Why children should be taught coding not as a technical skill but as a new literacy-a way to express themselves and engage with the world. Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In Beyond Coding, Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children discover new ways of thinking, relating, and behaving through creative coding activities. Today's children will undoubtedly have the technical knowledge to change the world. But cultivating strength of character, socioeconomic maturity, and a moral compass alongside that knowledge, says Bers, is crucial. Bers, a leading proponent of teaching computational thinking and coding as early as preschool and kindergarten, presents examples of children and teachers using the Scratch Jr. and Kibo robotics platforms to make explicit some of the positive values implicit in the process of learning computer science. If we are to do right by our children, our approach to coding must incorporate the elements of a moral education- the use of narrative to explore identity and values, the development of logical thinking to think critically and solve technical and ethical problems, and experiences in the community to enable personal relationships. Through learning the language of programming, says Bers, it is possible for diverse cultural and religious groups to find points of connection, put assumptions and stereotypes behind them, and work together toward a common goal.

Beyond Coding: How Children Learn Human Values through Programming

Computers & Technology

Bers, Marina Umaschi

Programming

The MIT Press

Coding as a Playground, Second Edition&nbsp;is the first book to focus on how young children (ages 7 and under) can engage in computational thinking and be taught to become computer programmers, a process that can increase both their cognitive and social-emotional skills. Learn how coding can engage children as producers--and not merely consumers--of technology in a playful way. You will come away from this groundbreaking work with an understanding of how coding promotes developmentally appropriate experiences such as problem solving, imagination, cognitive challenges, social interactions, motor skills development, emotional exploration, and making different choices. Featuring all new case studies, vignettes and projects, as well as an expanded focus on teaching coding as a new literacy, this second edition helps you learn how to integrate coding into different curricular areas to promote literacy, math, science, engineering, and the arts through a project-based approach and a positive approach to learning.

Coding as a Playground (Eye on Education)

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

Routledge

Coding as a Playground, Second Edition focuses on how young children (aged 7 and under) can engage in computational thinking and be taught to become computer programmers, a process that can increase both their cognitive and social-emotional skills. Learn how coding can engage children as producers―and not merely consumers―of technology in a playful way. You will come away from this groundbreaking work with an understanding of how coding promotes developmentally appropriate experiences such as problem-solving, imagination, cognitive challenges, social interactions, motor skills development, emotional exploration, and making different choices. Featuring all-new case studies, vignettes, and projects, as well as an expanded focus on teaching coding as a new literacy, this second edition helps you learn how to integrate coding into different curricular areas to promote literacy, math, science, engineering, and the arts through a project-based approach and a positive attitude to learning.

Coding as a Playground

Research shows that attitudes about science, math, and technology start to form during the early schooling years. This pioneering book shows how to successfully use technology in the early childhood classroom. Grounded in a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, the author focuses on robotic manipulatives that allow children to explore complex concepts in a concrete and fun way. At the same time, she examines how this technology engages sensorimotor and socioemotional skills, which are fundamental for the healthy development of young children. This innovative book:
<ul>
<li> Provides examples of how robotics can be a powerful, hands-on tool for young children to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).</li>
<li> Presents portraits of children developing the skills and ways of thinking needed to create their own personally meaningful projects, and to solve problems using technology.</li>
<li> Offers sample curriculum starter activities, including forms and charts that children can use to chronicle the progress of their projects.</li>
<li> Includes vignettes of diverse curricular experiences by teachers and researchers working in classrooms.</li>
</ul>

Blocks to Robots: Learning with Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom

Teachers' College Press

Research shows that attitudes about science, math, and technology start to form during the early schooling years. This pioneering book shows how to successfully use technology in the early childhood classroom. Grounded in a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, the author focuses on robotic manipulatives that allow children to explore complex concepts in a concrete and fun way. At the same time, she examines how this technology engages sensorimotor and socioemotional skills, which are fundamental for the healthy development of young children. This innovative book: Provides examples of how robotics can be a powerful, hands-on tool for young children to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Presents portraits of children developing the skills and ways of thinking needed to create their own personally meaningful projects, and to solve problems using technology. Offers sample curriculum starter activities, including forms and charts that children can use to chronicle the progress of their projects. Includes vignettes of diverse curricular experiences by teachers and researchers working in classrooms.

