{"id":2294,"date":"2015-05-13T13:39:24","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T20:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/instructionaltechnology\/?p=2294"},"modified":"2015-05-13T13:39:24","modified_gmt":"2015-05-13T20:39:24","slug":"writing-code-independently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/instructionaltechnology\/2015\/05\/13\/writing-code-independently\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Code Independently"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly every time I walk into Ponderosa Elementary I see\u00a0Bill Ruiter, a truly dedicated volunteer at the school who teaches the kids to program every week. \u00a0Bill’s passion for writing code is contagious, and his students are always excited to share what they have created. \u00a0 I know that Bill would volunteer to write code with students from every school in the district if he could. \u00a0The fact is, kids from many of our digital conversion schools are finding tools to help themselves learn this valuable skill everyday. \u00a0They make simulations, models, and even games using programs like Scratch, Tinkerbox, and Hopscotch. \u00a0However, they may not see the connection to code writing\u00a0just by “tinkering” in these apps at home on their iPads. \u00a0Help promote fundamental programing skills to the students in your classroom by taking them to\u00a0CODE.ORG\u00a0<\/a>. \u00a0At the very least watch the video together. \u00a0Consider signing up for accounts as a class and getting them started with their first lesson. \u00a0 My\u00a0Pilot Butte Middle School students from 4 years ago stop me in the halls at Bend\u00a0High now to tell me of their progress on the site. \u00a0 They speak with the same passion as Bill\u00a0when he shares the work of his young programmers at Ponderosa.<\/p>\n