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A CLASSROOM-FRIENDLY INTRODUCTION TO CODING
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Teach coding by making a video game with your class in this fun and engaging 10-part video tutorial series. Hosted by veteran elementary school technology educator Andrew Tomec, this FREE 75-minute lesson series is aimed at Grade 4-8 classrooms. Built from the ground up for use in elementary schools, our program satisfies all the coding requirements of the new Ontario Math Curriculum.
Follow along with Mr. T as we build a simple game together, pausing along the way to learn about key computing concepts like loops, variables and conditional statements. Our curriculum is chunked into short, bite-sized components that are easy to follow, with scripted checkpoints along the way that will allow teachers to confirm everyone is up to speed.
FULLY DOCUMENTED
Our PDF lesson guide includes all the Scratch code we'll be using for this lesson, highlighted to show which new blocks we'll be deploying at each step. Lesson Checkpoints provide simple look-fors that you'll be able to tick off as you monitor your class in person or remotely. Guiding questions help you frame the context of the next chapter and get students thinking about all the varied considerations that go into game development. Troubleshooting tips anticipate some of the common errors that have arisen during more than 200 past sessions teaching this material.
IDEAL FOR REMOTE LEARNING
This highly engaging lesson, which taps into kids' almost universal love for video games, has had prior students literally dancing in the aisles. We're confident your students will be highly motivated to work through this material, making it an ideal candidate for asynchronous learning during the COVID era.
Mr. T's free weekly coding live stream, the Chromeworks Club, has attracted young viewers from all over the world.
NEW TO CODING? GET EXPERT HELP!
We've designed this learning experience from the ground up to be an accessible and low-stress introduction to coding that can be taught by teachers with no prior coding experience. If you're still not comfortable teaching this material, we offer a range of supports, including:
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Free professional development and product support sessions, delivered online via Google Meet and YouTube live stream (times TBA)
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Free online remix sessions where we'll be extending the Cat & Mouse project by inviting viewers to suggest new features and coding tweaks, which we'll be coding live on the air
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Staff PD workshops and student training workshops, delivered in person or online.
CUTTING EDGE TRAINING FROM AN ONLINE TRAILBLAZER
Mr. Tomec's Chromeworks organization is an innovator in online education, recently named alongside the British Broadcasting Corporation as a top provider of global e-learning resources. Last March, while educators everywhere grappled with how to move their teaching practice online, this self-avowed lifelong geek launched the COVID Computer Camp, a live stream coding and multimedia classroom that engaged children from as far away as England, Scotland, Italy, India and Morocco with daily lessons in game design, digital art, film production and more. The 3-month program was hailed by parents as a lifeline for keeping their children happy and engaged during a period of unprecented stress. He continues to live stream weekly on YouTube through his new YouTube coding and technology show, The Chromeworks Club.