New technologies are playing an important role in the lives of young people. From mobile phones to social media sites, from video games to virtual worlds, young people are immersed in a technologically rich environment, in a participatory culturue where they are not only consuming content, but also producing it and sharing it with others. People learn better when givien opportunities to create their own projects. The growing fields of the learning sciences and educational technologies have long acknowledged this. Over the past four decades, new tools and approaches have been designed and evaluated to support children in creating and sharing their own computer-based projects. The field of youth development has only recently started to examine how the creation of content might have an impact on children's development. Much of the early work has taken a media effects perspecive by looking at the impact of new technologies on children--as opposed to analyzing what children are doing with the technology. Also, too often youth experiences with technology have been framed in negative terms by highlighting the danger of of new technologies. This issue of New Directions for Youth Development explores the many positive ways in which children and youth in both the United States and abroad, in urban and rural settings, are taking advantage of new technologies to create projects with their own content. In the process, they are embarking on personal and community journeys that engage them in many facet of positive development. This is the 128th volume of New Directions for Youth Development, the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series dedicated to bringing together everyone concerned with helping young people, including scholars, practitioners, and people from different disciplines and professions. The result is a unique resource presenting thoughtful, multi-faceted approaches to helping our youth develop into responsible, stable, well-rounded citizens.

New Media and Technology: New Directions for Youth Development, Number 128

Jossey-Bass

Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom

Coding as a Playground is the first book to focus on how young children (ages 7 and under) can engage in computational thinking and be taught to become computer programmers, a process that can increase both their cognitive and social-emotional skills. Readers will learn how coding can engage children as producers―and not merely consumers―of technology in a playful way. You will come away from this groundbreaking work with an understanding of how coding promotes developmentally appropriate experiences such as problem solving, imagination, cognitive challenges, social interactions, motor skills development, emotional exploration, and making different choices. You will also learn how to integrate coding into different curricular areas to promote literacy, math, science, engineering, and the arts through a project-based approach.

ScratchJr is a free, introductory computer programming language that runs on iPads, Android tablets, Amazon tablets, and Chromebooks. Inspired by Scratch, the wildly popular programming language used by millions of children worldwide, ScratchJr helps even younger kids create their own playful animations, interactive stories, and dynamic games. The Official ScratchJr Book is the perfect companion to this free app and makes coding easy and fun for all. Kids learn to program by connecting blocks of code to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. Each chapter includes several activities that build on one another, culminating in a fun final project. These hands-on activities help kids develop computational-thinking, problem-solving, and design skills. In each activity, you’ll find: –Step-by-step, easy-to-follow directions –Ways to connect the activity with literacy and math concepts –Tips for grown-ups and teachers –Creative challenges to take the learning further By the end of the book, kids will be ready for all sorts of new programming adventures! The ScratchJr app now supports English, Spanish, Catalan, Dutch, French, Italian, and Thai.

The Official ScratchJr Book: Help Your Kids Learn to Code

Resnick, Mitchel

Humor & Entertainment

No Starch Press

The ScratchJr Coding Cards are a deck of 75 activity cards covering fun and exciting projects designed to educate young children with the visual programming language, ScratchJr. ScratchJr is a free, introductory computer programming language that runs on iPads, Android tablets, Amazon tablets, and Chromebooks. Derived from Scratch, the wildly popular programming language used by millions of kids worldwide, ScratchJr helps even younger children (5 to 7 years old) create their own playful animations, interactive stories, and dynamic games. The ScratchJr Coding Cards encourage kids to think creatively and systematically while developing computational thinking skills. Kids will learn powerful ideas about computer science by using ScratchJr programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, sing, and more. As they work through the deck, they will become creative thinkers and problem solvers. Written by the ScratchJr co-creator, Prof. Marina Umaschi Bers, and Dr. Amanda Sullivan, the exercises in ScratchJr Coding Cards will encourage kids to develop coding skills as well as foundational concepts for literacy, math, planning, and problem-solving, all while having fun. The cards are created using the pedagogical approach developed by Prof. Bers to teach coding in a playful way to young children.

ScratchJr Coding Cards: Creative Coding Activities

Sullivan, Amanda

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bers, Marina Umaschi. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bers, Marina Umaschi

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bers, Marina Umaschi. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Beyond Coding: How Children Learn Human Values through Programming

Coding as a Playground (Eye on Education)

Coding as a Playground

Blocks to Robots: Learning with Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom

Blocks to Robots: Learning with Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom

New Media and Technology: New Directions for Youth Development, Number 128

Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom

Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom

The Official ScratchJr Book: Help Your Kids Learn to Code

ScratchJr Coding Cards: Creative Coding Activities