Coding is, of course, a hugely important area of 21st century education. Whether they're as young as Pre-K or ready to enter college, coding is extremely relevant to almost every student's future. Thankfully, millions of educators and administrators realize the importance of teaching kids to code. Whether it's a curricular requirement or part of an informal school club, programming experiences are amazingly valuable for students. There's also plenty of options, so educators can find something without complicated or pricey features. In this section, you'll see a lot of different topics related to K-12 coding. These include features on particular STEM tools, insights on coding integration, skills students can develop and more. There's also something for teachers of all grade levels. Whether you teach the early grades or have students with the foundation to take the next step, you'll find helpful resources for teaching coding in the classroom.
Coding is truly an experience that all K-12 students can have. Starting in the early grades, students can code screen-free with a tool like the Cubetto Robot. Then, they can start to increase their coding skills and explore Blockly environments using tools like the Dash Robot, Ozobot Evo, and many others. From there, students can explore a bunch of different languages, like Snap!, Scratch, MakeCode, and more and, eventually, expand their skill sets by exploring text-based languages, like JavaScript and Python. All the while, the STEM solutions we advocate for also allow students to learn the most important coding concepts, like loops, variables, inputs, conditionals, and syntax. With a natural progression that leads to increased computer science competencies and enhanced future readiness, it's tough to understate the relevance of coding experiences in the classroom.
The Root Robot by iRobot Education is regularly among the most versatile educational robotics devices. With its three levels of coding and something for all students—from pre-readers up to veteran programmers—within their iRobot Coding platform, instructors can access impactful STEAM projects, incorporate new coding concepts, and boost students’ CS development.
Drones are currently used in many key industries, like telecommunications, agriculture, construction, and security, They are even finding a home in the performing arts, and soon enough, delivery drones might even show up at your door. Therefore, it is essential for middle and high-school students to build familiarity with coding and piloting using the top educational drones.
Although it’s a more advanced robotics tool, the Create 3 is certainly viable for any classroom. The biggest differentiator between the Create 3 and the Root Robots comes with its programming functionalities, which are almost entirely centered on text-based programming in Python but teachers could also, however, use it to introduce students to the world of ROS 2.
When teaching STEAM and coding skills with the Edison Robot, its unique features make it super popular among today’s teachers. This starts with its compact size, which helps to make the Edison a true 1:1 STEM solution in many cases. Some say it’s shaped like a brick but it’s also very dense and tough, which makes it a strong option
You might already know that the micro:bit is an extremely versatile STEAM tool. It’s also, however, compatible with a bunch of other technologies, like the Finch Robot 2.0, Hummingbird Bit, pi-top CS Kit, and more. Those are not the only STEAM solutions on that list, however, so we explored one of those other in-depth EdTech kits in the Strawbees micro:bit
Codesters is a digital programming platform that truly helps teachers keep student coding opportunities flowing. In this Rising Resources post, we are exploring Codesters and why it’s such a helpful platform for anyone who is teaching coding in the classroom. To start, it’s free for educators to sign up and it helps make coding lessons fun and challenging for students.
There truly is an endless number of elements to computer science and, as time has gone on, educational robotics solutions have evolved to help our teachers illustrate so many key coding concepts with various avenues for students to develop these skills. So, while some are designed for EarlyEd students (as early as Pre–K), others are complex enough for high school.
The Ozobot Bit Robot was a longtime go-to STEM solution for teaching all about coding, robotics, computational thinking, and problem solving. Now that the Bit has been retired for a few years, however, you may want to try to upgrade. Its successor, the Ozobot Evo, continues to enable educators to teach CS lessons with its significant upgrades, like Bluetooth capability.
The mBot-S is one elementary robotics tool that’s perfect for students who want to build a robot before coding. For any educators throughout the K–8 grades, it’s a great tool for incorporating STEAM experiences into activities that highlight creative development as kids enjoy valuable experience with engineering and collaborating while building a real robot from scratch.
There are typically two primary options for younger kids (or older students) to get started with coding: either physical tools or digital tools. Most of our expertise involves the physical coding tools, including educational robotics kits, circuitry solutions, or even programmable drones. Especially following the remote learning era, however, there are also strictly virtual platforms.
