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Give Back and Get Coding This MLK Jr. Day

1/8/2021

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“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?'”
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
This January 18th, join TCS for a special one-day virtual coding event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Coders will embark on cool STEM explorations and coding challenges as well as games, activities, and more. Plus, we’ve planned something special.

To honor the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy, our thoughts around this holiday are imbued with how we can help spread the love and humanity that connects us all. Just as we work to create inclusive and supportive learning environments for each of our coders, we encourage all of our students to be agents of positive social change in their communities and beyond. 

To celebrate their impact, every camper who has a plan in place to do an act of service by the start of camp on January 18th will receive a $10 credit towards a future class or camp. Just reply to your registration confirmation email with a description of what your child will do to help someone else and the credit will be applied to your account.
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Not sure where to start? Here are some suggested activities:
  • Donate clothes
  • Plant a tree
  • Donate used/unwanted toys
  • Give books to local hospitals or daycare
  • Start a school recycling program
  • Hold a collection drive
  • Make handmade cards
  • Do chores or work for neighbors

The possibilities are truly endless. We hope your child will take advantage of this opportunity and share with us in class how they’ve decided to honor MLK Jr.’s legacy on this important day. 

Not signed up for our MLK Jr. Mini Camp yet? Register here. ​

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Announcing the Code 4 Change: Kids Teaching Kids Winners!

12/15/2020

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This past weekend marked the end of our second Code 4 Change challenge: Kids Teaching Kids. This event asked our coders to teach early education students important academic concepts in math, reading, and more through creative games and projects. After a month of hard work, participants submitted their projects for judging and joined us online for a special live finale event where we revealed the winners and celebrated the hard work of all our coders. 

If you missed the finale, you can still check out the recording here and the full list of winners below. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing qualifying projects with real early education classes, but in the meantime, you can continue to explore all the projects on our website.

Please join us in giving all our participants a big round of applause for their hard work and creativity!

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Best Visual Design

Isla, age 9
​"The Five Senses"

From the judges: With a beautiful background, clean and clear icons, and lovely golden stars as rewards, Isla's project has excellent visual design.

Best Sound Design

Jordan, age 7
"Jordan's Awesome Space Adventure!"

​From the judges: Jordan's friendly little dog teaches you about space with charming voice clips and entrancing background music.
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Best Game Design

Brianna M., age 8
"Math Car Race Game"

From the judges: The simple concept of a race with math problems mixed in makes for an exciting game!

Most Educational

Manya, age 10
"Math: Add, Subtract, Multiply & Divide"

From the judges: Manya's project is bursting with helpful information about a variety of math concepts along with clear diagrams and easy to use controls.
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Most Imaginative

Sasha L., age 8
​"Octo-Rhyme"

From the judges: The drums, dancing fish, voice clips, and colorful effects all come together in Sasha's project to teach reading through rhyming.

Best Scratch

Charlotte K., age 10
"Shaping Up With Charlotte"

From the judges: Shaping Up With Charlotte combines clear instructions, a cute monkey, and clear design for a superb Scratch project which teaches all about shapes.
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Best WoofJS

Liv B., age 8
"Spelling!"

From the judges: Liv's creative spelling project uses cute icons and well-written Javascript code to teach basic spelling.

Coders' Choice

India F., age 12
"Fun Afterschool Practice"

Coders' Choice was selected by TCS coders and their friends and family as the project that best showcases both impressive coding skills and strong educational value.

From the judges: India's Fun Afterschool Practice allows students to practice math or reading to help a cute egg hatch.
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Tune in to the Code 4 Change Finale!

12/8/2020

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Three cheers for our creative coders! Our C4C: Kids Teaching Kids participants have completed and submitted their programming projects, the votes have been cast, and the results have been tallied. Now, it's time to tune in for the finale event where we reveal the winners in these categories:
  • Best Visual Design
  • Best Sound Design
  • Best Game Design
  • Most Educational
  • Most Imaginative
  • Best Scratch Project
  • Best WoofJS Project
  • Coders' Choice

Oh, and did we mention there will be prizes? Each category winner will receive a donation of $50 to DonorsChoose to support the classroom of their choice. All projects will be featured on the TCS website and qualifying projects will be shared with participating early elementary classes.

