SaskCode appears to be built on a mindset that removes barriers to computational thinking in classrooms. I does this by focusing on 3 priorities:
Building a collection of high quality and curriculum aligned lesson plans
Assembling robot and electronic kits for use in those lesson plans
Training teachers to use the lesson plans and the kits through professional development
SaskCode organizes their lesson plans by the tools that the sell or lend. This includes:
Robot Mouse
Ozobot
Edison
Microbit
TinkerCAD
Arduino
These categories are ordered in general from the youngest to the oldest students, though their grade ranges are suggestions. Older students with no experience in coding will nontheless get a lot out of Ozobot and Edison lessons.
TinkerCAD is a free platform offered by Autodesk to introduce users to the world of 3D modeling. Educators making use of these lesson plans should not need anything from SaskCode, but may require a 3D printer.
Lesson plans produced by SaskCode are generally of high quality and creative. Unlike many sources of lesson plans for robotics, they are organized by subject category encouraging their use across the curriculum. For example, lesson plans for ELA may include retelling the story by drawing an map and using an Ozobot retrace the path used by the main character. They include good descriptions directions and lists of materials. Assessment strategies may be a weakness, and are often left blank.
The kits assembled by SaskCode are organized by grade level, and kinked to the goals of the Saskatchewan Curriculum. They are entirely self contained, and require no other expenses (with the exception of batteries) to be used in class. A wide range of lesson plans exist for each of the kits.
SaskCode offers these kits for sale to schools, but also lends them to schools in the Saskatoon and Regina areas, as well as the rest of the province on a more limited basis. They have looked to sponsorship to ensure an abundent supply of robotics kits.
Any teacher knows that purchasing a resource for use in a school is almost meaningless without convincing the teachers of its value in the class and use in meeting the curriculum objectives. SaskCode has excelled at bringing this message to the gatekeepers of the classroom.
CanCode considers the inclusion of under represented groups as a key consideration for funding. Through classroom kit lending programs and free teacher training, SaskCode has achieved significant success in this area. Numerous workshops have been conducted throughout the provice, ensuring the inclusion of rural and indigenous schools.