Primary Resources
1. Books for Check-out
2. Coding Websites and Apps
3. Connected Coding Kits for Check-out
4. Lesson Resource Websites
5. More Resources and Articles
Books for Check-out
Computational Thinking {and Coding} for Every Student By Jane Krauss and Kiki Prottsman
Computational Thinking and Coding for Every Student is the beginner’s guide for K-12 educators who want to learn to integrate the basics of computer science into their curriculum. Readers will find
|
Hacking the Curriculum: Creative Computing and the Power of Play by Ian Livingstone and Shahneila Saeed
This book explains the critical importance of coding and computing in modern schools - and offer teachers and school leaders real practical guidance on how to improve their current provision to a generation of youngsters for whom digital skills are critical. |
Hello Ruby by Linda Liukas (website)
Hello Ruby is the world's most whimsical way to learn about computers, technology and programming. The story started with a book, and now Ruby continues her adventures in exercises, games and apps. It’s suited for kids age 5 years and older (but even adults might learn something new). |
No Fear Coding by Heidi Williams
No-Fear Coding shows K-5 educators how to bring coding into their curriculum by embedding computational thinking skills into activities for every content area. At the same time, embedding these skills helps students prepare for coding in the middle grades as they build their knowledge. |
Coding Websites and Apps
Links to apps and websites need to be vetted on a regular bases to maintain COPPA and FERPA compliance. Apps and websites that appear on this website may need parental consent. Please follow your building and district process in obtaining proper parental consent.
|
Code.org - K-5 (website)
Learn to make your own game, app, or computer drawing. |
Khan Academy Computing (website)
Learn how to program drawings, animations, and games using JavaScript and ProcessingJS, or learn how to create webpages with HTML and CSS. You can share whatever you create, explore what others have created and learn from each other! Learn from select topics from computer science - algorithms (how we solve common problems in computer science and measure the efficiency of our solutions), cryptography (how we protect information), and information theory (how we encode and compress information). Or learn the basics of programming! |
Pencil Code (website)
Dream it. Code it. Learn professional programming languages using an editor that lets you work in either blocks or text. Create art, music, games, and stories. Or invent a program that will change the world. |
Scratch (website)
With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share your creations with others in the online community. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century. Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is provided free of charge. |
Swift Playgrounds app for iPad (website) 📲
Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad that makes learning Swift interactive and fun. It requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps. Then take on a series of challenges and step up to more advanced playgrounds designed by Apple and other leading developers. |
Tynker (website)
Tynker is a complete learning system that teaches kids to code. Kids begin experimenting with visual blocks, then progress to JavaScript and Python as they design games, build apps, and make incredible projects. |
Connected Coding Kits for Check-out
Not Delivered/Backordered
|
Arduino Sparkfun Inventor's Kits (website)
Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the microcontroller on the board. To do so you use the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on Processing. |
Bee-Bots (website)
Bee-Bot is an exciting new robot designed for use by young children. This colorful, easy-to-operate, and friendly little robot is a perfect tool for teaching sequencing, estimation, problem-solving, and just having fun! Sturdy construction and colorful design entice children to put Bee-Bot through its paces. Directional keys are used to enter up to 40 commands which send Bee-Bot forward, back, left, and right. Pressing the green GO button starts Bee-Bot on its way. Bee-Bot blinks and beeps at the conclusion of each command to allow children to follow Bee-Bot through the program they have entered and then confirms its completion with lights and sound. Children want to use Bee-Bot over and over and are inspired to enter ever more creative and complex command sequences. |
Cubelets Twelve Kit (website)
The Cubelets TWELVE the best way to introduce children of all ages to robotics, coding, and design thinking. Cubelets are an expandable system of robot blocks, and the TWELVE the best mix of SENSE, THINK and ACT blocks for novice and experienced builders. Reprogram or control your robots when paired with the included Bluetooth® Cubelet. |
📲 indicates applications and tools requiring iPad/tablet to run program.
Please call 8043 or 8027 as these are only available on a limited basis.
