KIDS LIKE TO CODE

Programming with Hopscotch

Diane Boulanger

PROGRAMMERS ARE YESTERDAY’S AND

TOMORROW’S "ROCK STARS”

Nearly 800 years ago, Al- Jazari created the first automaton, the equivalent of our current robots. Al- Jazari is one of the greatest engineers of the Islamic medieval period whose history is little known. In his book (Book of Knowledge of mechanical processes), he describes about 50 different machines whose features are the basis of modern engineering. The elephant clock is one of his most famous inventions (Wikipedia image ).

Without programming, Neil Armstrong would not have walked on the Moon and Canada would not have built the Canadarm, handled by Colonel Chris Hadfield . As the code.org video shows, without programming, Steve Jobs would not have been able to develop the Apple company, and Bill Gates the Microsoft company. The same is true for Facebook , Twitter, and many more. Our economy , banking, medicine, our security and defense, infrared images, search engines, communications, telephones, e-books , games and electronic sports, architecture, journalism, media, advertising, the field of energy and the world of cinematic arts are all based on programming!

There are not many schools that teach programming, how to code, even if it is the foundation of technological innovation. Learn how to code is the essential element for building technological innovations. From where will come the next generation of programmers if we do not teach? Where our youth will learn to innovate if students are not allowed to do it? Programmers are in high demand and are highly paid. Do we want to empower them to find employment later?

Programming, also called coding, is to give instructions to the computer so that it knows what to do . That's it. There are many programming languages , all with a different purpose, different structures, different computers. Some are very simple and others very complex. Learning programming allow students to learn to solve problems, mathematical concepts and to understand what the technology is. A child can learn from grade 3 with a block language like Hopscotch. It is a habit of thinking that is well worth a look .

HOPSCOTCH

In 2014, Hopscotch won the Kapi award for the best app in educational technology. Currently, Hopscotch is a programming environment available only on the iPad. It enables primary school children to learn programming while having fun. That is true. From my experience, many children have fun while coding. They do so voluntarily at home, at lunch in my computer club, because it is really interesting.

HOPSCOTCH ENVIRONMENT

The Hopscotch environment is easy to use. It shows a monkey, a grid with positions "x" and "y”, a list of types of commands available and where to place the instructions. The grid shows the screen of the iPad. It is divided with Cartesian coordinates "x" and "y". On the grid, we can see the coordinates x from 0 to 800 and y from 0 to 1100. When the monkey moved with his finger on the grid, the x and y coordinates displayed in the grid changes with the position of the monkey.

Monkeys or other animals or objects such as the robot , the octopus or the broom, move on the grid or iPad screen according to the instructions given to him. The monkey can only follow the instructions that the programmer gives. Possible instructions are included in the section in the upper left under the headings Movement, Drawing, Control, Appearance, Variables and Math. It is possible to have multiple animals or objects that work together. Another object or animal is added by tapping the '+' next to the monkey. The instructions for the behavior of monkeys are under the rectangle "When play is affected ." The environment is very simple to use and allows you to create very interesting programs.

HOPSCOTCH COMMANDS

What do Hopscotch commands look like? Here is a list from the most recent version .

The following commands allow the monkey and other objects to move.

move allows to move in the direction that faces the object.

rotate changes the relative direction of the object.

change x by changes the value of the X coordinate

change y by changes the value of the Y coordinate

set rotation specify the direction of the object.

set position change the position of the object to a specified location X and Y.

set speed change of the cruising speed of the object.

The following commands allow you to draw on the screen of iPad.

leave a trail Only orders placed inside this command will be written on the screen.

set line color is used to choose the color of the lines.

set line width is used to change the size of the line.

clear removes all the lines drawn on the screen

The following commands are used to control when to start the instructions below.

When Play Button is tapped. The instructions will take place at the beginning, when the Play button is tapped.

When iPad is shaken. The instructions will take place whenever you shake the iPad.

When the stage is tapped. The instructions will be carried out each time the screen is touched.

When iPad is tilted down. The instructions will be carried out each time the iPad is inclined down .

