Resources for Parents
Using Tynker, kids easily learn programming on their own, and publish projects to the web to share with friends and family. Choose an online course that meets their level of experience and interest, and they'll automatically get lifetime access to Tynker's Creativity Suite for unlimited project publishing.
EdSurge produced EdSurge Guide: Teaching Kids to Code, a comprehensive guide with resources for every age and interest level.
Common Sense Media provides suggestions for age-appropriate introductions to coding in Cool Tools to Help Kids Learn to Code.
Common Sense Media provides suggestions for age-appropriate introductions to coding in Cool Tools to Help Kids Learn to Code.
Scratch is a programming language designed by MIT. They have a lively online community where children can program and share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation with people from all over the world. The Scratch For Parents page can help you learn about the mathematical and computational ideas that are built into the Scratch experience.
Coding Organizations for Kids |
Build on Elementary Coding Lessons |
For the non-coding parents, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Fortunately, there are a variety of organizations committed to teaching kids programming skills. These organizations offer opportunities and resources for getting your children involved:
Other Great Apps: Daisy the Dinosaur Kodable Scratch Jr. (created by MIT) Tynker CodeArt Coding Pirates Cato's Hike |
As a parent, you can build on the Elementary Coding Lessons. How can the students further what they have been learning in technology class? The students can continue their progress on the following activities we worked on in class:
1. code.org - The students need to be signed into their google account for them to continue their progress (click - sign in with G+). There are many other different games or activities to try on code.org as well. 2. BeeBot - The students had such a great time programming my robot bee. I promised them I would share the website with you. This may look like a simple activity, but it really challenges the students on their spacial reasoning skills. 3. Apps - each year there are more and more coding apps available. Many are free and the ones that aren't usually have a "lite" version so you can try the game and see if you want to purchase the full version. Here are the (free) apps we used in class: BeeBot Lightbot A.L.E.X. |
References:
Davis, Matt. "Teach Your Kids to Code: 6 Beginner's Resources for Parents."Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.