EJ1053579