When iPad is tilted left. The instructions will be carried out each time the iPad is tilted to the left .

When iPad is tilted right. The instructions will be carried out each time the iPad is tilted to the right .

When iPad is tilted up. The instructions will be carried out each time the iPad is tilted upwardly.

When <Monkey> is tapped. The instructions will be carried out each time that the animal or the object is touched .

When iPad detects a loud noise. The instructions will be carried out each time an external noise is detected by the iPad .

When <Monkey> collides with ... edge. The instructions will take place when the object touches the edge .

When <Monkey> collides with ... <other > Object . The included instructions will take place when the monkey strikes an object .

repeat repeats the instructions included multiple times

wait lets the object wait a few milliseconds before continuing

The following instructions are used to change the appearance of the object or animal on the screen.

scale by changes the size of the object by the specified percentage .

set opacity allows an object to become invisible. 100% is fully visible and 0% is invisible.

change costume can change the appearance of objects .

bring to the front brings up the object in front of all others.

send to back places the object behind all others.

Set text changes the text written by text objects to something else.

There are two commands in variables and in Math.

set the variable creates a variable.

change the variable changes the value of the variable.

random selects a number between two other numbers specified completely at random.

A variable is a symbol representing a quantity . This quantity can be changed during the course of the program.

To add another animal, pressing the '+' next to the monkey. The other animal can work at the same time the monkey.

There are also commands to manipulate Hopscotch programs created by the students . To create a new Hopscotch program , we use the command + on the menu. Hopscotch saves its programs on the iPad automatically. Share allows you to send a copy of program by email. Upload allows programs to be shared with other people with AirDrop .

Many of the programs discussed in this manual have a link with the code. You can download programs on your iPad by tapping on each link from your iPad. You only have to tap the monkey and press Open. You will get the message load and voila! You have my code.

FIRST PROGRAM : CAN YOU DRAW A LINE?

Vashti cannot draw. Her white paper looks like a polar bear in a snow storm. Her teacher asked her to draw a line , but she cannot. It is therefore a point. She thinks she can do better. She draws all kinds of points. After some time, Vashti has a collection of drawings made of points worthy of exposure (Reynolds , 2003).

The process of learning to program is quite similar. We learn gradually, while having fun. One starts with a line. First, there is an invisible line. Shortly after, we learn to make the line visible with several colors and all lengths and widths. Finally, we can create our first program made of all kinds of lines. The result is amazing. It's that simple. In a short time, we know how to code !

Here's the code to make an invisible line when you tilt the iPad left or right. We need only four commands to do this. We'll see the monkey move left or right depending on the position of the iPad.

Have you tried?

Link: http://hop.sc/1fEulL1

LINES AROUND THE WORLD

The simplest programs to write involve only

drawing lines. For students from around the world, drawing the flag of their country of origin was natural for a first program and also very personal. It is also a good time to look at another culture.

The first flag, the simplest was the Polish flag. My Polish students found the idea totally awesome .

The Polish flag program consists of drawing an horizontal line on an already white background. For the first line , we have to specify the place where the animal , the monkey in this case , starts the line: x = 0, y = 200. It indicates that the red line and the width of the line is 400 units . Afterwards, the line is written while the monkey is on the move. Everything written needs to be included inside the command leave a trace. To make the monkey invisible use the command sett opacity 0. Press the play button and we get the flag.

Link: http://hop.sc/1fECjUs

As we were learning French as a second language, some students wanted to draw the flag of France. It is also simple. We only need to draw two vertical on an already white background.

Each line drawn is identical except for the color, the starting position and orientation of the monkey. First, I make the monkey invisible as it does not appear on the image of the flag. We will draw lines with a width of 400 units. What is essential is to indicate that the monkey will move vertically by turning up. To do this, turn the monkey 90 degrees using the command set to 90 degrees . Each line is written while the monkey is moving . What appears on the screen is inside the command leave a trail.

The first blue line begins at position x = 100, y = 0. The second red line begins at position x = 900, y = 0 .