|
iPads
Necessary platform for running apps that parallel with operating systems of many applications for coding, including the Apple Swift Playground📲. Swift requires no coding knowledge, so it’s perfect for students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps. Then take on a series of challenges and step up to more advanced playgrounds designed by Apple and other leading developers. |
Lego Education WeDo 2.0 Core Set (website)
This set is based upon the latest science standards and was created to enhance students' curiosity and science skills. The set is delivered in a storage bin along with sorting trays, labels, a Smarthub, a Medium Motor, Motion Sensor, a Tilt Sensor, and enough building elements for two students. The accompanying desktop and tablet supported software provides an easy-to-use programming environment and includes the WeDo 2.0 Curriculum Pack, which covers life, physical, earth, and space sciences, as well as engineering. The accompanying eLearning program helps teachers to become confident users of the WeDo 2.0 Core Set. |
littleBits Code Kit Education Class Pack (website)
Color coded electronic building blocks that connect together with magnets and allow for the creation of inventions while engaging in powerful hands-on learning in STEM/STEAM. There are many different bits or modules that allow for experiments. |
MakeyMakey Standard Kit (website)
We believe that everyone is creative, inventive, and imaginative. We believe that everyone can create the future and change the world. So we have dedicated our lives to making easy-to-use invention kits. |
Ozbots set (website)
Geared toward elementary students, Ozobot is a tiny robot which comes with a photo sensor array for recognition of patterns, lights, colors, and codes. It has an automatic detection functionality for physical and digital playing surfaces and color sensing technology. |
Sphero SPRK+ EDU (website) 📲
The Sphero Edu platform uses app-enabled robots to foster creativity through discovery and play, all while laying the foundation for computer science. Our program goes beyond code with collaborative STEAM activities, nurturing students’ imaginations in ways no other education program can. Cross-platform apps are approachable for all skill levels of programming JavaScript, allowing us to reach as many minds as possible. It is designed to inspire a love of robotics, coding and STEM all through connected play. Think outside the bot and inspire your future. |
Lesson Resource Websites
CodeSpark Academy with the Foos (website)
Download computer science lessons that include explanations of key CS concepts, offline activities, worksheets and answer keys. |
Computational Thinking (CT) Materials (website)
Incorporate computational thinking (CT) into your curriculum with these classroom-ready lesson plans, demonstrations, and programs (available in Python and Pencil Code). All materials in this collection have been aligned to both core subject and CS education standards |
CS Fundamentals (website)
Our Computer Science Fundamentals courses have about 15 lessons that may be implemented as one unit or over the course of a semester. Students create computer programs that will help them learn to collaborate with others, develop problem-solving skills, and persist through difficult tasks. They will study programming concepts, computational thinking, digital citizenship, and develop interactive games or stories they can share. |
Maker Projects: A Five-Pack of Design Challenges and LAUNCH Projects (website)
Each LAUNCH Project includes the following:
1. Design the Ultimate Roller Coaster 2. Create a City for Superheroes 3. Design Your Own Pinball Machine 4. Capture the Castle 5. Build Your Own Board Game Email or call Sheila Bowman or Curtis Andres for more information |
Pre-reader Express (website)
Learn the basics of computer science and internet safety. At the end of the course, create your very own game or story you can share. |
More Resources and Articles
Intermediate from 2016 and 2017 NMC CoSN Horizon Report
Add Coding to Your Elementary Curriculum… Right Now go.nmc.org/addingc (Links to an external site.) (Matt Harrell, Edutopia, 17 March 2015.) The author implores schools to make coding part of their fabric, citing children’s desire to use their computers and tablets to build and create useful things. Five tips for introducing coding are recommended.
Coding in the Armenian Classroom: A Quiet Revolution go.nmc.org/codarm (Links to an external site.) (Lilit Petrosyan, The Armenian Weekly, 17 November 2016.) A secondary school in Gargar, Armenia, served as a coding hub during the summer. Over nearly two weeks, children from grades two to five learned the foundations of coding through gaming and visual art elements using learning materials sourced from Code.org. The pilot project was a success and education leaders have plans to create more after-school coding opportunities.
Modern Literacy: Teaching Elementary Students How to Code go.nmc.org/codcomp (Links to an external site.) (Denizhan Pak, Roosevelt Institute, accessed 10 August 2017.) In Knox County School District, elementary students learn Boolean logic in first-grade math classes followed by programming-inspired games in second and third grades, before tackling more theoretical classes in Python in grades four and five.
K-12 from 2016 and 2017 NMC CoSN Horizon Report
Coding Education in Schools: Crucial as English and Maths — Or is It? go.nmc.org/orisit (Links to an external site.) (Colleen Ricci, The Age, 7 June 2015.) Australian parliament members are working to ensure coding is taught at all primary schools across the continent by 2020. The aim is to foster students who can design and operate the apps and devices that will fuel Australia’s future economy.
Coding In K12 Computer Science: It Starts From Your Imagination go.nmc.org/startsfrom (Links to an external site.) (Jason Rukman, eLearning Industry, 2 July 2016.) The author laments that K-12 computer science lessons are too often derived from traditional academic methods that favor the absorption of concepts over demonstrating imagination. The inclusion of coding in digital storytelling and project-based pedagogies can help students learn programming while giving them the autonomy to explore their own creativity.
How to Teach Coding and Programming go.nmc.org/howtoteach (Links to an external site.) (The Guardian, 1 September 2015.) This article encompasses examples, resources, and affordable digital tools for primary and secondary educators looking to introduce coding into their learning environments.
A New Model for Coding in Schools go.nmc.org/anewmod (Links to an external site.) (Digital Promise, 4 August 2015.) Digital Promise points to the successful coding model of South Fayette Township School District in rural Pennsylvania. Coding is embedded in the school culture as elementary school children begin with block-based coding and high schoolers participate in AP computer science, Java and Python coding, as well as software development teams.
24 Coding Programs Boosting Diversity in Tech go.nmc.org/divtech (Links to an external site.) (Kadenze Blog, 15 October 2016.) While minorities and women continue to be underrepresented in the tech industry, this post highlights 24 international programs, such as Women Who Code, #YesWeCode, and We Can Code It, that are addressing the disparity through a variety of approaches.
Trends in the State of Computer Science in U.S. K–12 Schools go.nmc.org/statecom (Links to an external site.) (Google Inc. and Gallup Inc., accessed 13 July 2017.) While the importance of building coding literacy for future success is well noted, its integration in schools remains uneven. This report highlights that only 60% of schools surveyed offered at least one computer science course, underscoring the need for more urgency in the embedding of coding instruction in schools.