Ready to join us? The finale will be streamed live across several platforms on Sunday, December 13th starting at 3pm EST. You can watch by clicking on the links below:
  • YouTube
  • Twitch
  • Facebook
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We hope you’ll join us in acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of all our students and their creativity in devising solutions to problems facing kids just like them. Their generosity of spirit sets an excellent example for us all!
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The Top Computers For Young Coders: Our 2020 Laptop Picks

12/7/2020

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The holiday gift-giving season is upon us, and for many young coders, a computer that allows them to expand their programming skills is a top wish list item. But with so many options to choose from, it's hard to know where to start. We asked our NYC Program Director, John Bujalski, for his tips and top picks to help parents make a smart choice. 

When buying a laptop, generally there's a trade-off between the following characteristics:
  • Price
  • Size/Weight
  • Durability
  • Computing Power (Performance)
  • Battery Life

The good news is that no matter which characteristics are important to you, there's an option that will be great for coding. Here are some recommendations based on these varying priorities:
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Best All-Around Pick - Acer Swift 3 - $650

At only $650, the Acer Swift 3 boasts decent performance, size/weight, durability, and battery life. It isn't the best in any of those categories, but it's good enough at all of them. It won't play any games on maximum settings, but it'll be capable of running programs like Minecraft.
Learn More
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Best at Everything (But Price) - Razer Blade - starting at $1500

While no doubt a bit of an investment, getting a Razer Blade will mean not needing to upgrade any time soon. Razer's Blade line always has superb build quality, amazing performance, and surprisingly good battery life. This computer will handle any game or application your coder throws at it, though under heavy load it'll run a little hot.
Learn More
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Best Performance at a Great Price - Acer Nitro 5 - around $700

It may not be as sleek as other options, but for the price and performance, the Acer Nitro 5 is an excellent pick. The large 17-inch screen will provide additional viewing space for kids when both gaming and coding. However, due to it's size, this computer is not very portable. Consider this option if your coder will use the computer mainly at home and the performance/price combo appeals to you.
learn more
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Best Portability & Battery Life - Dell New XPS 13 - starting at $1000

The Dell New XPS 13 is a light, thin, durable laptop with excellent build quality and battery life. This machine can handle light modeling or video editing (consider upgrading to the Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics as they will add a nice boost to graphics performance), but only expect modest gaming performance. It'll run most games (including Minecraft), but on lower settings.
learn more
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Best Budget Option - Acer Aspire 5 - $500

If price is your primary concern, the Acer Aspire 5 will be an excellent choice. While it is a little big and not as powerful as the options above, it'll be sufficient for coding and should be able to run most games at the lowest settings. Though less expensive than most on this list, it's still quite a capable machine. Take care of it, and it'll take care of you.
learn more
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Best Apple Option - M1 Macbook Air 2020 - starting at $1000

While Apple computers come with a price premium, for some people, the design, software, build quality, and support are worth it. Though Apple does not offer the range of options that are available elsewhere, their quality is consistent. The new M1 Macbook Air is an excellent computer and the perfect choice for a coder who'd prefer MacOS.
Learn More
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​Best Chromebook Option - Samsung Chromebook 3 - $300

A Chromebook does not have access to the same applications or the flexibility of a Windows or MacOS computer, but if your child will be just browsing the web, writing documents, and coding, a Chromebook might be enough for them. This Samsung model is an excellent value and quite portable, but lags behind in performance.
learn more
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Introducing Seasons of Code: Winter 2020

12/1/2020

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The weather outside may be frightful, but coding is so delightful! Winter break is coming, which means schools will be out and our coding classes will be on hold for the holidays. As our students get ready for seasonal fun and look ahead to winter break, they are likely to be coding a lot less than usual. With all the twinkling lights, gift giving, and holiday spirit, distractions are understandable. But if we at The Coding Space could send one message home to each child this winter season, it would be this: don’t forget about the magic of code. 

