This list of computer coding resources for teachers can help teachers and families find lesson ideas for their students and children.
Does your math or science curriculum require you to teach coding?
I live with a computer programmer. I am familiar with some of the terms and languages, but the extent of my computer coding skills ends with some very basic HTML code to make websites pretty.
Coding is more than just making websites pretty. It teaches students valuable skills, such as problem-solving and pattern recognition, and allows them to express their creativity. Having some computer coding resources for teachers in your toolbox can be a big help.
Some may think the rise of AI may make coding obsolete. But not according to the founder of DeepLearning.AI, Andrew Ng. He argues that tech-savvy people who work with AI will have a super-sized individual impact in their field — and for many, that means learning enough code to use AI assistance tools effectively.
Teaching the building blocks of coding can start young and have different benefits as students age and expand their skill set. That includes being able to understand what an algorithm is and how data can be manipulated and shown in different ways. Ethical oversight of AI will require people who have a thorough understanding of technology.
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Computer Coding Resources For Teachers – Where To Start To Teach Coding?
Kodable
A great place to start to teach computer coding or computer science would be with unplugged coding activities to get students thinking. This blog post, Unplugged Coding Activities | The Ultimate Guide for Elementary | Kodable, looks at offering engaging learning activities that are hands-on. The goal is to get kids to start thinking like a coder, and the blog post shares examples of activities teachers can try, such as origami with no instructions, the classic game, Rock, Paper, Scissors, and creating bracelets with beads that mimic coding patterns.
Brain Ninjas
Follow up with some activities from Brain Ninjas, shared in the blog post, How to Teach Coding Without Knowing How to Code – Ninja Notes, such as getting students thinking about the process of creating algorithms, getting students working with binary code, and using logic puzzles.
Scratch Jr.
There’s also a list of helpful online computer coding resources for teachers, such as Scratch Jr, which lets kids aged 5-7 program their own games and stories.
Check With Your Admin Team
Next, check with your school’s admin team or teacher-librarian to see if your school purchased computer coding resources for teachers like Robot Mice, Ozobots or Spheros. These tools are a great way to get your students thinking about coding using hands-on activities.
Hands-On Tools
- Robot Mouse: Students use coding cards to set a path for a programmable mouse. In the classroom, you could have older students create cardboard mazes, and then a peer has to try to code the mouse to get it through the maze successfully.
- Ozobot: Use these small programmable robots offline with markers or online with drag-and-drop blocks. Have your students compete to see who can create the most complex instructions for their bot, or have some work offline and others online and compare the challenges and advantages of each method.
- Sphero: Offers a variety of resources for students spanning pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12, including customizable robots and snap-together electronic Bits. Select the one that’s right for your students — and also feel free to select activities you think would match the level your students are working at, rather than sticking strictly to grade recommendations.
Online Tools
- Scratch: A free resource offered in more than 70 languages that allows kids to create their own animations, stories and games. It’s the largest coding community for kids in the world.
- Hour of Code: An introduction to coding where teachers can customize the grade level, activity, and technology (including no device) they want to work with. Teachers can also organize an Hour of Code event.
- Visual Studio Code for Education: Microsoft offers a variety of lessons that have been designed for kids in Grades 9-12 and older. Microsoft and Google accounts work on the platform to get you started, but to access curriculum resources, registrants need to be a “verified educator.”
- CodeMonkey: The site will teach kids to code through game-based learning, self-guided challenges, and courses that teach text-based coding, allowing kids to learn like a developer. Its resources cater from kindergarten to grade 8. There is a free trial, but after that, you need to reach out for a quote for you or your school board.
- CodeCombat: Use games and AI to bring coding to students, using a scaffolded approach. There are a couple of free games you can try (under CodeCombatHome and CodeCombatJunior), and you can create an educator account and try it for free, but you will end up needing a customized quote to move ahead.
Coding Lessons
- Computer Science Curriculum for Grades 6-12 | Code.org: A nonprofit that helps kids learn about computer science and AI. You can access the curriculum, which is updated yearly, for free. It’s also available in more than 67 languages and is available for elementary through high school students.
- Computer programming – JavaScript and the web: Offers lessons that are completely free, including an 8-module unit called Computer Programming – JavaScript and the web.
- Codecademy: Geared to older students and adults, this site has more than 400 courses, and a basic level can be accessed for free. Beyond that, it’s a paid commitment. This chart outlines what you get at each membership level.
- W3 Schools: This site has a helpful page for teachers with articles about starting to teach coding, coding exercises, code challenges and more. Teachers can create a class and invite students. There are demos for most of the modules, an option for student certifications and a path to create a study plan. Free users can build and host one static website, and there are free quizzes to test knowledge. There is also a paid monthly plan.
- The Odin Project: A fully free curriculum on an open-source website that is not specifically geared to kids. It has a Discord community and is maintained by volunteers. Start with an introduction Foundations course and then select the path that works best for you.
Don’t Rely On Artificial Intelligence
You might remember a teacher telling you that you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket, and now you most likely have a $1,000 one near you at all times. Students might tell you that they don’t need to learn coding skills because AI can do it for them.
This argument could be used for so many skills – why learn to write paragraphs or essays? What about mental math? Does the calculator remove the necessity to be able to quickly estimate a purchase total or the amount needed for taxes and tips?
Society cannot rely on computers to do all of our thinking for us. We need to be able to problem-solve things without always relying on computers to help. The article Young Coders Are Using AI for Everything, Giving “Blank Stares” When Asked How Programs Actually Work from Futurism explains that knowing how code works is just as important as writing code.
My husband has experimented with a popular AI tool to see what it can code. It has helped him with small parts of code, but when those small pieces of code were put together, errors were found. He had to rely on his knowledge of code to problem-solve and fix these AI-created issues.
Coding is a valuable skill, and it will benefit students to learn it in more ways than one. Hopefully, these computer coding resources for teachers will help you on your journey to teach coding to your middle school students.
Additional Resources
- Teachers’ Essential Guide to Coding in the Classroom | Common Sense Education
- Want to teach your kids to code? Here are three apps that can help. – Stack Overflow
- Computer Science Resources
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