Link: http://hop.sc/1fEGIa4

The flag of Japan was also very simple. On a white background , draw a small red with a width of 200 and a length of 1 unit in the middle of the display. The short red line is actually a circle since the lines have rounded tips .

With these combinations of lines, it is possible to make a very large majority of world flags . My third graders have very easily created flags of Niger , Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Finland, Benin and China .

In our French Immersion class, we also learned how to write paragraphs. Once the flag is complete, it is also possible to write about how the program was written, write a story related to the flag or do a research on the country. This becomes another form of writing that can be included in another app like BookCreator. With BookCreator, we can create books using images, text and also the recording of a voice .

IPAD KEYBOARDS

It is possible to have French accents , images and script of several languages with Hopscotch. In the Settings / General / iPad Keypad function, it is possible to add the French and Arabic keyboard for example. This allows access to French and Arabic letters. The Emoji keyboard will display a large selection of designs .

In Latin America , illiterate adults learn to read by reading the headlines in order to learn and learn more about the world (Freire , 1970). It is possible to learn a second or third language in the same way. There are free sites that allow http://www.aljazeera.com/ like to learn English or Arabic in this way (http://www.aljazeera.com/). Following this example , our students can encode the alphabet of many international languages.

You can choose the monkey or gorilla as an object, but also a text object that can be a fish or a flower. The text object can be a French word or an Arabic word. Each object is encoded independently and works in conjunction with other objects.

With the drawings, it becomes very easy to decorate a program with a wide range of icons. The monkey can be replaced by a flower, a fish, or glasses.

In this program, the first object is a flower. It has been enlarged with the command scale by percent and placed at a position x and y on the screen. The second object is the word flower in Arabic positioned at a different location. Presumably it would be possible to create such a small program to learn a few words in a foreign language.

Link: http://hop.sc/1ky01W3

GEOMETRIC FORMS

The first programs can be planned on paper. Think about the logic of what we want to accomplish and be able to see everything with graph paper can make coding much easier. To code a square, we think about drawing a side at a time and to turning 90 degrees between each line. If the code is slightly different, it will not be a square. To code a rectangle , the lengths are slightly different in specific locations . To develop this type of program , we discussed square, rectangle , differences between the two , how the monkey moves , how it should rotate angles to use, what happens if an angle is chosen differently. Mathematical discussion between student groups can become very elaborate. Krpan (2013) encourages the engagement in mathematical discussion to develop a mathematical culture. This culture is often very negative , especially among girls. Mathematical discourse is a strategy to promote equity for all students and to develop a mathematical culture. I think using Hopscotch is another way to express mathematical concepts , another way of talking mathematics that is accessible to all.

After discussion, we come to this.

leave a trace (around 100, turn 90 degrees, move 100, turn 90 degrees

move 100, turn 90 degrees, move 100, turn 90 degrees)

Once written, you can test the program with Hopscotch. My students coded their instructions and got the result they wanted.

Link : http://hop.sc/19oR5hD

By moving and rotating, it is possible to code all sorts of shapes in two dimensions or the appearance of three dimensions. This process is very interesting when you learn to code. There are several examples of shapes in the suggested book. Shapes and patterns can also be found with a simple search with Google Images: geometric shapes. A fundamental lesson the student will learn here is that the computer only does what he is told to do with the code.

REPETITIONS

To code efficiently, it is important to learn how to code repetitions. We'll see the difference between coding each instruction, the elegance of coding simply with the power of repetitions. Here is the code for a simple square.

We note that the instructions to move 100 and rotate 90 degrees are repeated four times. The code can be made much simpler by writing these instructions only once and repeat four times with the command repeat.

Link: http://hop.sc/JSD69J

If we want to see the power of repetition, we can for example code several squares of several random widths of several random colors. Adding repetitions of repetitions, we see this.

Link: http://hop.sc/1ftt0Hw

The innermost repetition is a square. In the second repetition, we change the color of the square, the length of each square. We draw 4 squares in the 4 positions that you see. Afterwards, we repeat this 50 times. Thus we see 200 squares of different colors and widths. Without repetition, this code would be quite long to write!

