Description:

In Coding Club, students will create interactive stories, games, and animations. Our youngest coders will use the simple drag-and-drop block programming from the new 3.0 version of Scratch, a visual coding language designed for kids. Kids will learn the logic and patterns behind coding and will be introduced to hardware integration- where outside devices can be controlled by the code they construct. They will learn to use add-ons called "extensions" to incorporate new and interesting features to their code. Kids will discover how to integrate text-to-speech to make more immersive and interactive stories, and they will learn how to integrate a camera into their project for a whole new twist!

Coding Club is a computer lab environment in which students work through the Coder Kids curriculum under the direction of computer science coaches. Work in the Programming Lab is self-paced which allows students to progress through skill-building activities and instructional coding modules at their own rate of learning. The Lab environment allows students to enroll at any quarter, fosters brand new coders, and encourages those with prior coding experience. Coder Kids coaches work with small pull-out groups, pairs, or individuals to provide additional instruction and support on the skillset each needs each week.

Coder Kids proprietary curriculum is designed to meet and exceed the standards of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA). Students work on modern MacBook Air laptops. Students may enroll in a Coding course at any quarter, as they can start with initial lessons at any time. Coaches send prompts for parents in the weekly e-mail updates to encourage discussion and reflection about what the student learned in class each week. The class tuition includes a student technology fee that covers repair/maintenance of hardware, software, and licenses. Coding Club continues all quarters. Students can continue from one quarter to the next with no repeat or overlap; instead they will just keep building and enhancing their ongoing projects.