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Blog

"Team Code" – building a student's leading code group

Karina Batat, Israel  Lead Ambassador and Iris Weintraub ICT School Leader 

 

In today's technology world, to all three job offers have one candidate. Following this lack, a global movement called "The Hour of Code" raised with the aim to exposing everyone (from 4 to 104) in the world to code. The next two weeks tens of millions of students will experience coding in more than 180 countries worldwide. The key message of this amazing worldwide event is "anyone can code."

 

"Team code" is an innovative project, product of a collaboration learning in the last ICT leaders' course, Tel Aviv District, MoE, in July 2015 at Beta School.

 

"Team code" is a cooperation between two schools, Weitzman School in Beit Yehoshua - Hof Hasharon and "Gordon School in Petah Tikva.

 

The project idea was born in a common thinking about how to introduce code at primary schools. Our vision was students as partners, leading code in schools.

 

The project aim to train a group of student leaders to code in schools. The project focuses on exposing students to worlds of virtual environments of code (Kodu, Minecraft) and on training them in critical skills for the 21st century, such as problem solving, teamwork, common sense and creativity.

 

The project "Team Code" involved two groups of students: one group from Weizmann school and one from Gordon school, from 5th and 6th grade. The groups meets once a week for one hour of code, leaded by two ICT teachers, MIE Experts, Iris Weintraub and Karina Batat.

 

 

At the beginning of the course, the students of the "Team Code" have experienced coding and basic concepts of programming (such as an algorithm, loops, variables, etc. ...) and skills training including the construction of age-appropriate lesson plans.

 

During the course, four meetings will be F2F. The first F2F meeting was held a week before the "Hour of Code" week at Beta School with the purpose of planning together the "Hour of Code" event. In this meeting after 15 minutes of Warm Up activity they prepared to each other, they worked in small mixed groups (Weitzman School students and "Gordon School students) to design their "hour of Code" lesson.

 

During the coming week, dressing with "Hour of Code" shirts, the "Team Code" participants will guide the "Hour of Code" in their schools.

 

The add on benefit of the "Team Code" project is the encounter between the students, "Gordon" students & "Weitzman", creating an authentic dialogue, relevant and unique, reflecting the lifestyles in different communities (town, kibbutz and moshav).

 

It is important to emphasize that the involvement and encouragement of the School Principals: Mrs. Daphne Partos, director of Weizmann School and Mrs. Rachel Berman, director of "Gordon School" was essential for its implementation and success. They enable the dreams become reality.

 

Later in the course, the Team Code group, will learn about other worlds as Kodu and Minecraft, and will participate in the Code Olympics, a similar initiative of the Ministry of Education to introduce students to leading technical professional programming while raising students' motivation to study technological subjects.
Keep tuned!

About blog

In this blog we will read stories written by the Future Classroom Ambassadors, FCL network labs, teacher trainers, invited experts, etc. If you would like to submit a story to be published, please send it to fcl@eun.org.