Here is another example

of repetition. The stars are

a line repeated 36 times

in a random location. A

color chosen at random.

The code starts whenever

the iPad detects a sound.

Link:

http://hop.sc/JwrpG6

VARIABLES

Link: http://hop.sc/1dpN2jM

Variables are a place where you can keep the value of a number. The value of this number can change during the course of the program. For example, you can create a DISTANCE variable with the value of 2. If one moves DISTANCE, we will move 2 units. If the distance value is changed by 3, it will be 2 + 3. The value of DISTANCE becomes 5. If we now move DISTANCE, it will move 5 units. Each command with a variable will be using the current value of the variable. The spiral is only write a line of increasing length repeatedly, turning a bit at a time.

LEARN TO CODE WITH ART Link: http://hop.sc/1ftsN79

Knowing how to code is different from teaching how to code to a class. When I wanted to teach how to code to my students , there was no book of instructions or people to talk to who could explain to me how. The idea came to me with a mosaic pattern cup that I bought at an exhibition of the city of Petra at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. Petra, located in Jordan, is one of the seven wonders of the world.

To learn the logic of how to code, we first used the art and paper to replicate with our hands what happens during a program. We drew the tree with graph paper . Thereafter, we stuck little pieces of paper , one by one, from left to right , one line at a time. We made the collage in the same way it would be done later with Hopscotch . We glued all the papers of the black line , from left to right. Students did not have permission to proceed differently. Thereafter, they glued the other brown, orange and green lines , which represent the layers of soil. They drew the trunk of the tree, 4 lines for the leaves of the tree and the sky and a small line to the sun. The students had a good idea of how to proceed. They knew how to think before touching the iPad. It was easy to learn Hopscotch commands to replicate this process.

CODE CONCEPTS WITH STORIES

Link: http://hop.sc/1b6b4Of

The stories can be a great source of ideas for projects to be coded. It is possible to develop several Hopscotch projects from books and stories. I always loved the magic school bus at the water works. It mentions in the book that the human body is made of two-thirds of water. The Hopscotch program shows this amount in proportion in a circle. And for fun, there are children in the water drops going down like in the book. The French text, children and water drops are created with the Emoji keyboard.

BYOD, STUDENTS AND THEIR PASSION

Link : http://hop.sc/1hbSKZr

We have in our school 16 iPads that are shared with the each class students. We also have a BYOD policy (Bring Your Own Device) where students are allowed to bring their own electronic device they can use in class. Many students bring their own iPad in the classroom. They use the iPads in class and at home. They often show me new projects they have made at home.

Once students begin to code , many become passionate and continue at home with their own iPad. While I have confidence in my skills, students explored Hopscotch and taught me many details that I had not yet discovered. We literally worked together. The professor shared his ideas and also the students. We learned from each other .

This idea is from one of my Grade 4 students. He came one morning and said, ' Madame, Madame , look at what I did! ' The student is good in mathematics and he created a program like this during the weekend. I was really surprised . The seconds hand really work. We see how children can learn to code quickly when it's their passion.

GAMES

Students are passionate about games. They love to play video games and they can easily learn how to code games. The video game industry also employs many people. Many students like to create games. They tried racing games, mazes, surprises. This is an example of games that you can do with Hopscotch.

In this game, the mouse turns around, the dog moves up and down and the cat moves with the movement of the iPad. When the cat touches the tree, it moves slightly. When the cat touches the mouse, "mm" is written in orange color and when the cat meets the dog, there are gray lines that appear because the cat is afraid of the dog. Often students will try to redo a part of their favorite game like super Mario or Minecraft.

Nobody can say that their students cannot learn to code because they do not even know their multiplication table. Students can create in just two lines of code for each multiplication sentence a little game to learn the multiplication table.

My students have learned quickly, without my instructions that it is possible to share games with other students using Hopscotch. They also learned that it is possible to download games already programmed and play or edit them. Many students learn to code games by modifying the games of others. There is an interesting collection of Hopscotch programs to explore in the Hopscotch network. We can download several programs already written.

