Category Archives: Education

Coding Education, Education

What Does a Chinese Coding Boot Camp Look Like?

While we encourage children to code to expand their opportunities and explore the fun of programming, we also have to keep in mind that their is a global competition of sorts to be at the top of the coding mountain. Sometimes it’s important to take a look at your competition. Consider a recent article for the Huffington Post titled “Inside A Chinese Coding Boot Camp.”

Matt Sheehan of the Huffington Post writes, “In this fluorescent-lit classroom in northwest Beijing, a bespectacled Chinese man who calls himself Shrek is doing his part to haul China’s economy into the 21st century. He is the founder of a coding boot camp and online education platform that trains thousands of young Chinese to program Apple Watches, maintain Oracle databases and build Android apps — the very skills that China’s leaders hope will vault the country toward a high-income economy. The country’s traditional sources of growth, cheap exports and massive infrastructure spending, are sputtering — and economists warn that if China doesn’t move up the value chain, it could fall into the notorious ‘middle-income trap.’ Transitioning away from these mainstays of economic growth will be wrenching for China’s industrial rustbelt, but Chinese leaders are banking on ‘mass innovation’ to pick up the slack. China’s Premier Li Keqiang has spent two years exhorting the country’s youth toward ‘mass entrepreneurship,’ frequently rhapsodizing on the power of innovation to provide high-paying tech jobs and to upgrade traditional industries. Government-orchestrated mass mobilizations are part of the Maoist DNA of modern China. But how can an education system that rewards rote memorization and a government that prizes stability above all else train a new generation of innovative coders intent on disruption? That’s where Shrek comes in. (His real name is Qie Xiaoye. He chose ‘Shrek’ because his wife’s English name is Fiona and his personality matches the gentle green ogre.)”

When it comes to customized coding education, you can’t go wrong with CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Coding Education, Education

Engineering and Hands-On Coding Education

Kids need hands-on learning. They need to be engaged with whatever they are learning in order to truly internalize it. Everything else is just rote memorization that could get lost after a week. Consider a recent article for DNA Info titled “‘Creative Engineering’ Class Teaches Kids Coding and Programming.”

Camille Bautista of DNA Info writes, “Kids can get an early start on cracking computer codes through a new series of ‘creative engineering’ classes being offered in Bed-Stuy. Ada and Leo, a 12-week workshop for children ages 6 through 9, starts this January. Brooklyn-based programmer Ben Wheeler is offering the introductory classes out of his Putnam Avenue home in hopes of sparking kids’ interest in technology, he said. ‘The biggest thing I hope that they get out of it is to see themselves as the kind of people who make things with computers, who create technology,’ Wheeler, 36, said. ‘So that when they hear about a programmer as an adult, or a project a teen did, they’re imagining that’s something they might do.’ Students can 3D-print their own designs, learn circuitry work and construct their own robots with LEGO MindStorms kits. Wheeler and teacher Audrey Fox guide participants through programs such as Tinkercad, a free online design tool, and Scratch from MIT. The father of two has already hosted one 12-week session this past fall where kids have created their own games, he said. Wheeler was motivated to start Ada and Leo after teaching adult programming classes and seeing the creative spark in his young daughters. ‘I saw the way my daughter, who is six, and her little sister were becoming creative with drawing with markers, writing and starting to make little picture books,’ Wheeler said. ‘There’s really meaningful work and meaningful expressiveness at the end of that.’ ‘I want to find the same kind of things they can be doing with computers. How could I make them feel the same kind of delight in the simple version of coding the way they do with drawing?’”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Coding Education, Education

Coding and a Globalized Education

We live in an increasingly globalized society. Everything we do is tied together with someone thousands of miles away that we have never met. As we get more connected, we have to start thinking about how that applies to education. For many, the answer is a more globalized education system. This includes coding. Consider a recent article for Devex titled “Can coding become a building block of global education?”

Catherine Cheney of Devex writes, “A group of nearly 40 students gathered around tables crowded with laptops in a classroom at Laboratoria, a social enterprise in Lima, Peru, that teaches young women to code. Beyond learning technical skills and building websites, the girls also gain confidence in their own skills, said Ana Maria Martinez, one of the four cofounders of the shop. Earlier this month students from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe participated in the third annual Hour of Code. The event’s continued growth across the world demonstrates the increasingly global reach of digital literacy initiatives. But despite momentum from social enterprises, supportive policies from a growing number of governments, and events like Computer Science Education Week that unite these efforts, the global development community can do more to ensure that coding will become a part of a basic education. Teaching kids how to use computers but not how to understand their algorithmic language is like teaching them to read but not to write, said Cristina Pombo Rivera of the Inter-American Development Bank. ‘There is a moral obligation that exists to properly prepare children for the technology-focused world and job market they will inherit,’ she said. The IDB gave Laboratoria $1 million to expand its model in Peru Chile, and Mexico. Other donors have not provided as much support but a group of foundations and private capital has stepped up. The Omidyar Network, for example, invested in Andela, which offers coding classes in Lagos, Nigeria.”

