During Computer Science Week students at Pope John Paul II School and various classes at École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys got to explore and experiment with coding, robotics, and other forms of technology.
The Pope John Paul II School library was set up with a variety of different coding challenges allowing classes of students to break into groups and explored the hands-on coding stations. Grade 5 teacher and Information Technology Teacher Jared Ralko talked about the stations. "The stations were set up to provide students with an opportunity to explore and try different forms of technology. They could program a path for Ozobot, or code directions for Cubetto. Students were able to collaborate in small groups and use problem-solving skills to figure out the challenges.
Across campus, at École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys various classes had activities set up. In Mlle Orr's Kindergarten class, students were able to code a robot mouse named Colby, a coding robot named Cubetto, and explore coding tiles and coding apps on iPads.
In Mme Baker's Grade 4 class students engaged themselves in creating new stories or recreating stories such as "The Nativity Story" in CoSpaces. Students also dove into courses on debugging, sequencing and looping to learn how to create their own game or story. "Coding drives innovation, allows students to be creative and builds confidence," says Mlle Baker. "These skills transfer over into other subjects."
Computer Science Week is December 4 - 10th. Tends of millions of students in 180+ countries participate in Hour of Code activities, honing their collaboration and 21st century learning skills through various technology projects.