By Charles Lefebvre

Students learn coding for fun, and for the future

Feb 1, 2018 | 2:31 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Technology is an essential part of our lives, running everything from computers to vehicles.

And now students at George Davison School are learning how to write the code that makes the technology run, which can help them land jobs in the industries that are in-demand now, and will be in demand in the future.

The school launched a Makerspace classroom in its library, giving students in Grades 5 and 6 the opportunity to learn coding, the language used to write computer software.

“I really like it,” said Cyton Corsie, a Grade 6 student. “I’ve started coding at my house before, but this, really, I feel, has helped me learn how to code better.”

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Corsie is passionate about coding. Using programs such as Blockly and Hour of Codde, he’s able to drag and drop lines of code to do everything from building web pages to modifying computer games. He demonstrate his skills to CHAT Television, showing how he can turn a basketball game into a hockey game with a few commands.

“You get a game, and you can say, i want to change this to from basketball to hockey, and then you learn how to shoot the puck, make it shoot the puck at the goal, or shoot the basketball into the basket,” he said.

Michael Tschritter, a teacher and librarian at the school, teaches the program, and says he’s impressed with how his students have grown since the start of the year.

“We started by learning the basics and the coding language and all sorts of things, and then we’ve moved into actually coding our own games, developing our own programs within these two apps,” he said.

The federal government announced $50 million in funding for programs across Canada that help teach children coding. The government has said it will help students prepare for the future workforce, where technology is common-place.

While school boards weren’t part of the funding announcement, SD76 has stepped up recently to help teachers. Blair Lukacs, an instruction coach with the division, recently hosted a session for teachers at all grade levels to help them integrate coding into their classroom.

“In elementary, that might look like coming in for some digital storytelling or using coding as a vehicle to animate,” he said. “It’s using the coding as an opportunity to share the content that’s being taught.”

Coding is currently only an optional program in Alberta. The province is rewriting the curriculum, and Tschritter believes coding has potential to help students achieve in today’s world.

“When I think of coding, I think of problem solving skills, I think of advanced literacy skills, I think of applications to the computer sciences,” he said. “It has so many connections to what the kids are learning not only in this class, but also throughout the entire curriculum as well.”

Corsie agrees.

“I think it is very important, because then it helps you evolve to future stuff that you can do,” he said.

“I’ve been working for the last couple of years to try and get up there, and this is really helping me.”