When it comes to customized coding education, you can’t go wrong with CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Coding Education, Education, Skills

Hackathon Aims to Strengthen Conservation

Coding provides the potential solutions to many of the world’s problems. This includes conservation. Consider a recent article for Mongabay WildTech titled “Coding for conservation: Hackathons generate apps and ideas.”

Sue Palminteri of Mongabay WildTech writes, “The general goal is to quickly develop a product that solves the challenge presented at the start of the event. Products generally take the form of websites, mobile apps, and robots, which can be created on the spot with limited time and resources. The Facebook ‘Like’ button, for example, was apparently designed at a hackathon. Participants also seek less tangible outcomes, including the chance to meet like-minded people, learn new skills, and use these skills creatively to build something new that addresses a particular challenge. The challenge proposed for the Hackathon for Wildlife was to ‘Develop innovative approaches and business models to connect 20 million people worldwide with wild animals, through a combination of technologies that include GPS hardware, data, games, and social media.’  The challenge built on the worldwide outrage about the killing of a lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe. Once people knew his name, he gained celebrity status and the concern of many thousands of people.  Might games or social media be venues for generating this kind of compassion for other wild animals?… Participants are typically technology developers, designers, programmers, and user-interface experts.  A themed hackathon might also attract subject-matter experts. At the Hackathon for Wildlife, attendees included 13 tech and wildlife specialists from companies including ESRI, BRCK, and Amazon, and seven local and international wildlife organizations. Among the 65 participants were also wildlife enthusiasts, computer science students, teachers, and working professionals… Participants mainly work furiously to complete a project that was likely proposed and agreed upon hours before. After a brief introduction to people and objectives, teams of 3 to 8 people, who often have just met one another, self-select to work collaboratively toward a particular idea or solution to the hackathon’s challenge. (Hackathon for Wildlife participants formed 10 teams.) They spend the next 24 to 48 hours (usually a weekend) brainstorming, designing, coding, and learning new technologies, with the goal of producing a prototype for that concept. They also might attend one or more short training sessions.”

Looking for the best in customized coding education? You can’t go wrong with CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Coding Education, Education, Skills

The Coding Lessons That Go Beyond Computer Skills

For many people, how there is even a debate still going on the validity of coding in the classroom is mind boggling. Yet, that debate continues to rage on throughout the country. Consider a recent article for the Lancaster Online titled “What do kids learn from coding? Much more than just computer skills, educators say.”

Kara Newhouse of Lancaster Online writes, “Third-graders at Pequea Elementary School in Penn Manor can’t quite explain how computer coding is used in the real world, but they do know this: it’s a lot of fun. ‘I like coding because you get to play games, but it makes you think and stuff,’ said 8-year-old Kennedy Dings. Last Thursday, Kennedy and her classmates participated in Hour of Code, a global campaign in which children try software programming for one hour anytime during Computer Science Education Week. The event was launched in 2013 by Code.org, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science. During the first year, only a few Lancaster County schools and organizations joined in the Hour of Code. This year, at least 10 local districts and private schools participated. Kennedy and her Pequea classmates, who have been learning coding all year, served as ‘tech experts’ for older and younger students at Hambright Elementary during Hour of Code. (Pequea’s third-grade classrooms are located at Hambright this year because of school renovations.) On Thursday they introduced fifth-graders to coding with online and offline games. In the online games, students drag and drop instructions — ‘lines of code’ — into a sequence to make a character perform a task, such as navigating a maze. The instructions are in plain language, such as ‘turn right’ or ‘jump,’ but the principles are the same as for building computer programs. In a board game called Robot Turtles, players get a stack of cards with directions such as ‘move forward’ or ‘blast through the wall.’ They take turns picking choosing cards to create their code.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Coding Education, Education, Skills

How Coding Can Kill Two Birds With One Stone

There are more coding jobs than there are people to fill them. This provides opportunities for women and minorities who have been systematically denied chances in other industries. Consider a recent article for the Atlanta Black Star titled “Study: Coding Boot Camps Bring More Women, Minorities into Tech.”

