Learning to code

[robh77]

I've been in IT all my life and have recently wanted to use this knowledge to help parents learn to code, so they are better able to support their children with the computing curriculum.

I want to set up a free Meetup group to help parents learn coding skills as there don't seem to be many around currently. The reason for my post is to see if you thought this would be useful and, if so, what level you'd like to see it pitched at.

Do people want help to learn Scratch or would the course be more valuable covering a "proper" language such as Python? Would a mix of these be better, progressing from Scratch into Python?

I really want to do something here that could help people, so any views or ideas that you have would really be appreciated.

Many Thanks!
Rob

My ds started to code since 6. I started together with him , but I can't keep up with him. There are so many free coding site online where children can learn to code.
I wonder parents learning a little bit would actually help children or not.
They pick up so quickly.

It might be better to set up coding club to teach children directly, rather than through parents?.
We don't have coding club at school, or code dojo near us. So it would be handy if we have one near us.

CoderDojo is a good model because parents can learn alongside their kids if that works for them, or else they can sit back and let the kids get on with it. And it covers a broader age range than Code Club.

I would like to learn to code but have no idea what you're talking about re scratch

Take a look at volunteering with Code Club here. They have a template that fits in with the National Curriculum.

Jennifer, scrach is coding using blocks, so you can programme without actually writing code yourself. A lot of primary use this.

scratch.mit.edu/

If you like to learn to code, these are easy to learn site for kids and adults.

www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming

www.codecademy.com/

I know I'm late to the party on this thread but I just wanted to share with you an activity book which both you and your child can explore without the need of a screen (devices can make learning a 1-1 experience). Try out the Super Duper CSS Coloring-in-Book which offers activities to get to grips with the keywords and concepts of HTML and CSS check it out here :

www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Duper-CSS-Coloring-Book/dp/099339812X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1477299511&sr=1-1

Code clubs and home schools use this technique to add context to lines of code. Good luck!!