Collaborate. Create. Construct. CODE.​

There is a new type of literacy. C​oding. If you're interested in "Finding the Benefits of Code" for your classroom check out the link. Topher Mueller an educator in the U.S., wrote a great blog entry on "Why We Teach Coding." U.S. based Education Consultant, Grant Smith, writing for the fantastic website, Edutopia.org has a fantastic piece titled "3 Steps to Becoming a Coding Teacher."

These iOS (and one Android) apps are free of charge and work on many skills associated with computer programming. They all look at the following and more: programming/reading literacies, problem solving skills (debugging), "If this then that" (IFTTT) analysis, and Mathematics.

Starting Early - Ages 5 - 10+
Cargo-Bot Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
Cargo-Bot is another game that teaches coding skills. On each level, the objective is to move coloured crates from one place to another by programming a claw crane to move left or right, and drop or pick up. The game was actually programmed on an iPad, using a touch-based coding app called Codea, which is based on the programming language Lua. Elementary students will learn the logical thinking required to eventually do "real" text-based programming using Lua -- but Lua is not for young learners. For elementary students, stick with Cargo-Bot.

Kodable Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
Kodable teaches kids the basics of any programming language in a fun game! Completely self-guided and designed for kids 5 and up.

Hopscotch Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
Hopscotch looks a lot like Scratch and Tynker and uses similar controls to drag blocks into a workspace, but it only runs on the iPad. The controls and characters are not as extensive as Scratch and Tynker, but Hopscotch is a great tool to begin helping students without coding experience learn the basics of programming, logical thinking and problem solving.

Daisy the Dinosaur Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
From the makers of Hopscotch, Daisy targets the youngest coders. The interface is similar to Hopscotch but much simpler. There is only a dinosaur to move and only basic functions to use, but for your younger students, this is an excellent introduction to programming.

ScratchJr Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer.

Codecademy Platform: iPad
Cost: Free!
Learn how to build amazing things online by programming with Codecademy - all for free. Our app gets you started by introducing you to the basic concepts behind the apps on your phone and the websites you visit. You’ll learn to understand the basic structure of code when you see it.

Lightbot - One Hour of Coding '14 Platform: iPad & Android.
Cost: Free!

Get kids hooked on coding within minutes! Lightbot is a programming puzzle game, meaning that its game mechanics require the use of programming logic to solve levels.By simply guiding a robot to light up tiles to solve levels, players cultivate a real understanding of procedures, loops, and conditionals; core concepts to Computer Science. Perfect for guys and girls alike: you can play as Boybot or Girlbot!

Doing More w/ Code

Hardware (the physical stuff you can interact with)

Sphero - http://www.sphero.com/ - Sphero can be coded with the Tickle app and also the Sphere apps! Really fun.

Dash & Dot - https://www.makewonder.com/ - Download the Tickle (iOS) app and you’ll be able to code and program the Dash & Dot robot.

Arduino - https://www.arduino.cc/ - Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Get started with Arduino right here: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage

​Raspberry Pi - https://www.raspberrypi.org/​ - The Credit Card sized computer. Learn Scratch, Python and play Minecraft. Check out my Minecraft Pi resources here!

SparkFun - https://www.sparkfun.com/ - Need to start your electronics and hardware obsession. It starts here.

Adafruit - ​https://www.adafruit.com/ - Electronics, LEDs, Wearables & more!
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The Power of Robotics

Unlocking the Code for Robotics in the Classroom- Julia L. Dweck - on bridging hands on engineering with robotics and coding together. 

Coding at BHS

At Bettendorf High School, we offer Robotics, Coding & Gaming, as well as a Tech Internship class offered through the Business Department.  All of these classes will either give you a taste of coding and computer science, or will help you advance your abilities to achieve greater understanding and know-how.

What can you do with this?  Design websites, build apps, create games, engineer robots, construct circuits and more!

Jobs of the future:
  • Software Developer
  • Database Administrator
  • Computer Hardware Engineer
  • Computer Systems Analyst
  • Computer Network Architect
  • Web Developer
  • Information Security Analyst
  • Computer Programmer
  • Project Manager
  • Gaming Programmer

No iPad? No iPhone? No Android? But a Windows/Mac Computer? Try THIS!

Code.org Overview from Code on YouTube.

Scratch Overview from ScratchEd on YouTube.



Scratch is a project from MIT.
I highly recommends checking out their website: http://scratch.mit.edu/

While there is no iOS application quite yet, Scratch requires a Windows/Mac/Linux computer with a web browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer) and Adobe Flash. 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.

Hello Ruby, Help Us Code!

These links below are from the fantastic Hello Ruby Blog.

For the beginner
For the risk takers
  • Codecademy. Interactive exercises in the browser for Python, Ruby, JavaScript, HTML.
  • Codeschool. Dive deeper into different programming languages.
  • Dash. Learn to make websites with an interactive tutorial.
  • Coursera. I liked the Startup Engineering course.

Books and stories
Curriculum and community
*Much of the content on this page is from http://mrwiebesclass.weebly.com/
​Follow Curtis Wiebe on Twitter @DivisionW