According to the author of the article, “As technology increasingly becomes a vital part of our lives, diversity in tech will continue be a major issue.According to a study by New York startup Course Report, coding boot camps like Black Girls Code and Code for Progress are filling the diversity gap at a quicker rate than the diversity initiatives of tech giants. The report revealed that 36 percent of the attendees at coding camps are women. Course Report co-founder, Liz Eggleston, said that may be a result of the tech industry’s on-going diversity movement. ‘The market demand is there,’ Eggleston said. ‘Tech companies want to get closer to a 50-50 split, so they’re demanding more female applicants.’ The report findings suggests that companies like Twitter,who announced months prior that they intended to add more women to their work force, should consider attending the coding camps to begin their recruitment process.”

UALR Public Radio also explores the importance of coding, especially for young people, in a recent article titled “Governor’s Radio Address: Coding In The Classroom.” The author of the article writes, “Teachers like Gerri McCann are our schools’ secret weapons. As a high school French teacher from the Manila Public School District, Ms. McCann’s first impression of computer coding was that it was like ‘learning another foreign language.’ But she realized its importance and dived right in. By the end of her training, she was confident enough to add teaching Computer Science to her other subjects, including French, English and Literacy Ready classes. Now Ms. McCann can offer her students even more opportunities to succeed beyond high school. Learning the ‘foreign language’ of coding was challenging, even for someone who began her career teaching French. But Ms. McCann understood the value of coding and earned a master’s degree in Information Systems. Why would she do that? To better prepare her students for a technologically driven world — a world in which computers touch everything.”

When it comes to providing youth with a customized coding education, we’ve got you covered at CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide range of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our fall classes today!

Coding Education, Education

Coding and a Well Rounded Education

We have long known that a well rounded education is the best education. However, people are trying to pit important subjects against one another and the residual effects could be detrimental to young people’s future careers. Consider a recent article for the Tampa Bay Times titled “Editorial: Don’t sacrifice foreign languages for computer coding.”

According to the author of the article, “Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, is the sponsor of SB 468, which would allow students pursuing a diploma on a college preparatory track to substitute two credits of rigorous computer coding classes for two credits of sequential foreign language instruction. To earn full credit, computer coding students would have to earn a related industry certification at the end of their coursework. The bill would allow students who earn the computer coding credits to be eligible for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. Each school district would develop a plan for a computer science curriculum and submit it to the Legislature by January 2017. In Florida, students seeking a 24-credit standard diploma are not required to take foreign language classes. But students on track to attend college who wish to receive a diploma with a scholar designation must earn two credits in a world language, which mimics entrance requirements for Florida’s public universities. Ring, a former Yahoo executive, sees coding as its own unique language. But such a switch deprives students of valuable spoken language training, and a coding curriculum fits best within the science and math disciplines. Providing students with the chance to receive two years of coding instruction is a terrific opportunity that goes beyond the state’s existing commitment to expose students to computer science training from kindergarten through 12th grade. But sacrificing traditional foreign language study would be a mistake. Florida, with its large population of Spanish speakers, should be on the vanguard of language instruction, pushing all of its graduates to learn new languages and appreciate different cultures, races and ethnicities.”

CodeRev Kids fills in the need for coding education for California youth. Our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide range of programming concepts and languages. These lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized.

We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our afterschool programs and/or fall classes today!

Coding Education, Education

Chicago Mayor Gives Big Endorsement to Coding

Coding is becoming a major priority for schools across the country. Chicago recently made a bold statement when the Mayor suggested that all high schoolers should code. Consider a recent article for Ubergizmo titled “Chicago Mayor Thinks All High School Grads Should Know How To Code.”

Tyler Lee of Ubergizmo writes, “Should everyone young person learn how to code? As technology becomes more integrated in our lives and with more jobs and industries relying on technology more than ever, the answer might be a ‘yes’ for some. Over in Chicago, the city’s mayor Rahm Emanuel seems to think so as well. According to a report from The Hill, Emanuel expressed his opinion that every high school graduate should know how to code, to the extent that he thinks such classes should be made a requirement in schools. Emanuel was quoted as saying, ‘Just make it a requirement. I am fine with Common Core. We adopted it in the city, one of the first cities to do it. I’m great. [But] you need this skill — national policy. Make it a high-school graduation requirement.’ Emanuel has been a huge proponent of making coding a requirement in schools. Ever since becoming mayor in 2011, he has made several steps towards that goal and by 2018, computer science is expected to become a requirement in high school graduations, at least as far as Chicago is concerned.”

Slash Gear also explores this in a recent article titled “Chicago mayor calls for national coding graduation requirement.” Brittany Hillen of Slash Gear writes, “The call was made by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who made the proposal this past Thursday. He pointed out that kids need to have this knowledge to thrive in the present and future world. Chicago itself already has plans in place to get its high schoolers on the coding path, moving to have computer science sources as a graduation requirement. According to The Hill, in a statement at a Washington Post-sponsored event, he said, ‘Just make [coding classes] a requirement. I am fine with Common Core. We adopted it in the city, one of the first cities to do it. I’m great. You need this skill — national policy. Make it a high-school graduation requirement.’ While a noble effort, there are some big barriers in place — namely, finding individuals with both the tech credentials and the teaching credentials to teach such classes. As it stands, and as many critics have pointed out, those qualified to teach the classes can earn much higher salaries taking their skills elsewhere, giving them little incentive to become a high school instructor.”

