For ten weeks, teachers from primary education in Amsterdam were guided by Pauline Maas and Berend Weij in our course CodePower, to work on programming, robotics, game design and maker education. All to be used in their classrooms.
Code is a language for the future and deserves a space in education. Whether it concerns phones, cities, cars or toys: the world around us gets smarter and smarter. It is important that we understand this world, and therefore we should not only be able to read technology, but also learn to write it. By joining our CodePower course, teachers were introduced to this world in a playful way. They were given the possibilities that technology offers to enrich their lessons and the learning experiences of their pupils.
We designed the course in such manner, that the knowledge and experiences could be used in the classroom in the same week. Teachers in fact did so, thus the pupils were benefitting directly. Some kids knew exactly when their teacher had been at the course and could not wait what they would do next in the classroom.
Teachers shared their lessons in a so-called 'padlet'. This also stimulated teachers to do their "homework". The course will be evaluated over the coming weeks, and our intend is to bring a new course next year. Hopefully as many new teachers can join as possible to develop their creative, digital and technical skills.
