STUDENT WEBPAGES

These are some images of webpages in progress as students learned the basics of HTML and CSS.

STUDENTS IN ACTION

Each lesson involved students working through coding challenges and learning through "doing."

HOUR OF CODE

During our second day of "Coding Class" I had students participate in the Hour of Code with Code.org. Many of them not only built the first game, but also went home and played another game. They were all extremely excited to learn new skills.

Reflection

By providing students the opportunity to code within an actual code editor, they learned hands-on through problem-solving and used critical thinking skills as they navigated how to design their pages. They also gained experience of how computers and websites work on the back end and how these programming languages affect our daily lives whether we realize it or not. This knowledge of coding opens up doors to understanding technology as a whole and initiates a curiosity to learn more. Most importantly, it provides them the choice to learn more, whereas before they did not even know about programming, and the different pathways it can take you.

All of the students enjoyed the process of learning HTML and CSS. They also turned out to be great co-teachers as they would help each other remember lines of codes. One student even helped create a full "Ampersand Code Club" website where we put the student web pages on display (it is not shown here to protect student names which cannot be covered up on the live site). During the students' exhibition night where parents came to see all of the projects they have completed in each subject, parents were also able to view the student web pages! Parents were highly impressed with their child's accomplishments and were incredibly grateful that they had the opportunity to learn the basics of coding.

Overall, providing students the chance to learn about coding, practice the basics of HTML and CSS and try out different platforms that are free and available to them in and outside of school opened up a whole new world of opportunities for further learning and growth. I genuinely believe that learning how to program and being knowledgeable of programming languages, such as HTML and CSS, will better prepare students for the future. One, the students will know about this topic, can converse with others about it, and recognize the magnitude of career opportunities that utilize these skills. Two, the students will have more realistic options of career pathways that they can choose from whereas had students not learned about coding they most likely would not have considered technology as an option for them and would continue to think, "it is only for really smart people." We broke down misconceptions and students who believed they wouldn't be able to learn or build something with coding did and this how access to an outside opportunity changes student's mindsets and possible future trajectories.