Coding – Follow the Readers

2649 Hoover Ave SE, Port Orchard, WA

EPO Parents,

We live in a world surrounded by technology. We know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. Yet, only a tiny fraction of us are learning computer science, and less people are studying it than a decade ago.

That’s why, back in December, our entire school joined in on the largest education event in history: The Hour of Code. During Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 8-14), every one of our students was amongst over 2 million students worldwide spending one hour learning coding basics.

The Hour of Code is a statement that EPO is ready to teach these foundational 21st century skills. As the school librarian, I am committed to continue bringing computer programming activities to your students. Here is a link for information about why I think coding is so important: http://tinyurl.com/EPOwhycoding

Recently, I attended training sponsored by Code.org so that I could learn how to expand your child’s skills beyond just one hour a year. For the past two weeks, I have been introducing coding concepts to your students (K-6) in the library. See http://hourofcode.org for details on Hour of Code or simply go to www.code.org and explore their website.

I have attached your student’s code.org login information to this letter so that your child can continue working on code.org from home. Simply go to the link on your child’s login sheet or go through the EPO links page (tinyurl.com/epolinks) and have your child click on thier teacher’s name, click their “secret picture” (password) and then the sign in box below the secret pictures. From there, your child can explore over 100 hours worth of coding puzzles.

On a different but related note, I have added a link to the EPO webpage (http://tinyurl.com/EastPortOrchard) for Parenting, Media, and Everything In Between, a blog created by Common Sense Media to help you navigate the world of technology and media with and for your child. Common Sense Media also has a very helpful app called “Kids Media” that can help you determine the appropriateness of books/apps/movies/video games. It gives an overview for each item, gives an appropriate age range and lists “parent should know” details about specific things to look out for.

Additionally, I also frequently post on library/technology related topics on the EPO Library Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EPOLibrary or on Twitter: @hgleasonwilson or @wilsongirlsread and Instagram @wilsongirlsread. I also have a blog where I post mostly about children’s books: www.followthereaders.com.

If you have any questions, suggestions or would like to help with starting a Coding Club in the fall, please email me at school.

Sincerely,

Heather Wilson
Librarian
East Port Orchard Elementary
wilsonh@skitsap.wednet.edu

December 7-13, 2015 is Computer Science Education Week. Students throughout South Kitsap School District will celebrate by participating in Hour of Code activities with their classmates. Here at East Port Orchard Elementary, we have been talking about what “coding” means and why we would want to know more about it.

For links to the activities that I will be doing with your students in the library, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/epolinks and choose one of the links from the “code.org coding” section. Additional links to other websites can be found in the “coding” section. We are doing the Minecraft puzzles.

Coding can be a fun activity to work on with your child – and it’s absolutely FREE!

You can bring the whole family to South Kitsap High School on December 10^th during the Hour of Code event. SKHS will open a couple of computer labs during the hours of 5 – 7 PM for anyone to come in and write some code. To cap off the event, SKHS will be screening CODEGIRL, an engaging and inspirational documentary about the Technovation Challenge, a global technology entrepreneurship program for girls, centered on app development to help solve local problems. The screening begins at 7 pm in the high school auditorium.

Please watch these short videos for a taste of what we discovered and a preview of the coding that we will be working on next week in the library.