With coding education becoming increasingly sought after, taking advantage of customized coding curriculum is even more valuable. When it comes to custom coding education for youth, your best bet is CodeRev Kids.

Our lessons emphasize computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming concepts and languages. These lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise.

We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

If you’re looking to take your child’s coding education to the next level, you can’t go wrong with CodeRev Kids!

Coding Education, Education

Getting Young Children a Start in Coding

There are a variety of strategies parents use to engage their children with coding at an early age. An increasing number of games are being released to help meet this need and prepare children for the necessary coding education institutions like CodeRev Kids can provide. For example, consider a recent article for USA Today titled “How to get kids to start coding.”

Jinny Gudmundsen of USA Today writes, “If you have a Frozen movie fan in your household, head on over to code.org to explore 20 programming puzzles focused on making Elsa and Anna skate to create patterns on the ice. Created in collaboration with Disney for the Hour of Code initiative, these fun puzzles start with an inspiring video where women coders encourage children to learn programming. The puzzles introduce a visual language called ‘Blockly’ that lets kids snap together blocks of commands to create a program.  If interested, kids can toggle to discover what the commands look like in the programming language JavaScript… Similar to the Frozen coding project above, Tynker also uses code blocks to teach kids how to program. Tynker introduces its visual programming language within a series of puzzles called Codey’s Quest. In each puzzle level, kids use the code blocks to make Codey, a cute purple alien, move to his beloved candy. Kids exercise logical thinking to create programs that stress efficiency; and in that process, they learn about programming using loops and conditionals. The app also has a set of Crash Course puzzles that works with connected devices such as the Sphero and Ollie robots. In addition to the free puzzles, Tynker offers a section in which kids can use the block codes to create their own games. Additional content is available via in-app purchases ($1.99-$4.99). A separate school version app costs $5.99. Parents can also find more free content on www.Tynker.com, as well as paid courses.”

If you’re looking to provide your child with a quality coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. Our classes are customized to give your child a unique educational experience.

Lessons at CodeRev Kids focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide range of programming concepts and languages. Our lessons build upon one another, and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise; thus, the entire curriculum is customized. Furthermore, while we are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

If you want to give your child a quality, customized coding education, sign up for one of our Fall classes or after school programs today?

Coding Education, Education

Australia Mandates Coding Education for All Primary School Students

How seriously does Australia take coding? A recent decision will now mandate that all primary schools provide coding education. Beta News takes a look at this in a recent article titled “Australia’s primary schools to teach coding.”

Sead Fadilpašić of Beta News writes, “Australia is preparing for the jobs of the future by having children learn coding and programming at a very young age. According to a report by Mashable, 21st century computer coding will be taught in primary schools from Year 5, and programming will be taught from Year 7. The curriculum was approved by Education Minister Christopher Pyne in one of his last acts before being sworn in as Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. The Department of Education and Training recently announced it will be pumping AUD$12 million (£5.54m) into four different science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) education initiatives as part of the Industry, Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda. Those initiatives are the development of innovative mathematics curriculum resources, supporting the introduction of computer coding across different year levels, establishing a P-TECH-style school pilot site, and funding summer schools for STEM students from underrepresented groups.”

PBS Newshour also explores this in a recent article titled “Australia will teach primary students computer coding.” Alexandra Sarabria of PBS Newshour writes, “Coding will soon replace history and geography under Australia’s revamped national curriculum. Australian students will begin coding at age 10 and computer programming at age 12, Mashable reported. The move was one of the last acts approved by Education Minister Christopher Pyne, who will be sworn in as Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. The Australian government plans to invest $12 million to strengthen science, technology, engineering and math education initiatives and improve the country’s innovation and economic sectors. The demand for STEM subjects in primary schools has gained momentum worldwide. Last year, the United Kingdom ambitiously changed the national curriculum, which includes coding classes for children as young as five-years-old.”

When it comes to coding, the best education comes when a child is having fun while learning. At CodeRev Kids, we customize our lessons for your child.

Our curriculum focuses on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide range of programming concepts and languages. We adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise and our lessons build upon one another.

Although our lessons are highly informative, we also pride ourselves on making learning fun. As a result, our students stay engaged and become better coders at the same time.

If you would like to provide your child with a quality, customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids!