When I think of coding, my mind immediately jumps to computers and technology. I’ve never really considered the possibility of hands-on coding without technology, but Cheryl Antoniazzi from Science World opened my eyes to new possiblities.

Cheryl went over the concept of computational thinking (problem solving) and the applied design process with our class. The applied design process includes:

Understanding context, defining, ideating, prototyping, testing, making, and sharing.

The fascinating part about the hands-on coding activities that were shared with us were that almost all, if not all of the applied design processes were present within the activities. This reinforced how great coding is for children and their critical thinking processes.

Some of the activities Cheryl shared with us were:

Coding in Chess using the Knight: we were given a board with different numbers. We were to start on number 1 and move in an L pattern, as a knight in chess would, to move around the board without landing on any number more than once.

Coding with a Map: We were given a route with different numbered stops (i.e. 1 is the library, 2 is the coffee shop, etc.) and told we have to find as many ways to start and end at the library by making every stop only once.

The great thing about these activities is that they are both applicable to real world contexts! I left this presentation feeling excited for all of the possiblities around coding without a computer. I feel more confident going into teaching knowing that not all coding needs to be done with technology.