SIMULATIONS AND SCIENTIFIC RESULTS

Link : http://hop.sc/19oR4tY

There are several scientific ideas that can easily be modeled by coding. Students can demonstrate their understanding of scientific ideas by coding a model. Here for example, there is a model of a volcano. There is magma under the Earth and a volcanic eruption occurs when the iPad is shaken. Magma rises to the surface and the lava comes out. One of my students did a science project on the rock cycle. He did research, he coded a volcano and included a photo of the model of the volcano in his project he presented with BookCreator. The volcano code the was only a small part of his project.

Since some rocks are solids, the study of the elements of the periodic table was directly related to my curriculum on rocks and minerals. We studied some elements such as aluminum, carbon, iron, they all heard of. Several of my students have subsequently taken a liking regularly read my book Atoms ( Grey, 2013) or the captivating version on the iPad. Atoms quickly became the most widely read book in my personal library. This gave me the idea of coding a carbon atom to encourage them in their exploration of voluntary reading chemistry books.

Link code of the carbon atom : http://hop.sc/1fttnBP

My third grade students did an experiment to show photosynthesis with an aquatic plant . After a few days in the sun, you could see bubbles on top of the container. We made a deduction that it was oxygen produced by photosynthesis. Students used Hopscotch to demonstrate their understanding of the results. When indicating sugar on the sheet, you can discuss a common error on the part of students. Photosynthesis is good for us (Plants are the lungs of the planet), but also photosynthesis is good for the plant who must produce its own food (Driver , 1994).

THE ENVIRONMENT: THE CAUSE OF THE BEES

There are several endangered animals, including the bees. You can learn about bees in books, magazines and videos of National Geographic that gives a lot of information about it. I also saw a very interesting workshop on the disappearance of bees at the Biosphere Environment Museum close to La Ronde in Montreal. This is a beautiful and picturesque place to learn while having fun and think about important ideas on the preservation of our environment.

Bees have a special way of communicating. They dance to tell other bees the position of flowers in relation to the sun. The code shows the bee dance.

Link: http://hop.sc/JujCc0

UNDERSTANDING ENERGY NEEDS

Al Gore, in his presentations and his many books, made us aware of global warming and alternative energy sources available to us as a society. Understanding the forms of energy and their effect on the environment and our society in order to make a good decisions at an election is a big part of the 5th grade curriculum. The Hurricane Hopscotch program is a powerful symbol of global warming. Whether we speak of decisions to build new pipelines or new oil wells, understanding is essential.

Inside Education (http://www.insideeducation.ca/) offers several resources and videos explaining the technical aspects of the oil sands of Alberta, which can give a good starting point for understanding oil technologies. It is also possible to code a program subsequently to investigate voting intentions for your favorite or current problem.

SURVEYS

This type of program allows you to create a poll or a vote among students. It can be used to introduce a good book, ask students a question of understanding, carry out a survey on false ideas, vote on important issues or just on fun questions. In this example, it is the first myth of the book Think Again. Do humans always have the same number of bones? To go to vote, students who think the statement is true press on the monkey and those who think it is wrong press on the octopus. The votes are stored in a variable. To obtain the results, press on the gorilla and the height of the points indicates what they think. Results on the image indicate a common mistake: children think that the number of human bones is always the same.

GREEN PETROLEUM

In 1985, the hole in the ozone layer has scared the international community. The images are available through NASA. We noted the harmful effects of some chemicals on the ozone layer of the Earth. Following this discovery , the Montreal Protocol , an international agreement was created to eliminate harmful substances in the atmosphere.

In the same line of ideas , green oil is designed to provide renewable energy while eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The process is inspired by nature .

BFS was the first company to do this research . The marine microalgae contain a large amount of fatty acids that resembles oil . Were identified algae industrial grade and grown in the sun . By partnering with polluting industries such as cement, are collected their CO2 to feed the algae. Algae produce biomass that is subsequently converted into biofuel.