Coding lets us create new worlds, explore our biggest ideas, express our deepest passions, do what all kids—not to mention adults—dream of being able to do: whatever we can imagine. You have to admit that’s pretty magical.

This is why we’ve created Seasons of Code—a free source of daily inspiration and ideas perfect to keep kids honing their skills and exploring the magic of coding, even outside of class. In Seasons of Code: Winter, a new winter-themed prompt will be revealed on our page each day, giving young coders direction and opportunities to learn something new, all at a pace that works for them. Coders can look forward to challenges like creating a virtual snowball fight, using confetti to celebrate the new year, and much more!
Anyone can participate in Seasons of Code. Just have your child go to this Scratch page each day of December to see the latest prompt. Once they’ve made a project, we encourage them to add it to our Scratch studio so we can all share in the joy.

We can’t wait to see all of the creativity and imagination that comes out of our first Season of Code. Happy Holidays from the team at The Coding Space. We’re wishing you all the very best this winter!
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Give a Growth Mindset: Coding Gifts For All Ages

11/30/2020

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The holidays are just around the corner, which means the gift-giving season is upon us. For kids who love coding, computer science, and STEM activities, there are tons of great gifts out there to delight and inspire and more seem to arrive with each new technological advancement. But with so many choices, the options can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve narrowed down some of our recent favorites.

Coding Toys for Younger Kids

Bitsbox: For kids 10 and under, there are many games and toys that help them understand the building blocks of computer programming. For example, Bitsbox delivers a physical box to your home every month containing a kit of projects, and then your young child can login to Bitsbox’s online platform to program their own version of these projects. The apps are selected based on difficulty and interests—everything from interactive birthday cards to Tetris-like games— and can be easily shared onto phones and tablets.

Osmo: This iPad-based programming game system incorporates physical blocks to write code. Using a set of magnetic blocks, your child controls Awbie, a cute character who must navigate the different levels of the Osmo universe. The physical blocks must be connected together logically so that Awbie can move on screen, using commands like “move,” “turn,” and “repeat.” The Osmo is ideal for kids as young as five years old because they don’t need typing skills to learn the basics of programming logic and to practice their critical thinking skills. After your child has mastered Awbie, they can move onto Osmo’s other products like Coding Jam, which uses a similar block system to generate digital music, and Coding Duo, a more advanced version of Coding Awbie with multiple players.

Cubetto is a completely screenless coding toy for kids 6 and under. Cubetto is a wooden robot that is programmed by placing colored blocks onto its surface, which instruct it where to move. The Cubetto is placed on top of different maps, mazes, and books. For example, in one challenge Cubetto must navigate around a big urban city. In another, he is in ancient Egypt, learning about pyramids, hieroglyphics, and the Sphinx. This is a great toy that encourages active play and critical thinking without any screens.

Coding Games for Older Kids

Anki Cozmo: For older kids who love robots, the Anki Cozmo is a palm-sized robot, built with facial recognition, self-maneuvering capabilities, and an “emotion engine” to respond to real-world situations. It comes with a Code Lab app for users to program the Cozmo’s movements and responses to different environments. Kids can also play games with Cozmo like Memory Match and Keepaway.

Kano: If your child is interested in building hardware, the Kano might be the best toy for them. With the Kano, you follow a storybook to build a simple computer. The kit comes with a power supply, Raspberry Pi (the chip that powers the computer), keyboard, SD card, and optionally a microphone and an HD touchscreen. Once built, the touchscreen version allows you to program your own art, games and music. The coding starts with a block-based environment, but for more advanced students, there are projects available in Python and Javascript programming languages.

Minecraft: Many kids this age already love Minecraft, an open-ended game where users can build their own worlds and experiences using the resources they acquire. Given the building-block nature of Minecraft, modifying the game (or “modding”) is extremely popular, too. This is where you create new items, resources, and functionality by programming extensions to Minecraft’s code. While modding Minecraft was not designed for beginner programmers, there are sites dedicated for helping kids learn how to mod with online tutorials like LearnToMod and books like Coding with Minecraft.

