Resources

This is where we'll post links, info about other coding-related programs, and other stuff we think you might be interested in!

Links

Trinket - the online coding platform where we write, run, and share code

The Trinket home page is a great place to start learning about code, and it has lots of great tutorials and challenges for beginners who are just starting to learn programming. In our workshop, we focus on two languages included in Trinket:

• Trinket running Blockly - a visual block-like language that lets students drag-and-drop code chunks into their program. Designed by Google, Blockly uses colours and jigsaw puzzle-shaped pieces to help new coders understand the structure and form of code quickly and intuitively
• Trinket running Python - a dynamically typed programming language that is general purpose, easy to learn, simple to read, and runs quickly. Python is incredibly flexible, very popular in software circles, and can solve a ton of problems! Here's a few reasons why learning Python is a great idea for beginners and seasoned coders alike

Scratch: Similar to Blockly.

Google Doodle coding game: This is a fun little game where you program a rabbit to hop around and get carrots using a language similar to Blocks/Scratch.

Codecademy: coding tutorials for Python and other languages. They have a variety of free and paid courses. The free ones are quite good in our experience!

StackOverflow: a webpage where you can find almost every conceivable question about programming resolved. If you Google a question about Python, most of the time you will end up here. If you want to create an account use it wisely! Someone will always be hap to help if the question has not been answered before.

Kaggle: A website dedicated to working with data. They have hundreds of datasets on a ridiculous variety of subjects, and also some free online courses that you might be interested in.

Turtletoy: See here for some really impressive examples of artwork using turtles. These are written in Javascript, not Python, but hopefully can be a source of inspiration!

Mini-Challenges: Looking for more activities to work on? Have 15 minutes you're not sure what to do with?

Other Programs

We hope you enjoyed/are enjoying the workshops we've put together! If you want to continue with coding, these are some other programs you might like:

GIRLsmarts4Tech: A program put on by the UBC computer science department for girls in grades 6 and 7

Technovation Challenge: Teams compete to build an app. You'll get a mentor who does this stuff for their job who can help you bring your idea to life.

Canadian Computing Competition: The Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) is a fun challenge for secondary school students with an interest in programming. It is an opportunity for students to test their ability in designing, understanding and implementing algorithms.

The test is written in February at your own school, and the top contestants have an opportunity to be part of a week-long workshop at the University of Waterloo in May. Even if you're not participating in the contest, check out their site for past exams and other materials!

Learning Blockly by playing games

To practice using the Blockly language by playing games, check out this awesome site! https://blockly-games.appspot.com

Program mobile apps with Blocks!

You can also use blocks to program apps for you Android phone! You need a Google account, but check it out here: http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/

Micro:bit

In addition to Trinkets, we also use tiny robots created by the BBC in the United Kingdom to teach code. These robots, called Micro:bits, to build and run code. Similar to Trinket, Micro:bits can be programmed using blocks, or using written Python (or Javascript if you're feeling adventurous!) See the Micro:bit page above for more about using these cool robots!