The Hopscotch code shows what look like photobioreactors cultivating microalgae. The vertical design allows a large area where algae are exposed to sunlight.

In the grade 3, students are asked to compare microalgae to plants. Although algae do photosynthesis, they are not plants. They must not be confused with the plants with roots , stems and leaves (Allen, 2014). Students in grade five or six can take the role of scientists and experiment with what are the best conditions for the growth of algae and the effect of development of green petroleum on the environment.

Fatty acids produced by microalgae resemble fossil oil. Initial tests show that the green oil is powerful enough to fly a small airplane. You can use the same cars, the same engines . We do not need to change anything.

In addition, the production of green oil has a positive effect on the atmosphere as it eliminates a ton of CO2 for every barrel of oil used . Two tons of CO2 are used to produce a barrel of oil and releases a ton of CO2 in combustion. The net effect is to remove a ton of CO2 for every barrel of oil. It may be a solution is , amongst others, for the energy of the future .

DNA

The science centers including Ontario’s can also give many project ideas. For example, in the section of the living earth, there is a billboard that caught my attention. DNA studies allowed the discovery of a new species of wild cat in Brazil. The photo was taken in the dark with an infrared camera. This animal is in danger and it was discovered just by looking a bit. The article stated that if we do not know that some animals exist, how can we protect them? What does DNA? Watson and Crick received the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their discovery of DNA. This is what the code shows.

The study of DNA and genes can inspire our future scientists to develop medical therapies of the future. For instance, we recently found a promising way to slow the progression of the HIV virus using gene therapy (Futura Science, 2014).

HEALTH

Did you know that 80% of infections are transmitted by hands? We can often forget to wash our hands. The Hopscotch program reminds us of that.

Our body has the power of healing. The placebo effect certifies when used homeopathy. The poster shows how homeopathy works gives us the explanation.

DES PROJETS QUI FONT DU BIEN

All the work I did using Hopscotch was with French Immersion students. Hopscotch has French commands and could be of interest to French teachers as well. With Hopscotch , it is possible to draw all kinds of shapes . Can make drawings of the schoolyard with the cardinal points. Creating blueprints of architecture is also quite possible. My grade 5 students have previously created models of buildings in three dimensions using renewable energy. Before building a 3D model , it is possible to create a model with Hopscotch first in 2D. In the journal Science et Vie Junior of December 2013, a building that is air-conditioned with algae is discussed. An inspiring model for the future.

Link to code efficient building : http://hop.sc/JSEb1g

Another article in the magazine caught my attention. It spoke of a project done in Japan where the programmer coded virtual reality glasses that helps people to lose weight. The glasses change the perception of the size of the food. Seeing the portions larger makes us eat less without even realizing it.

FIELD TRIPS AND SPACE The majority of students do not have the

chance to see a sky without light pollution. What they see is the moon, the sun and some stars. Students can leave the city and see a sky without light pollution. Our students make an annual three-day trip to the Mansfield center where it is possible to observe the night sky away from city lights. If seeing the sky away from the lights is not possible, there is always planetariums such as the Ontario Science Centre where you can see a more detailed representation of the stars. Finally, there are the images of NASA.

Link code space: http://hop.sc/1fzOx0z

Here is the code of a model space made with Hopscotch. It shows the Earth, the sun and the moon circulating around the Earth. Look at the shadows of the moon. What are the problems with this model of space? Can you create a better model?

CODING AND CURRENT EVENTS

In the fall of 2013, we received the news of the ISON comet approaching the sun. The comet could not continue after approaching the sun. Some of my Grade 4 students had heard of this news. For one of their projects, they had the choice to create anything. One of my students created the comet approaching the sun. There was also reports about the NASA Cassini spacecraft with a picture of Saturn over the planet. Saturn is pictured here with its octagonal shape. There are many things happening around that can fascinate and excite our students: Olympics, golf tournaments, basketball. The range of possibilities is enormous.

ANSWERING STUDENTS’ QUESTIONS

Students see the dinosaurs at the Museum, rocks dating back more than 6 billion years at the Science Center or they ask: what comes first, the seed or the plant? Students have a lot of interest about the history of the Earth.