Online Coding Games, Platforms, and Classes

There are also many online-based games and platforms for students to start learning programming. CodeCombat offers a series of online levels in settings like the Kithgard Dungeon and the Backwoods Forest. Students gain points by completing challenges so that they can advance to the next level and buy power-ups. CodeMonkey is another online gamxe where the student moves through a series of challenges in tracks like Coding Adventure and Coding Chatbots. The main language they focus on is CoffeeScript.

Of course, there’s no better way to encourage a love of coding than personalized instruction. The Coding Space offers self-paced learning with a unique 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Our virtual group classes supplement coding instruction with hands-on games, screen-free activities, and coding challenges to push students’ skills even outside of class. Giving the gift of coding is even easier with gift certificates offered in any amount.

Looking for more gift ideas? Visit our partner site, Private Prep, for even more thoughtful gift options for every child on your list.

A modified version of this article originally appeared on junilearning.com.
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TCS Teacher Spotlight: Meet Brenda Castro

11/13/2020

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We at The Coding Space are continually inspired by the dedicated and caring teachers on our team, especially those who contribute to the wellbeing of the communities they serve. Brenda Castro, a Long Island-based TCS teacher and tutor with Private Prep, is a great example of our culture of caring in action. In addition to helping students learn to think critically, be creative, and code, she volunteers her time as a listener for 7 Cups, an online community for anonymous emotional peer-support. We spoke to her about her experiences doing this unique and important work.
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In her free time, Brenda loves rock climbing!
Thanks so much for being willing to chat with us, Brenda! How did you get involved with 7 Cups?
Thanks for having me! I technically started volunteering with 7 Cups in July of 2015, but I really gave more time starting in March 2020—about 146 hours! I started as a listener and gradually gained more roles. I became an intern and eventually a mentor to other listeners. I now lead discussions and moderate group chats, too.

Why is volunteering important to you?
I feel fulfilled when I’m interacting with other people and I care deeply about their wellbeing. I’ve been lucky to have the support of so many friends and family, and volunteering allows me to pay some of that kindness forward. Volunteering also lets me focus on doing something that I enjoy and helps others without the added stress of money or performance reviews. I find that getting to be myself sometimes lets me do my best work.

What have you learned about yourself in doing this work?
Regarding 7 Cups specifically, I have gained further confidence in myself and my decision to become a therapist. I was initially nonplussed by their rule to not give advice. If a member reached out to me with an issue, I instinctively wanted to help them solve it. Instead, by listening, empathizing, and reflecting, I am learning how to support someone without taking any power away from them.

As a teacher, how do you think students and young people could benefit from volunteering?
Volunteering can help you build a skill, allow you to contribute to a community you care about, give you an opportunity to meet new friends, and feel fulfilled. It can even boost your own mental health because giving can make us happier than receiving. I hope young people definitely consider volunteering!

How can others become involved with 7 Cups?
Joining the community of 7 Cups is the easiest! You can even give back as a member. Becoming a listener requires a little more training, but it's still easy to sign up. You can do so here. 

Anything else you'd like to add?
Yes, I’d just like to share this quote: "Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless." —Sherry Anderson
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C4C Check-In: What Inspires Our Coders to Give Back

11/13/2020

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With Code 4 Change: Kids Teaching Kids rounding the halfway mark, we wanted to take a moment to check in with our coders. Participants of all ages and skill levels are hard at work coding their Kids Teaching Kids projects, which are aimed at helping early elementary learners understand important academic concepts through engaging games, projects, and presentations. But what inspires them to give back and why are they excited to help? We asked them, and here's how they answered:
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Don’t Know Much About: The Coding Space Scholarship Program

11/13/2020

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From schools moving to remote or hybrid learning environments to families losing jobs and income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been a year full of challenges. Here at The Coding Space, we’re committed to offering support to families and students in need through our scholarship program. With the season of giving just around the corner, we wanted to take a moment and highlight how the scholarship program has contributed to continuing the coding education of students during an especially trying year, as well as to provide information about the program and invite qualifying students to apply. We spoke with Ofelia Canals, Head of Admissions and Client Relations, about this important initiative.

