Some of you may already be familiar with Codecademy, which offers free on-line courses in programming and web-site authoring. Now, the site is offering a free after-school program that it states can be used with students as young as 7. During the first semester, the students learn how to build a website. The second semester teaches how to build an adventure game with JavaScript.
According to Codeacademy, even teachers who have little experience with programming can facilitate the after-school club. There is a free, downloadable curriculum, and Codecademy also provides a mailed kit to the first 250 teachers to sign up, which includes stickers and “other stuff for your club”.
The program is self-paced, and there are no downloads or special pieces of equipment required. As long as you have computers with compatible internet-connected browsers, you do not need to provide any other materials.
Codeacademy’s After-School Program looks like a great opportunity for younger students to begin learning the basics of computer languages.
