Welcome to the 21st Century: 45 Resources on Coding

By now you know what coding is, but do you realize that kids as young as kindergarten are learning how to code through online games and activities? When I first began designing websites in 2007, I found HTML to be very confusing. Of course trying to learn on my own pushed me to take two online classes on website design. Today I am hardly a pro, but know enough to get around. After viewing all the programs, apps websites etc. devoted to teaching code, I came up with this conclusion: I was born in the wrong decade. I've always been jealous of all that my students have at their disposal. Let's face it, I'm a tech nerd. Anyway, that admission out of the way, here's a bundle of resources for you on the subject of coding.




APPS
Code School- free iPhone app

Daisy the Dinosaur- for ages 6-8 yrs. old; teaches kids to code

Hopscotch- for iPhone and iPad

Overview of Coding Apps for Mobile Devices- from EdTechTeacher; 16 listed; some free, some $$

M.I.T. App Inventor- students create their own Android apps; uses Chrome browser

Scratch Jr.- for iPad and Android; for ages 6-8 yrs. old

Swift Playgrounds- learn to code on your iPad; from Apple


ARTICLES
3 Steps to Becoming a Coding Teacher- from Edutopia

15+ Ways of Teaching Every Student to Code- from Edutopia; written by Vicki Davis

Coding for Kindergarteners- from Edutopia

Coding in the Classroom: A Long Overdue Inclusion- Edutopia

Fixing the Bugs: Teaching Kids to Code on a Zero-Dollar Budget- by Mary Jo Madda

How Google is Teaching Kids to Code with Toy Blocks- from INC

How I Started an After School Code Club- by Douglas Tarr

LEGO's New Kit Teaches Kids to Code- article from CNN

Now You Can Learn to Code with Minecraft- from Gizmodo

Teaching Kids to Code Using Legos


HOUR OF CODE
Disney Hour of Code Digital Toolkit- downloadable PDF works with the page Disney's Hour of Code.

Disney's Moana- the title character teaches how to code

Hour of Code Resources- from Kodable; free K-5 coding lesson plans

Hour of Code Suggestions by Grade Level- posted by a group of tech-ed teachers

How-To Guide- grades 2-9; download certificates and templates, and tap into the collection of activities

Teacher-Led Hour of Code Lessons- covers K-12; from Education Week

Try an Hour of Code with Khan Academy- includes TEACHER PAGE

Tynker: Coding for Kids- divided by grades: K-2, 3-5, 6+


VIDEOS












WEBSITES 
Code.org- covers K-12; resource listing on classes (partnered with Disney)

Codeacademy- learn to code for free

Code Combat- students learn to code while playing a game

Code Maven- choose from 59 lessons

Code Monster- 59 lessons to choose from for middle schoolers

Code Monkey- educational game where kids code

Coding in the Elementary Classroom- Google slides presentation

Create Pokemon Game- drag and drop interface

Kids Ruby-fun and easy programming; must download program to use

LEGO Mindstorms- educators can order kits for preschool, elementary and middle school; $$

Lissa Explains it All- "the first and original HTML Help JUST for Kids."

Made with Code Google

Scratch for Educators- students can use to code their own animations, games and interactive stories; there are activities, plans and much more.

Touch Develop- create apps on tablet, desktop or phone; a Microsoft product

16 Mobile Apps for Teacher-Librarians

There are so many great apps out there and so little time to see them all. Some are available for just the iPad, and some are available for iPhone and Android. Teacher-librarians are always on the lookout for great apps and programs for their students and colleagues. This list will be added to the MEGALIST FOR TEACHER-LIBRARIANS. Just click the tab at the top of the page. 

CAM SCANNER- your phone becomes a scanner!

Cam Scanner for iPhone and iPad

Cam Scanner for Android

CURATOR-collect and organize your stuff

Curator for iPhone and iPad

DRAGON DICTATION- just speak and see your text or email messages

Dragon Dictation for iPhone and iPad

Dragon Dictation for Android

Easy Bib for iPhone and iPad

Easy Bib for Android- app reads barcodes for citations of books, MLA citations

Evernote for iPhone and iPad- terrific program to organize your life and the library; Evernote site

Evernote for Android

FEEDLY- follow RSS feeds 

Feedly for iPhone and iPad

Feedly for Android

FLIPBOARD: Your News Magazine- social and world news brought together in one feed

Flipboard for iPhone and iPad

Flipboard for Android

iBooks- for iPhone and iPad; download and read books

Free Books: 23,469 Classics to Go- for iPad; "Browse our handpicked collections, download any of our 23,469 classic books, and read with our fully featured  eReader. Notes, highlights, bookmarks, dictionary support -- it’s all here."

Goodreads for iPhone, iPad

Goodreads for Android

LIBRIVOX AUDIO BOOKS-access over 10,000 books

App for iPhone

App for Android

NPR App for iPhone

NPR App for Android

TED App for iPhone

TED app for Android

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE LIBRARY OF CO

For iPhone and iPad

WordFoto- available on iPhone and iPad, I found librarian Tiffany Whitehead using it to create signage for her subject areas.

World Book: This Day in History-for iPad; excellent source for daily updating on your media center's website

9 Free Programs Your Students Should Be Using Right Now

Audacity

Multilingual audio editor and recorder for many operating systems. Record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs; Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files, cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together, change the speed or pitch of a recording and much more.

Cam Scanner for iPhone 
Cam Scanner for Android
Students can scan through their smartphone! If they need a copy of a handout, worksheet, or need to email homework, they simply scan and email. (File can be pdf or jpeg)

EasyBib (also app for iPhones and Androids)
Free bibliography maker offers ALA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian formats; cite from 59 different sources. Download MLA 7 Guide, MLA Parenthetical Citations Guide, and much more, including online research guide assistance, step by step.

 Evernote (also app for iPhones, iPads, Blackberry and Androids,)
One of my personal favorites, Evernote allows you to collect web snippets, pages, images photos etc. all on their server and syncs with your computer, smartphone or iPad. The web clipper extension in Chrome allows you to take all or part of a site. The computer version (download Evernote at home) adds the function of voice memos. Evernote Trunk offers many apps which directly work with Evernote.

 Google Drive
Everyone should have a Gmail account. No other email offers as much as Google does, and here's why: Google Drive allows you to upload files and folders, create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings and download them in many different formats. If the teacher asks for a PDF file, Google can convert the file. Need a file in MS Word format? DOCX is available. Your students can collaborate on projects even if they are not in the same location. Doing a survey? Google Forms will present results through a Gmail account. Totally awesome, period.

Jing
Jing allows you to take screenshots or record screencasts. (up to 5 minutes) Not bad for short videos, right? (The pro version costs $9.95/month.)

Pixton
Students can create their own comic strips using the click and drag method. 

Skitch (use with Evernote) Android app,  iPhone app
"Annotate images with arrows, shapes, text, and more. Use Skitch to sketch something new, mark up maps, screen captures, or even a photo. Then save or share your Skitch annotation to help others see and understand your ideas."

Zamzar
Students can convert files without downloading any software. Zamzar currently supports a huge number, including documents, images, music, video, e-Book and compressed files.