290 likes | 421 Views
Creating Rockstars !!. Agenda. Why get involved? What is Code Club? How does Code Club work? How do I get started? What do I need? Tips for running a successful club Questions and Resources. Why get involved?. Why get involved?. Opportunity to help children to learn how to code
E N D
Agenda • Why get involved? • What is Code Club? • How does Code Club work? • How do I get started? • What do I need? • Tips for running a successful club • Questions and Resources
Why get involved? • Opportunity to help children to learn how to code • Start at the age when we can inspire and hook children into coding • Up until the last six to twelve months no provision in schools • New curriculum starting in Schools from September 2014 – teachers and schools need our support!
What is Code Club? • Nationwide network of free volunteer-led after-school coding clubs for children aged 9-11 • Doesn’t have to be schools, could be a community centre or library • Provides projects for volunteers to teach at coding clubs: • Scratch • HTML • Python • Not for Profit Group • Offers teacher training courses (as Code Club Pro)
How does Code Club work? • After-school Club once a week for approximately an hour • Fun and creative club working through and expanding on content provided by Code Club • Can be structured how you feel it works best, for example: • First few weeks of a term demonstrate and then start pupils off • Later weeks, hand out worksheets and work with pupils directly
Lesson Plan Structure • Work is arranged into 9-week term • Some terms group several weeks into 'levels' of difficulty • Certificates awarded for completing a level / term
Typical Project Titles • Term One - Scratch • Ghostbusters; Fruit Machine; Fish Chomp; What’s That?; Create Your Own Game • Term Two – Harder Scratch • Make A Monster; Sound Machine; Frantic Felix; • Term Three – HTML • How HTML Works; Styling Web Pages; Positioning Elements Using CSS; Design and Build Your Own Website! • Term Four – Python • Turtle Power!; Playing Against The Computer; Teaching Turtles
How do I get started? • Register as a volunteer on www.codeclub.org.uk • Search for venues looking to host a code club • Contact School/Venue yourself or they may contact you! • IMPORTANT: Get a DBS Statement (Prev. CRB Check) • STEMNet is a good avenue for this • Get the word out about your club – assembly, letters to parents • Choose a time and date!
Why become a STEM Ambassador? • Complete DBS Check on your behalf • Another opportunity to engage and enthuse young people about STEM • Give teachers a unique perspective on how STEM can be demonstrated in industry • Encourage young people to consider STEM careers and qualifications • Develop employability skills in young people, including confidence, teamwork, presentation and creativity
Persuading the Boss: Making a Business Case • Get a location - callingor visiting is better than emailing • Run a term as a trial • Team up with a colleague to reduce travel costs • Write on the company blog about your experiences • How your work duties will be affected?
What do I need? • DBS Check • A member of staff to be in room at all times • Patience • Most pupils won’t have done any programming before • School systems may not be up to spec or have all the right software installed so need to check this out • Be aware pupils will work at different speeds • Positivity • Preparation time
Planning for a Code Club session • Run through the lessons yourself, look for: • Difficult areas • New concepts • Keep a diary of the student's progress, and how they found the lessons. • Provide feedback to Code Club • Print resources, in colour, and staple them together.
"I'm stuck!" Transition from hands-on to hands-off: • Carefully explain any changes you make • Ask the student to describe the problem • Explain the requirements, with examples • Ask the student to read the code aloud
"I'm finished!" Everyone finishes the work at a different rate, but there is plenty to do! Extension challenges Recruit a student as a helper!
Our experience • Very rewarding and humbling • Initially challenging • Managing personalities • Tailoring club sessions to learning styles and needs • Seeing real progress and enthusiasm • Pupils making progress between clubs and sharing with others • Sadness when Code Club is over for a week! • Giving out certificates of achievement is very fulfilling!
Resources • Code Club – www.codeclub.org.uk (@codeclub) • STEMNet - http://www.stemnet.org.uk/ambassadors (@stemnet) • Hour of Code – US www.code.org (@codeorg) – UK uk.code.org • Scratch – http://www.scratch.mit.edu (@scratchteam) • Alternative Programs • Apps for Good – http://www.appsforgood.org • Computer Clubs 4 Girls – http://www.cc4g.net
Newcastle Event – 24th April 2014 • Code Pub: Newcastle meet-up • Code Club • Thursday, 24 April 2014 from 18:00 to 21:00 (GMT) • Newcastle, United Kingdom • http://codepubnewcastle.eventbrite.co.uk – http://bit.ly/CodeClubNCL