Look back on the Deep Dive MOOC – Module 3 : Visual Programming Languages, Scratch & Co.

Publication date: March 1, 2020

Back in October, over 4200 teachers enrolled in Code Week’s Deep Dive MOOC. This free online course offered teachers the opportunity to get familiarized with coding and coding related principles and gain the knowledge and confidence to organize fun, interactive and educational coding activities with their students. The course was organized into 5 modules,
with each focusing on a particular aspect of coding, such as computational thinking, unplugged activities, and the endless possibilities of robotics, tinkering and making, visual programming languages, app creation and so much more. It allowed teachers to discover how easy and fun it can be to bring coding to their classroom, as coding is for everyone and can be incorporated
into any subject or curriculum. Most importantly, teachers were given the knowledge, resources, and encouragement needed to get them coding with their students.

Module 3: Visual Programming Languages, Scratch & Co.

Next, it was time for the participants to really delve into the world of coding through an introduction into visual programming languages like Scratch. Here in Module 3, they learned a
bit about the history of visual programming, along with its advantages and disadvantages. Then it came time to show teachers the programming tools they can use in their classrooms and the various easy and fun activities they can try with their students, like creating an educational game. The participants had the opportunity to participate in the live event, with Code Week ambassador
from Germany, Matthias Loewe, who provided help and expertise on “How to create your own game in one hour”. Most importantly, teachers were encouraged to explore and try out the lesson plans found on the Code Week website with their students and share their ideas and experiences with each other.

Keep reading to see some outstanding examples of activities done by some of our participants.

AEPAS using scratch! Personal identification by Ana, Portugal

We see many teachers taking their first steps in coding by starting with simple unplugged activities first, such as pixel art, and then moving on to experimenting with Scratch in the classroom. Ana came up with an innovative way to teach her students English, such as introducing yourself or sharing details, by programming short dialogues with Scratch. In this way, she managed to bring together coding and language learning through a fun activity. What she learned from her experience is to not get discouraged if you need to practice a couple of hours before your lesson, it will be worth it when you see each of your students active and enthusiastic!

Looking for colour by Jelena Mandic, North Macedonia

Jelena posted her unplugged activity for pre-primary or early primary school students on the Code Week Teachers’ Facebook group. With the guidance of pre-coded schemes, students had to move
along a grid to find their colour. Simple and fun, even for the youngest!

Francisco Javier Masero Suarez, Spain

Francisco might just win our imaginary medal: he teaches karate lessons to his pupils using Scratch. In his class, students design a set of movements called ‘kata’ using Scratch. Throughout this process, students internalise the flow of movements and can then easily perform them in the gym later on. Keep inspiring Francisco!

You can watch other examples of activities here.

After taking this course, 97% of teachers agreed the course made them more confident to implement coding activities in the classroom and they have gained practical ideas on how
they can improve their professional expertise. If you want to do the same, you are still on time! Even though the course is no longer moderated, you can still access all the different modules of the course, watch the recordings of the live events and improve your teaching practice by having a look at the different ideas and advice thousands of teachers have shared throughout the course. If
you have any question about the course, you can contact Naír Carrera, the course coordinator, here.

Do you want to see more innovative activities and get plenty of ideas for your classroom? Join our Facebook group, where teachers share ideas and material every day, and follow us on Instagram,
Facebook and Twitter!

Be sure to check out our website https://codeweek.eu/training to get access to free training material and lesson plans that you can already use to register your activity in the map and participate in Code Week 2020!