In this episode, robotics and STEM educator Regena Landry joins to discuss her journey with teaching coding to kids and how educators can get over a fear of coding in the classroom. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Why is coding important?” then you’ll want to tune into this conversation. You’ll also hear about free, paper-based and digital tools for any educator to get started with computational thinking and coding with students of all ages!
This week’s episode is titled: “Getting Over a Fear of Teaching Coding to Kids with Regena Landry.” And I am so excited for you to hear this conversation with robotics and STEM educator Regena Landry. I first came across Regena’s work while reading new articles on Edutopia. She shared a piece all about her journey with coding and I thought the topic of getting over a fear of coding would be a great one to explore on the podcast. The idea of teaching coding to kids and incorporating computer science is one that can feel intimidating if you don’t have a lot of personal or professional experience in this area.
If you listened to episode number 153 with Laurie Guyon about making computer science standards fun, then this is a great companion piece to that conversation.
Listen to the podcast episode on your favorite platform:
Teaching Coding to Kids Tips
- First, introduce computational thinking without technology.
- Next, connect to step-by-step, every day experiences.
- Then, explore online resources like scratch.
- Finally, build this way of thinking into everyday interactions.
Sponsored by EdTech Essentials
This episode is sponsored by EdTech Essentials: The Top 10 Technology Strategies for All Learning Environments, my newest book from ASCD. Readers will find, timely, and accessible lesson ideas and strategies. EdTech Essentials shares ways to prepare students to be productive, responsible users of technology both within and outside the classroom. Find EdTech Essentials on Amazon, or head over to ClassTechTips.com to learn more and download the free study guide. A quick note about Amazon: If you search for me, Monica Burns, on Amazon you’ll see some spicy books from an author with the same name as me – so if you head to my website, you’ll find more information about the book and a direct link to find EdTech Essentials on Amazon.
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Click to see the transcript
Episode Resources
- Connect with Regena Landry on LinkedIn
- Incorporating Coding in STEM Classes (Regena Landry’s Edutopia Article)
- LEGO® EV3 Platform
- LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0 Core Set
- ScratchJR (Coding tool for young kids)
- CODE.org
- How to Make Computer Science Standards Fun with Laurie Guyon (Podcast Episode)
- Learn to Code STEAM Lesson Plans for Every Teacher (Blog Post)
- Ideas and Tech Tools for STEAM Classrooms (Blog Post)
- How Flipping Your Classroom Can Save You Time with Mandy Rice (Podcast Episode)
- A Robotics Kit (and Lessons) for Your STEM Program (Blog Post)
- From Screen to Robot: Engaging Students with Interactive STEM Education (Blog Post)
- How to Incorporate Computational Thinking in Any Subject with Jorge Valenzuela (Podcast Episode)
- App Builder for Educators with No Coding Experience Necessary (Blog Post)
- How to Bring Coding Activities Into Any Classroom (Blog Post)
- Virtual Robotics Competition for Students from CoderZ (Blog Post)
- Teach Coding to Elementary Students with an Adventure Course (Blog Post)
- Cyber Robotics Curriculum for Coding and STEM Skill-building (Blog Post)
- Coding in the Classroom with Avokiddo Apps for Kids (Blog Post)
