NLSchools recognizes the importance of computer science and coding, and encourages teachers to involve students in this global initiative, as coding activities serve to empower students to create, communicate, collaborate, and problem solve.
It is NLSchools goal that by the end of the 2018-19 school year, at least 80% of our schools will have engaged students in coding related activities. It is a further goal of our Coding Support Team to further engage all schools throughout the District in coding by the end of the 2019-20 school year.
There are various ways to get involved in coding. Please find below a number of resources in use throughout the province that you can explore with your family and friends. Click a topic to open the content.
The CanCode program established by the Government of Canada
aims to support educational opportunities for coding and digital skills development to Canadian youth from kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12).
It also supports initiatives that provide K-12 teachers with the training and professional development they need to introduce digital skills, coding and related concepts in the classroom.
This program officially began in 2017-2018.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, there are eight CanCode partner organizations: On April 16, 2018 the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador established a funding partnership with Brilliant Labs, to provide educational technologies related to coding, computational thinking and Maker Education in schools. Brilliant Labs partnered with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) to engage and support students and educators in elementary schools throughout the province in the fall of 2018. This program has now expanded into junior and senior high schools.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, there are eight CanCode partner organizations: On April 16, 2018 the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador established a funding partnership with Brilliant Labs, to provide educational technologies related to coding, computational thinking and Maker Education in schools. Brilliant Labs partnered with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) to engage and support students and educators in elementary schools throughout the province in the fall of 2018. This program has now expanded into junior and senior high schools.
- Brilliant Labs has two project funding options available through this initiative:
- Option 1: Teachers may apply for classroom coding and maker education hardware up to a maximum value of $500.
- Option 2: schools may apply for coding and maker education hardware up to a maximum value of $3000. This equipment must contribute to a school maker space.
- It is recommended that teachers contact one of the following individuals to discuss eligibility prior to the application process:
- Proposals must be submitted through the online application which can be accessed via brilliantlabs.ca/funding
- Proposals must identify the specific curriculum connections and how student learning will be assessed
- Proposals must identify the specific equipment and resources requested from Brilliant Labs
- NLESD Coding Itinerants are available to support teachers and schools through this process
- Actua / Memorial Engineering Outreach
We take requests for school visits for all grades. Youth have the opportunity to learn engineering and digital literacy skills through hands-on activities. Our collection of robotics kits, coding tools and other engineering resources make our free workshops fun and educational. For more information, please email khong@mun.ca or visit http://www.mun.ca/engineering/community/outreach/. - Brilliant Labs
Brilliant labs supports the integration of creativity, innovation, coding, and an entrepreneurial spirit within classrooms and educational curricula through the supply of resources and continuous professional learning. BL provides ongoing support for makerspace development, makercart, PBL, Coding, and industry supported innovation challenges. For more information contact John Barron at john@brilliantlabs.ca or check out www.brilliantlabs.ca. - Canada Learning Code
We focus on increasing educational opportunities for coding and digital skills development for children grades K-12 in every province and territory with a specific focus on engaging youth that are typically underrepresented in the tech industry: girls, Indigenous youth, youth living in low-income, rural and remote communities. Canada Learning Code's project will provide learning experiences for students and teachers (K - 12) through in-person workshops via the CodeMobile. Book a visit with the Code Mobile today! Over 3000 students are participating in Canada Learning Code Week in NL and 84000 across the nation - Join us and check out the free lessons here: www.canadalearningcode.ca/week/ - Hackergal
Hackergal's mission is to champion girls across Canada to explore the possibilities in code, empowering a curious and powerful group of next-generation developers and tech leaders. Through the "Hackergal 2.0: Reaching New Heights" initiative, they will deliver training on the basics of coding through workshops and in-school hackathons that will occur biannually (May and December) with all schools participating in the hackathon simultaneously. Prior to the hackathons, teachers and female students will engage in lessons which will introduce them to the basics of coding and how to apply their skills to open-ended creative projects, then on hackathon day, the students will apply their skills to solve a problem or raise awareness on a theme connected to social impact. Hackergal also supports teachers through professional development workshops as well as providing online tutorials that are accessible to all schools. For more information contact Kumiko Imai at kumiko@hackergal.org or check out hackergal.org. - Kids Code Jeunesse
