Martin, C. (2017). Libraries as Facilitators of Coding for All. Knowledge Quest, 45(3), 46-53.
This topic is near and dear to my heart. For many years I have been repeatedly disappointed to see the lack of coding initiatives in schools. Coding is not valued in our world of academia, overall, and as a leader in the library, I want to support and promote learning to code.
This article, Libraries as Facilitators of Coding for All, highlights the idea of bringing coding into the curriculum as early as kindergarten. Rather than being 'consumers' only of technology, we can be teaching our students to be creators as well. It goes on to say that in the current state, much computer science is left to after school programs and voluntary clubs that many do not have access to. The library can help fill that gap making computer science, computational thinking and coding available to all students 24/7!
A study was done with 8 public libraries offering a 'Scratch' (computer programming app developed by MIT) workshop once per week. The locations were selected based on targeting minorities and those who are typically not holding computer science jobs. The biggest challenge seemed to be the lack of expertise the librarian facilitator had but those who were willing to try, observe and fail were the most comfortable with the process. The study identifies the importance of 'peer~based' learning. The successful librarians lent this success to being open to that as well as having solid preparation materials and a youth 'workshop facilitator' as well.
The youth facilitators 'applied' for the position very much like a job and were responsible for leading the workshops under the supervision of the librarian. Some were paid and others received 'service credit hours.' This was met with challenges of those lacking teaching experience so again, the partnerships to help each other get to the next step was super important.
Martin closes with "Small exposures can lead to large impacts over the long run.' (Martin 2017, p53).
There are several links below as Google is not indexing their own products well enough to send you off with just 'one link.' I wanted to share with you the abundance of resources Google offers that can help you get started for FREE!
#1: https://edu.google.com/resources/computerscience/learning/
Specifically off this site are a couple of gems I recommend. Blockly games can be used to introduce 'block style' programming as well as 'javascript.' It is free, easy to use, nothing to download, etc. Just click and get started and any one of almost any age can easily progress through the program. As you complete each block, it will indicate you have finished with the green border around the circle. This could be a way you can offer 'rewards' to students who work through it independently. Offer badges, stickers etc as they complete a google form and send in a screenshot of their result.
Made with Code is an online magazine but you can also request physical copies. The site/program has accompanying lesson plans. This could be made available to literacy programs, computer classes, career development, etc.
CS First Computer Club is a free curriculum that schools and libraries can offer to implement a computer program / workshop series. The target is middle school and some schools/libraries offer it as an after school club and others as a middle school CS curriculum.
This is a slide deck I have updated recently with many other offerings through Google that can support coding and other initiatives you can offer through the library.