Coding

Firfield School encourages all pupils to develop computational thinking (logical thought, problem solving etc.) and to gain the skill of coding.

What is coding?

Coding is taking instructions (algorithms) and putting them in a language a computer would understand.  If the outcome you expect doesn’t happen you need to look through the code to find the error (bug) and fix it (debug).

You could find out more about coding here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zykx6sg

Why teach coding?

The government understands the importance of learning programming skills early and so the national curriculum now includes computer programming for all primary school children.  Firfield will ensure all children learn about algorithms, coding, variables and debugging in class.  However, at Firfield we want to take that further and with that in mind a Code Club has been set up. 

Here is a video from 2012 where one reason to learn coding is explained: http://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code?language=en

Code Club is a nationwide network of free volunteer-led after-school coding clubs for children aged 9-11. There are dozens of fun coding projects that the children can learn about, including how to make computer games, animations and websites. You can find out more at www.codeclub.org.uk

Our group will be run by parents of children at Firfield, using the school IT suite. We are also working closely with the school to ensure we support and expand on the school’s curriculum.

There are lots of languages to code in -different ways to give computers instructions that they will understand and that will give us the desired outcome. At codeFirfield we will be introducing the children to different languages such as Scratch (a simple lego-block style form of coding), HTML (the language of web pages) and even python.   Children will learn through play and they will be able to continue their explorations at home, as every program we use will be free and freely accessible.

We’ve also created a Facebook group specifically for Firfield parents with children who are interested in coding. You can find it here: www.facebook.com/groups/codeFirfield - please join up, and feel free to join in. If you’ve got any questions about our Code Club, it’s a great place to ask.

How Can I Get Started?

To support parents in coding at home we have created a video walkthrough of how to get the free Scratch program and how to use it to create a simple space animation, something we introduced during our first codeFirfield weeks.  To access this video please click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUylXX2BTCE&feature=youtu.be