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"Coding for kids (otherwise known as computer programming) is growing rapidly in popularity. While programming is offered in a small number of traditional schools in the US, a Gallup poll indicates that 90% of parents would like computer programming to be taught during the school day. Even in the schools that offer computer science in the classroom, the level of rigor has been traditionally low, and many parents have chosen to look for outside resources to provide coding instruction. In this guide, we provide parents with the answers to some of the most common questions that we encounter operating a successful kids coding academy, and we attempt to provide advice on academic approach, curriculum selection, and other resources."

"Encouraging diverse participation in STEM in middle school is crucial. Students who do not have STEM opportunities in middle school and high school are very unlikely to take those opportunities in college. We are committed to offering creative learning experiences and the best career opportunities for all kids. How do we recruit and retain a diverse student body in elective STEM classes such as computer science and engineering? For your students who don't typically identify as "engineers"-many female and minority students as well as some boys-what motivates them to sign up for, and become invested in, an engineering class or activity? While we don't claim to have completely cracked the code, focusing on this effort has made us better, more culturally inclusive teachers, and we believe our students will be better off in the long term because of sustained efforts to broaden access to CS and engineering."

"There has been a big push in computer-science education in the last few years. The UK has made it part of its national curriculum, President Obama has pledged $4 billion toward a national computer-science initiative and a slew of toys and games designed to teach kids how to code have come to market. Even Apple got into the spirit with the introduction of Swift Playgrounds, an iPad app that instructs kids on the basics of the company's Swift programming language. Today, Google detailed its own big investment in computer-science education. It's called Project Bloks, an open hardware platform that anyone can use to create physical coding experiences for kids."

"Whether you are new to the computer, returning for review or just want to gain more 21st century skills, our free computer tutorials can help. From computer basics and online safety to social media and using the cloud, we have a wide range of free technology tutorials to choose from."

"t's prelim week at Cedars. In Scotland, pupils with additional needs can use a "Digital Question Paper" to complete their exam. A DQP is a PDF with embedded forms. The pupil sits at a computer and fills in the form to answer the questions. For exams involving graphs, equations or other hard-to-do-on-the-computer things, they can also switch to working on paper. At the end of the exam, the PDF is printed out and the exam goes away on paper with the rest to be marked. So this week it's been my job to get this going. I thought it would be useful to write down the process and considerations for doing this on our computer infrastructure. Can you do this on an iPad? Of course you can."

"Often times when I go into a classroom to work with students and iPads I connect my iPad to whatever projection system exists in the room. I'm pretty comfortable unplugging cables from computers, but not everyone is. Recently I set up a bunch of schools with a one-touch solution to switch their SMARTboard or projector between their computer and their iPad."

"During this year's Computer Science Education Week (specifically on Dec 11th), I saw the other side of "The Hour of Code" campaign. Many schools around the world are beginning to include computer science and programming instruction in their math and language arts classes. At my school, we also saw the inclusion of some great discussion about narrative and story in our computer science special event."

"This year is the start of something special in education: computers are starting to be seen as an opportunity, not just a smarter typewriter. Since the new computing curriculum was announced last year, there has been renewed interest in teaching children how to program computers and not just use them to run applications"

"DisplayNote is a software and app solution that gives a way of tying all these elements together. Simply load the software onto your computer (Mac or PC). When you open it up, it will work as an overlay to the computer desktop and give you a bank of interactive tools that you can use from your computer or any interactive display. "

" Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer…because it teaches you how to think. -Steve Jobs Did you learn how to code in school? Did you ever take an intro to programming, computer science, or web development?"

"Thanks to code.org's "Hour of Code," millions of students will get their first taste of computer programming this week, Dec. 9-13, designated as Computer Science Education Week. If schools do decide to go beyond the one hour and take the next step to add coding as a part of school curriculum, what will this look like? Getting kids excited about coding is the easy part. What about the stuff that administrators and educators must worry about - funding, teacher development, curriculum, connection to standards? And, where do you fit this "coding class" in a school day?"

"Yes, National Computer Science Week is over and more than 10 million students participated in the Hour of Code and the feedback from all over the country is pretty incredible. Chicago Public Schools announced they are adding Computer Science into the core curriculum for all students. Schools and districts that have been promoting coding for years, like Los Altos School District, are getting great press about what they accomplish with students. New apps, programs and teacher training resources are popping up all over. 2014 definitely feels like it is going to be the year of the student coder!"