The book Earth gives an overview of the history of the Earth. A typical question would be to make a time line depicting the life of the planet. In the Hopscotch program, when pressing on each image, the event description appears.

WHEN NATURE INSPIRE SCIENCE

From the invention of velcro to the aircraft, nature is a constant source of inspiration for scientists. Jeanine Benyus (1997), wrote about the concept of biomimicry where companies, business and technology are invited to look at nature as inspiration for their future development. The child’s book by Mat Fournier (2011) also discusses the history of nature-inspired inventions. In this example, the tree takes water fountain clouds its top and it flows continuously towards its base. People came to harvest this water. Similarly, the net placed on top of a mountain can collect water from the clouds to redistribute it in dry areas.

THE IMAGE OF THE PROGRAMMER

If scientists , engineers or programmers were seen differently or were known differently, perhaps science and technology would be more popular. When students are asked to draw a scientist or an engineer , they often draw what they saw on television. Images of women who know coding is almost nonexistent . There is Chloé in the series 24 or Lisbeth in The girl with the dragon Tattoo who give a model of a woman who knows how to code. Does our girls want to be like these models? There may be Eve, in the movie Wall- E, which is interesting, but it is a robot . For the vast majority of students, they have only the teacher can give them a different image of the profession. Students must create a new image of themselves, with Hopscotch. My students created a logo for a company they could work for later and also expressed what they thought of coding. The student’s work reads: I like coding and rescuing animals.

Good programming experience may enable them to appreciate what the engineers and computer scientists.

Here are the sentiments of my students expressed in a song we wrote in class with the air of YMCA. The most important message is that they like to code, it is interesting, fun for boys and girls and it is important since it will allow them to have a job later.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=-7pPrQRhS1A

Moi, j’aime coder!

Hé toi, nous travaillons ensemble

C’est amusant avec Madame Boulanger

C’est amusant parce qu’on nous donne la chance

De coder avec Hopscotch

Hé toi, il y a une place pour toi

C’est amusant pour les filles et garçons

Je suis certaine qu’il y aura du travail

Et c’est intéressant!

Moi, j’aime coder!

Moi, j’aime coder!

Madame nous dit comment faire

On s’amuse tous les jours

Et je sais que c’est vraiment important.

Moi. J’aime coder.

CRITICAL ART WITH WORDS

It is also possible to create critical art with words. The site Wordle gives an example of the art with words. We can insert text and then have several artistic images of words made using the words in the selected text. Using the TED presentation with Jonathan Trent about biofuels made from algae, we can encode important words in an artistic way. (http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_trent_energy_from_floating_algae_pods.html )

We may also put words in a Venn diagram or other schematic representation.

In another image, a student simply drew the letters on a background of space. This is also an interesting exercise to introduce concepts or to assess knowledge.

In addition, it might be interesting to encode Chinese letters or hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt while studying the contributions of ancient civilizations. It is an integral part of the social studies curriculum. The eye of Horus from ancient Egypt shown above was the protection and was used for counting fractions.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: GIVE A CHOICE

Our students do not progress all at the same speed and not all have the same abilities and interests. Using differentiated instruction , we can change our teaching style and be more attentive to the needs of our students. One of the best strategies for a differentiated classroom is to give students lots of choices to customize their education and allow them to have more control over their success (Hume, 2008; edu.gov.on). Students may have the choice of content and how to produce their work. To code with Hopscotch, it is not necessary to completely change our language, science, mathematics or arts program. We may only need to give more choices of possible activities. For example, as part of a guided reading in a Grade 3 class, we read and discussed a text about the past and new phones.

Afterwards, the students had the chance to create a poster about the phones. They were not forced to use paper with crayons. They were able to use an iPad with Hopscotch. They could choose to create a poster about a phone that interests them or the evolution of phones so far, and future inventions. Each student brings his creativity, interests and personal abilities. Students with learning difficulties to the gifted ones were able to create entirely original posters with Hopscotch.

