Marty’s Hour of Code

This week awareness is being raised all over the world of just how important it is to include coding in the curriculum. [Computer Science Education Week] is a week dedicated to promoting the importance of learning how to code and just how simple it can be to incorporate coding into the classroom through encouraging everyone to take part and try an [Hour of Code]. Running an hour of code couldn’t be simpler – just select a tutorial or lesson and run with a group of students.

With so much of everyday life now relying on the use of technology, it only seems natural that we begin to give students insights into how things like mobile apps and computer games work from an early stage. However, despite there being a huge demand for employing individuals with a STEM background, there are not enough young people taking these subjects further in their studies. Incorporating computing and coding into the classroom from an early stage can spark an interest in students and highlight to them that this is something that they can get involved in and take further not only through school but at home and STEM clubs.

If you’re looking to introduce coding into your classroom then Marty the Robot is a fantastic place to start. Marty allows for a friendly introduction to the world of programming by allowing students to see their lines of code come to life in the form of a moving and dancing robot. Being able to see how each line of code affects Marty’s movements, students can easily relate concepts in programming to real-world examples. Not to mention, there are now plenty of [resources and lesson plans] available at your fingertips to introduce Marty to your students with very little planning to be done.

Why not join in the fun this Hour of Code week and challenge students to have a dance off with their Martys or see who can program their Marty to tackle an obstacle course the quickest? Don’t forget to tag us on social media [@Robotical] along with [@CSEdWeek] [#HourOfCode]