"We all know that from September 2014 the national curriculum is changing to include Computing as a programme of study and I am sure I speak for a lot of teachers when I say "but I know nothing about programming or coding?!" Before we panic too much about how we teach this new area its important to note that the subject of Computing is not solely about coding and importantly involves a whole range of areas that we may already be delivering in other subjects such as maths and science without realising it. The skills that encompass computer programming are those that will also transfer into the real world such as problem solving and thinking logically, which will obviously transfer into the world of work and are useful skills for learners to develop moving forward in their careers irrespective of the job area."

"Computer coding is promoted as a must-learn skill for 21st Century students. Dan Donahoo questions what's driving this view. Learning to code has become something of an edtech focus over the last 12 months. Venture capitalists are seeding places like Code Academy, Code.org and any number of mobile, apps and computer games to teach us and our students the language of computation. But, do all students need to learn to code?"

"Unfortunately, the strength in the talent pipeline that we see in female soccer today is not the reality for technology. The U.S. is facing a shortage of Computer Science (CS) graduates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every year there are close to 140,000 jobs requiring a CS degree, but only 40,000 U.S. college graduates major in CS, which means that 100,000 positions go unfilled by domestic talent. Even more dramatic is that women in U.S. colleges and universities earn only 18 percent of CS degrees. In middle school, 74 percent of girls express interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), but when choosing a college major, only 0.4 percent of high school girls select computer science. The true potential of future innovation will only become a reality if more women are part of it. A rich, diverse community of innovators is key for new technologies to address the needs of modern society. That is why Microsoft YouthSpark - a global initiative to create opportunities for all youth to learn computing - supports Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization that aims to close the gender gap in technology in the U.S."

"If we are to be completely honest with ourselves, the concept or theory behind computer science in the curriculum is not new, well not within Early Years Education. If we stop and think for a minute, what is happening when we code? We end up with - Problem Solving. Plain and simple……Computer programmers, computer scientists……solve problem! Our young learners spend every day solving and overcoming problems and obstacles. As educators, we set up scenarios, we pose problems and we guide the children towards finding strategies. These challenges are often in Maths and Science lessons but we sometimes see them in Physical Education and language classes too. We always strive to relate these problem solving skills to contexts, it makes sense if children can relate to real life scenarios. And this is where coding fits in."

"It was the summer of my disconnect… I've decided to try for a different focus this summer.  I want to spend a LOT less time online and tinker with technology that doesn't revolve around a 2D computer screen. Last year at this time, I was wrapping up my look at teaching computer programming to primary students.  I had just finished submitting in my Coetail Final Project and this was the subject-matter that I had chosen for my final project.  My investigation was done mainly through the 2D environment of the computer screen.    My own children and I spent last summer participating in two online "kids camp" programs that were an extension of my Coetail Final Project.  They were Scratch Programming and Minecraft.  We worked through several weeks of challenges, earned digital badges, and posted our creations online.  Some of them were featured in a weekly Show and Tell that was streamed over the internet by Pursuitery (has some connection with Connected Learning Alliance  and Mimi Ito of "Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out"). That was a huge amount of fun but it was all pixels."

"Creativity is at the heart of a makerspace. The possibilities are endless and the supplies in a makerspace can spark ideas. One of my favorite creativity-fueling components of our makerspace is a Makey Makey, or as they're known as - an invention kit for everyone. The Makey Makey comes in a simple box with very little instructions. For non-techies, the wires and alligator clips could scare people from exploring. So, let's break this down, because there is no reason to fear the unknown. Picture The Makey Makey comes with a circuit board (your home base), a USB connector to connect to your computer, and alligator clips and wires (these help you connect and create). All of these components allow you to connect back to your computer to control what's happening on screen through the USB cord. You can connect the wires in any combination you'd like to work with different programs on your computer. "

"I participate as a parent in our middle school Tech Club - the TechDetectives. The 8th graders in the club came up with this great end of year project idea - they wanted to take apart one of the lab computers and re-mount all the parts on the wall so that future students could easily see all the parts of this working computer. It was something they saw done on YouTube. I've been calling it the "CoW" (Computer On the Wall). I loved this idea - and quickly volunteered to help out after school - knowing we didn't have enough time in tech club before the end of their graduating year to finish it. As I described in a few posts previously, this project also turned into a great opportunity for some #3DPrinting solutions."