In these examples, I liked the phone that goes under water since the idea was quite original. We did not discuss it in class. The phone the student had imagined did not even need protective envelope. In another example, students used the ideas discussed in class and added an S-shaped pattern to emphasize the phone's display. This code is complex for a Grade 3 student. The last example comes from a struggling student. He loves phones and indicated that with two images. He did not quite finish the writing in the time allowed but he was still able to succeed.

TO GO FURTHER

In order to introduce Hopscotch to other students and teachers, it is possible to participate in HourOfCode at school and online with #HourOfCode on Twitter. It is organized by Code.org which encourage teachers and students to learn how to code. It is held in early December during the week of Computer Science http://csedweek.org/ . Our school participated and shared online on Twitter. With the hashtag #HourOfCode, you can see who are the people involved in the world and what they do. We can also follow people who interest us online and learn from them without ever having met them.

Once students understand the principles of how to code, they can learn with any programming language because the code structure may change, but the logic remains the same. Using Hopscotch, you give a very good basis to your students on how to code. They will have acquired the skills and can continue by themselves.

Hopscotch works very well on the iPad. There is also a Scratch, a language from MIT that allows you to code stories , games, and animations. Scratch is an application accessible from the Internet that runs on the iPad if you include access to Flash using the Puffin Web Browser. Students who have mastered Hopscotch can continue with Scratch in my computer club. Many of my students work at home with Hopscotch or Scratch because they love coding.

In our school we have several iPads and also a Apple computer to sync all iPads. If you have a gifted student in elementary school, it is quite conceivable to use this computer to code robots built with Raspberry Pi. There are several books available to explain what to do. The following TEDx presentation shows that girls were able to do at the intermediate level with a Raspberry Pi, a computer the size of a credit card .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zJyTY9DMYE

The organization Black Girls Code (http://www.blackgirlscode.com/ ) encourages girls of color to learn coding. One of their ideas is that the girls want to learn from people like them. If there are role models woman who code, girls will want to code too.b The organization offers videos and blogs discussing their success.

Khan Academy is a free website ( https://www.khanacademy.org/ ) and an app that offers courses in mathematics and learning Python programming language . The videos were created by volunteers.

The magazine HelpKidsCode ( https://www.helpkidscode.com/ ) offers many resources and ideas to teach students ten years and older and how to code. In addition, the government of Great Britain has developed a new curriculum to guide teachers with the use of technology. Learn to code is a big part of this new venture. ( Http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/ )

In high school, it is possible to code applications that can be installed on an iPad . With MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), it is possible to find very advanced level courses in programming to encode all kinds of languages. Thierry Karsenti (2013 ) wrote a very interesting article on this topic.

For example, the programming course at Stanford University provides the tools to learn how to code new applications on iPads .

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/developing-ios-7-apps-for/id733644550

If you want to meet people on Twitter discussing coding with young people, you can watch the discussion hashtag # KidsCanCode .

There are TV shows completely dedicated to finding ways to help the world while coding. The program Life App of the Al -Jazeera station is one of them. The purpose of the program is to motivate the audience to create applications that can change lives .

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/life-apps/2013/11/world-apps-20131124143631150625.html

The program TechKnow from the station Al-Jazeera America also offers many new ideas on the use of technology. TechKnow is also available on Twitter at @AJTechKnow.

http://america.aljazeera.com/topics/topic/categories/technology.html

The organization Computer Science Teacher Association ( CSTA ) has many articles, resources and ideas to teach computer science.

http://www.csta.acm.org/

The organization Re / Code also offers many interesting articles on technology. It organizes conferences where leaders of major technology companies are invited. You can learn the new directions of the industry.

http://recode.net/

I very much hope for you, if you or your team are doing very innovative educational projects , you can share them on the international sphere in the WISE conference in Qatar. They regularly share innovative activities in education worldwide.

http://www.wise-qatar.org/

I personally learned to code very young and like all computer scientists and engineers I know. Students start to like it and they learn while having fun. For those who start young, coding is playing .

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This book is translated

from the original French:

Moi, j’aime coder!