Excellent Ressource and Practice to introduce Coding to Early Coders

Submitted 11 years ago
Philippe C.
Philippe C.
Technology coordinator
K–12 school
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

As part of the Computer Science Education Week, I used Cargo Bot as the 2nd App in order to introduce Coding to young students. Prior to Cargo Bot, I recommend to present Light Bot.
Both Apps presents similar challenges and are perfect to promote students to engage at their own pace. Cargo Bot proposes a simple concept: program a robotic crane to rearrange crates so they match the layout at the top of the screen.

How I Use It

Used in an after school Early Coders Club, Cargo Bot engages students immediately because it is simple and challenging.
Cargo Bot offers 2 extra interesting features, a "Hints" button and a "Record this solution" capability.
The "Hints" button would encourage students easily frustrated and really help on assessing the accuracy for a solution to the challenge.
Also, since there are often several solutions to a challenge, comparing several solutions expands critical thinking. I use both features as part of the weekly homework and the first thing students want to share is their video recording for the assignment. Each time, I would use this sharing time as a set up to introduce a new topic. So, not only is has improved critical thinking but also it promotes respect among each others.