Kids Learn Coding
CODING CLUBS FOR KIDS SPRING UP TO FILL GAPS IN EDUCATION RELEVANT FOR FUTURE OF OUR YOUTH
Marquette, MI – We are failing our children. Right now, each and every day, we are failing the next generation in this country as we continue to send them off to a school system that – for the most part – continues to ignore an alarming knowledge gap. But we can do something about that, and here in Marquette a new organization is helping lead the way.
Over the next decade, the fastest-growing and one of the highest-paying economic sectors will continue to be the tech sector. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) biennial update, computer jobs will grow about twenty-two percent by the year 2020. Yet around 90% of our schools don’t teach computer science. In the Upper Peninsula, it’s no different as we scratch our heads in wonder at how to stimulate new economic opportunity while we educate our children for the economies and careers of yesteryear.
Kids create their own coding design projects at CoderDojo906 group for ages 11 and up, at NMU’s Seaborg Center. (photo by Ron Caspi)
We can’t blame teachers for this. They’re toiling away to meet the requirements of Common Core and to drive standards-based testing success. This is a systemic failing of a nationwide education system that almost universally has yet to catch up. What it’s going to take is a new, different model. One change underway globally is the emergence of non-profit, volunteer coding clubs and related initiatives. Rather than rely upon the eventual evolution of education, visionaries and leaders in technology, education and parenting are taking action to empower today’s youth with the resources to be successful in the technology-infused world they will inherit. Here in Marquette, CoderDojo906 is one such resource.
Earlier this year, I had a vision of a program to support Upper Peninsula youth in learning about systems & design thinking, teamwork, innovation, leadership and creativity in technology through learning the most important language of their generation; the language of code. “Code” is the language that humans use to ‘teach’ computers what to do. The idea was simple, but powerful; adopting freely-available, proven tools and methods, we would build a system aimed at enabling kids in the Marquette area with a strong set of resources to explore coding.
Chris Standerford, director of the Seaborg Center for Mathematics & Science (left) mentors a young student in using a program that teaches coding skills to kids. (photo by Ron Caspi)
Students from the 5-10 year old CoderDojo906 juniors group share projects they’ve created in Scratch Jr. (photo by Keith Glendon)
Teaming with Chris Standerford of NMU’s Seaborg Center, Gaby Eyzaguirre of MARESA and Jim Edwards of the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum as core organizers, we soon generated plenty of interest in our vision through word of mouth. In October, a 12-week pilot program was launched consisting of two groups of children – ages 5-10 and ages 11+ – at MARESA and the Seaborg Center’s innovative Design Lab. We quickly reached our max capacity goal for the 5-10 year old group with twelve children participating. In the older group, our pilot program includes five area youth ranging in age from 11 to 14.
Rather than build from the ground up, we have followed the CoderDojo model – a worldwide program founded in Ireland in 2011, a product of that nation’s economic re-development as a global software development player. CoderDojo is based on an open-source curriculum called the ‘kata’ and a set of proven practices and principles that the over 500 dojos worldwide pledge to follow.
A great support in getting CoderDojo906 off the ground has been the encouragement and insight gained from my colleagues at IBM around the world. The CoderDojo / IBM partnership continues to grow and as a long-time IBMer myself, this program was the perfect fit.
As is the practice at a martial arts dojo, kids at CoderDojo learn by doing. During the first fifteen minutes of our inaugural Dojo at MARESA, kids as young as 4 were building programs using object-oriented, visual coding techniques using the development environments “Scratch” and “Scratch Junior”, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During our Dojo sessions, the kids turn their creative ideas and stories into fun animations, games or visual storyboards. Each Dojo session introduces a few key ideas and a challenge – from there the kids explore, design, create in whatever direction their imagination takes them. When a challenge or a problem is encountered, adult mentors engage to help them search for ways to find the answers themselves. In this way, experiential learning outcomes are developed.
Keith Glendon, Founder (‘Champion’ in dojo circles) of CoderDojo906 , looks on while a young student works on his “Scratch” coding project. (photo by Ron Caspi)
While many still view coding as the stuff of mathematicians and computer ‘geeks’, the reality is that children are naturally capable of quickly picking up coding concepts and are soon engaged with one another exploring what they can make computers do. The kids just think they’re having fun, but what they’re really doing is cultivating critical skills for the information age. They are laying a foundation for success as future leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists and even environmentalists. No matter their chosen path, our children of today will inhabit a world whose problems and opportunities will be both created and addressed with technology.
Now at about the mid-point of our pilot project, the CoderDojo906 team is excitedly planning for the launch of a more permanent program in January 2015, including weekly dojos and outreach activities with area schools. This pilot program has helped us establish a core set of volunteers, parents, educators, retirees and students from NMU’s TEAM Business student organization to rally around this cause. In just a few weeks, we have watched children with no exposure to computer science blossom with excitement and innovation as they have explored and embraced the world of creativity with technology through coding. The system may be failing our children, but at CoderDojo906, our goal is to be part of the solution.
For more information on volunteering with CoderDojo906 or participating in upcoming events, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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