Computational Thinking

While computer code certainly can be powerful, it doesn’t necessarily have to be complex. Starting with core languages designed to ease children into coding, they’re often just as effective as those they would use in mastering more challenging elements. In fact, some of the best for helping them build a foundation are graphical or icon-based and various block-text hybrids.

Just under two years ago, Logan and his family learned that he’d inherited a rare genetic condition known as TANC2 Syndrome. Quickly, his whole life changed—with hospital visits, medical tests, and physical struggles—but his passion for gaming remained, leading his mother to contact us to learn how he could build an entire high-powered gaming system from scratch.

When it comes to elementary coding, Ozobot projects, in particular, offer STEAM that’s simple. Educators can break up the Evo Classroom kits and distribute the components for students to share in any educational setting. Plus, with the robust Ozobot Classroom LMS, assigning bots, tracking student progress, and accessing lessons is a piece of cake.

All indications are that coding will continue to be an absolutely essential skill for today’s students to master. It’s not the only one, however, as we know that soft skills are still very important but, based on the current and future economy, there’s no indication that students who spend time bolstering coding skills will be learning something that’s outdated.

Jorge Valenzuela has become an influential figure in STEM education with experience in both classroom and online teaching as well as higher education instruction. He worked in the Richmond Public Schools system for 10 years and helped build their Tech Ed program. In recent years, he’s shared his experiences, including in his book!

Jil is committed to providing students with the resources and opportunities they would have access to in a traditional educational setting. She’s chosen to go about facilitating opportunities through the implementation of robotics tools. Jil sees this opportunity as a game changer for her students as she helps them discover hidden talents.

We all know that kids today love technology. Whether it’s tablets, smartphones, laptops, or whatever else they play with, once they hit nine or 10 years old, they seem to be glued to some sort of device. A lot of these children are sitting in front of computers and bettering themselves at the same time. That’s right—they’re playing Minecraft.

Collaboration and problem solving are an integral component of the modern-day workforce and, for that reason, have become an increasingly common part of modern education. Those who are able to break problems down and utilize a certain way of thinking to solve them while also incorporating technology are very valuable.

Sure, you can write code to a computer program to gain your coding experience, but we prefer to leave that to more experienced scientists. You probably never realized this, but many modern and simple EdTech tools involve teaching the basics of coding. For example, in recent years, coding has even found its way into the educational robotics field.