We specialize in supporting K-6 elementary school teachers in bringing code into the classroom. Through Can Code funding we are offering professional development through our Code, Create, Teach full day workshops. We offer classroom tested lesson plans on our KCJ website, and in-class support. We also manage Code Club Canada, a bank of projects in Scratch, HTML/CSS, Python, Micro:bits and more. For more information contact jim@kidscodejeunesse.org - Let's Talk Science Living Space
Let's Talk Science Living Space is a science and coding action project focused on the environmental conditions of the International Space Station and school classrooms across Canada. Along with learning about the challenges of living in space, students learn to code micro:bits, create a device to analyze environmental data, and compare their classroom findings to those taken by Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques aboard the International Space Station! Educators who register early have a chance to receive a free kit of micro:bits and a custom multi sensor board. Check out the extensive support materials available online, and register for the project. Go to LetsTalkScience.ca/LivingSpace or email cwells@letstalkscience.ca. - TakingIT Global
TakingIT Global offers MicroWorlds JR, an icon-based coding & storytelling tool for Grades K-4 and MicroWorlds EX, a text-based coding app, for Grades 5-10, that acts as a bridge between block-based coding and professional coding apps. Both run on Windows and Mac computers. In addition, micro:bits robotics and 3 self-paced online courses (including Computational Thinking) are offered for free and we can travel to all 4 regions for PL (although our mandate is under-served regions so Central, Western and Labrador regions are prioritized). Contact Michael Quinn quinnma@gmail.com or visit www.codetolearn.ca. - The Learning Partnership
The Learning Partnership's goal for 2019 is to provide a responsive online training course for teachers called Coding Quest; special attention was given towards supporting the unique needs of teachers in remote school boards. This fully online course provides the learner all the information, training and framework needed to implement Coding Quest in their classroom or for returning teachers, bring Coding Quest to the next level. The course has been scaffolded to be beneficial to both new teachers and teachers who have completed Coding Quest before. No prior coding skills or knowledge is needed for either the teachers or the students! Contact Bradley Grant or visit Coding Quest.
Web Resources
- Code.org
This organization believes that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It organizes the annual Hour of Code campaign which has engaged 10% of all students in the world. - Scratch
A block-based coding platform for ages 6 to 16 but can be used for all ages. Create stories, games, and animations, then share with others. This site is recognized by educators as a foundation point in the coding to learn journey. - CS First
Free curriculum from Google that uses online, project-based tutorials for elementary and middle school students. - W3Schools
A web developers site for all learning needs. No account is required to access tutorials that include web languages such as HTML, CSS, Javascript. This is the go-to resource for web coding. - Khan Academy
Online curriculum that teaches JavaScript programming, HTML/CSS, and SQL, in an interactive online environment, plus courses on Algorithms and Cryptography. - Codecademy
Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in 12 different programming languages. - CS Unplugged
Fun classroom exercises to teach computer science principles, no computers needed!
Code Map
Coding is catching at NLESD! Students are being engaged in learning through code across the province. Check out the map of Newfoundland and Labrador
to see the growing list of schools that have incorporated coding into their learning.
Let us know you are coding at your school by tweeting using #CodeNLESD and @NLSCHOOLSCA or email to let us know.
NLESD Coding Support Team
John Goldsworthy
Program Specialist for Technology Education K-12
100 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's
Email: johngoldsworthy@nlschools.ca
Twitter: @MrGoldsworthy12
Office: 709-758-2349 · Mobile: 709-699-3381
100 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's
Email: johngoldsworthy@nlschools.ca
Twitter: @MrGoldsworthy12
Office: 709-758-2349 · Mobile: 709-699-3381
Melissa Lee
Coding Itinerant Teacher
40 Strawberry Marsh Road, St. John's
Email: melissalee@nlschools.ca
Twitter: @mmelee5
Office: 709-758-6274
40 Strawberry Marsh Road, St. John's
Email: melissalee@nlschools.ca
Twitter: @mmelee5
Office: 709-758-6274
Christine Elliott
Coding Itinerant Teacher
10 Wellington Street, Corner Brook
Email: christineelliott@nlschools.ca
Twitter: @chriselleeducat
Office: 709-637-4604
10 Wellington Street, Corner Brook
Email: christineelliott@nlschools.ca
Twitter: @chriselleeducat
Office: 709-637-4604