It is important to me and the school for students to gain exposure to the world of computer sciences as it relates to their everyday lives, creativity, and future passions. Moreover, women, minority, and under-served populations are all under-represented in the industry of computer sciences...all the more reason to expose students to these opportunities at such a young age! We participate in both online coding activities as well as "unplugged" problem-solving tasks, both of which focus on 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, problem-solving and team-work.
When students are online, they are often "pair programming": one computer two students. One is the "driver" who pays attention to the little details while one is the "navigator" who looks more at the big picture of the problem. The "driver" and "navigators" switch often, even within one single session. Students love the class as they are making connections to their real-world interests and making strong ties between the technology they use every day, and what goes on behind it!
Resources:
Link to their club
Student Quotes"I like the activities we do and that we practice the skill of partnership. Also, I like solving problems together because 2 minds are better than 1." - Natali
"What I really enjoy about computer programming is that it gives me a chance to share my thoughts with other people and gives me a chance to show people what I know." - Monica
"I like that we can code together and that we get to do it at so young" - Logan
Sample Projects (click How It Works to see the code they built)
Student Example - Student Example
