Tag Archives: Tech Camps

Coding Education

There Are Many Ways to Teach Kids Problem-Solving Skills

At CodeREV, we believe it’s important to teach kids how to solve problems. While sometimes it’s important to give them the right answer, most of the time they’re going to learn a lot more if they discover how to actually solve the problem on their own. There are a lot of ways to give them these valuable skills, as evidenced in a recent article in Teacher Magazine titled Developing problem-solving skills.

Jo Earp writes, “When Teacher shares examples of how evidence is being used to inform future action it’s usually educators who are doing the analysis and reflection, but in this case it’s students who’ve been digging into school data while developing their problem-solving skills. The Year 5 and 6 students at Sydney’s Curran Public School have been taking part in the Future Problem Solving Program. ‘Originally, when we started, it was just an idea of trying to build some social conscience and some commitment to the community within my kids,’ Principal Michael Strahan explains. They ended up representing Australia at the international finals in the US, placing third.

Under the guidance of ‘team coach’ Kylie Ring, the youngsters competed in the community problem-solving category and narrowed down their focus to education. Their project was called Kids Helping Kids and aimed to support early years transition. Strahan takes up the story again: ‘It was all about giving kids who are going to come to the school the fundamentals and the foundations to succeed and put them on a pathway to success. The [team of students] sat down with teachers and analysed the entry data that kids were coming into school with. … They did some research and [thought about] the best possible way of making an impact, then developed a plan and put that plan into action.’

Part of the plan was to create care packages that were distributed to pre-Kindergarten students and their families that contained resources to support early learning. The first care package included resources like pencils, pens and tracing cards. Strahan says the new starters and their parents loved the fact they were getting a box from Curran Public School to help them prepare, but adds the real strength of the project for the 12 members of the competition team was what happened next.

‘They then did a comparison analysis against what the kids came into school with this year after distributing the first package, celebrated some successes in the kids’ improvement but also found where there were areas of need and then plugged those up, so it was really evidence-based.’”

This is truly an innovative way to get kids excited about problem solving. At CodeREV we have a series of classes and camps that are designed specifically to show kids that they already have the skills they need, they just need to learn to hone them.

Skills

The Robotics World Championship Brings Together Kids from Around the World

It’s no surprise to us that teaching kids robotics can help improve their lives in a number of ways but the recent Robotics World Championship was a particularly inspiring event. A recent article titled Mexican, Central American kids show off robotics talents in Austin does a great job showcasing what was so special about this contents.

“Ana Sofía Orta is only 8 years old, but she’s already decided she wants to do when she grows up: robotics. The little girl from Tamaulipas, Mexico, is on the right path. On May 21, Orta was among 860 children who traveled from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to participate in the Robotics World Championship 2016, an international competition held at Circuit of the Americas to promote the talent and technical skills of kids from countries that are more commonly associated with gangs, drugs and violence.

The all-day event was organized by the Asociación Américana de Robótica y Tecnología, AAROBOTEC, a group that has been promoting robotics competitions among Latin America schools over the last twelve years, said Pedro Bello, president of the organization. Promoting robotics in classrooms encourages children to choose tech-oriented fields and gives them an opportunity to explore their creativity, said Bello, who is also the principal at a private school in Querétaro, Mexico. Robotics “integrates math, physics and computers,” he said. “And through competitions, children learn in an easy, simple and pleasant way.”

One objective of AAROBOTEC is to encourage the creation of robotics programs in more public and private schools, which could increase the number of students who enter technology fields, said Bello. AAROBOTEC had more than 150,000 students who participated in local competitions in Latin America in the last year. The finalists won the trip to Austin to compete in the championships. “We have to invest in education, in robotics” Bello said, emphasizing that the participating countries have. “There is a lot of talent. They are good people.”

Of course, kids don’t have to live in Mexico or Central American to take advantage of the benefits of learning robotics at a young age. At CodeREV we are here to teach kids essential skills and give them tools to move forward with an interesting hobby that could turn into a lucrative career. Check out our after-school programs or tech camps for more information.

Coding Curriculum, Coding Education

Spring Camps a Success So Far!!

This Spring Tech Camp has been a huge success!  Many of our students have told us this is the best camp they have ever been to, and have even changed plans to keep coming next week.  We will be posting students’ creations shortly, so stay tuned to see some of the wonderful things our students have designed and coded!!  We are so proud of our guys!!!

We will be holding another Spring Tech Camp this coming April 6-10, so if you haven’t had a chance to try us out, this is a perfect time to come see what all the buzz is about.  As of today, we have a handful of spots left in our Creative Coding Center in Santa Monica.  Our Spring Coding Camps include many different programs to choose from, ranging from robotics to modding in Minecraft, to learning coding through 3D Video Game Design, to creating 3D animations, so come check us out for an experience that will change your child’s perspective on technology and learning forever!  Or, if you can’t make it this Spring, come join our Summer Tech Camps this summer for a chance to get in on the creative fun!

In addition to creating on the computer, we have sessions throughout the day in which students learn to plan out their projects before hopping on the computer, we have creative brainstorming sessions with peers and instructors, and we hold incredibly fun outdoor games our campers play which involve running outside and teamwork.  Students enjoy a bit of everything, and even go home with the ability to create on their own and a newfound confidence with the technology they have learned.