Thanks for speaking with us, Ofelia. Can you give us a little background on the program? 
While we received our first application in June 2016, the scholarship program has been a central piece of our mission since the beginning. Over the last year and a half, we’ve focused on formalizing and expanding the initiative. As of 2020, we have awarded over 300 need-based scholarships to our after-school classes and summer camps. 

It sounds like this is a central piece of the TCS ethos. Can you expand on that?
Absolutely. We view our scholarship program as an essential part of our mission to create a more equitable and inclusive computer science industry. We are passionate about providing the opportunity for all students to become digitally literate and to foster critical thinking skills. To that end, we aim for 25 percent of our student population to receive a full or partial scholarship. 

We know this year especially has brought increased hardship to many of our families and we are committed to continuing to provide a space for current and new students to learn and grow.

What makes the TCS scholarship program unique from other programs like it?
Our process is very simple and straightforward. We don’t require long application answers or multiple forms and simply aim to provide access to as many students as we can. Parents simply submit answers to a short questionnaire which our team then reviews. If your application is approved and a scholarship spot opens up, we will reach out directly. 

Looking ahead, what’s next for the scholarship program?
As we grow and our students enter high school, we hope to be able to continue to support them in their journeys as coders. We also aim to create opportunities for our scholarship students to join our staff as teachers and help inspire future generations of coders.

Finally, because our aim is to support students from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, we acknowledge that this program will require continued assessment, especially through the lens of racial equity. We are currently in this process and look forward to the continued work of incorporating racial equity into our approach.

Full details as well as application information can be found here. For questions about the scholarship program, please contact Ofelia directly at ofelia@thecodingspace.com.
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Gong-Wild: How TCS Celebrates Student Success

10/22/2020

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Students from TCS classes all over have heard it: the resonant tones of the gong, struck with a mallet by a deserving young coder. What is the gong? What does it mean? And why are students everywhere making such a wonderful racket? NYC Program Director John Bujalski gives us all the details on this unique TCS celebration. 

John, what do gongs have to do with coding?
Nothing really! But the gong is a fun tool our teachers use to recognize and commemorate student achievements. It’s simple really: in classes, there’s a big metal gong, and when a student completes a project, masters an important skill, or reaches another milestone, they ring the gong! It makes a lovely sound and marks the occasion. For our online classes, we have a virtual gong which serves the same function.

So is ringing the gong a reward of sorts?
In fact, the gong is not a reward - it is more of a ceremony or celebration. The projects students make and the skills they learn are always the reward in TCS classes. While rewards can be effective at driving student behavior in the short term, we find that enhancing student pride and ownership over their accomplishments and learning is a more effective way to help with both retention of material as well as self-motivation to tackle new challenges. 
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A TCS student gets ready to celebrate his hard work.
That makes sense. But what makes an achievement gong-worthy?
While finishing a project, mastering a tricky skill, or squashing a particularly difficult bug are all good examples, ultimately it’s up to each student to decide whether they think a particular achievement is worthy of a gong ring. That said, even our youngest students quickly understand that if they ring the gong for something that really wasn’t a major achievement, it won’t feel as awesome. This is one way we teach students to take agency over their own learning and celebrate self-motivated accomplishment.

But why a gong? How did it all start?
Legend has it that it was hidden deep in a crater on a mountain top, guarded by grizzled coders of old, and gifted to the very first TCS student…

Wait, really?
...No. In all honesty, the gong predates me, so I honestly have no idea where it came from or how it started! I guess you could say that the origins of the gong are lost to time. 

Any last words on the importance of the TCS gong?
The Coding Space gong is just one of the many small ways that we create a positive, fun, and self-motivated learning environment for our students. While not all students will engage with gong ringing for motivation and commemoration of achievement, for students that do, it’s a great way to celebrate and acknowledge the skills we value most: grit, determination, creativity, and a growth mindset. And it sure is fun to ring!

To learn more about the TCS teaching philosophy, click here. And for information on our gong-friendly Fall classes, be sure to check out our full semester lineup. ​
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  • Classes
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    • Private Classes
    • For Schools
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  • Birthday Parties
  • In-Person Lessons
  • About
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