Coding for Children and Young Adults in Libraries: A Practical Guide for Librarians

by Wendy Harrop

Overview

Coding for Children and Young Adults in Libraries is an all-inclusive guide to teaching coding in libraries to very young learners – as young as 4 or 5 years old!

This book will provide all librarians, whether they are brand new to the idea of coding or fairly experienced with it, with both the foundation to understand coding and tools they can use. The book features lessons, ideas, and information about the newest and the best coding tools, and templates for creating coding clubs and classes. It also provides options for all technology environments – for those libraries with very few devices available to those with many to choose from.

Readers will both learn the essentials for teaching coding to young kids as well as how to organize coding programming in the library. This book takes an in-depth look at what tools are available, both high-tech and low, to help kids learn this important skill. Whether you're novice or experienced in the world of coding, this book will have what you need to set up library coding clubs, help kids with game design, and even program robots.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538108673
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/15/2018
Series:	Practical Guides for Librarians , #45
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Wendy Harrop has been a public school teacher for 22 years. She taught in the classroom for 11 years, in Illinois, California and Wisconsin. Most recently, she has been a technology integrator and gifted specialist in the Oconomowoc Area School District, in Oconomowoc Wisconsin, where she has worked for 11 years. Her focus is on integrating technology in education, particularly in the area of makerspaces. She worked with a team to design and implement a makerspace in her k-4 school in 2013, and since then has become passionate about integrating making and STEAM, particularly computer programming, across the curriculum. She resides in Waukesha, Wisconsin with her husband, also an educator, and her two sons.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: What is Coding?
Chapter 2: Why teach Coding?
Chapter 3: The Role of Libraries in Learning to Code
Chapter 4: Getting Started
Chapter 5: Teaching Coding to Young Children
Chapter 6: Teaching Coding to Upper Elementary Aged Children
Chapter 7: Coding Unplugged: Low-Tech options
Chapter 8: Integrating Coding with Making
Chapter 9: Reaching Out through Coding

Appendices
References
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Coding for Children and Young Adults in Libraries will expand your understanding of the critical role coding can and should play in your library. The guide goes beyond activities—it provides practical ways for building and sustaining a program that will reach beyond your library and have lasting impact on children.

Kimberly Bannigan

In this book, Wendy Harrop masterfully portrays the significance of coding in the world of education, while offering unique, practical, ideas for librarians and educators.

Emily Goranson

Winter 2018

This valuable resource for public librarians considering implementing coding programming kicks off with a history of the practice, listing luminaries from Ada Lovelace, the original computer programmer, to Mitch Resnick, the pioneering creator of the kid-friendly language Scratch. Harrop suggests that librarians learn to code themselves and provides guidelines and resources for further education, but a basic description of how coding works keeps the facts clear and simple for the non–scientifically minded. The author explains the merits of visual and text-based programming languages and how appropriate they are for different age groups. Thoughtful arguments discuss why to teach coding in public libraries. Beyond the acquisition of technical ability, Harrop notes, coding also develops critical thinking and problem-solving. The work also mentions apps and other texts, such as picture books. The chapter "Coding Unplugged" offers ways to teach skills through music, art, and toys and games. The meatiest section, on integrating coding with making, includes detailed ideas involving robots, programmable micro-controllers, and creation kits that are available commercially. The book ends with tips on reaching women and those from underrepresented groups, encouraging community and school partnerships. VERDICT Public librarians curious about the importance of coding should pick up this title.—Deidre Winterhalter, Oak Park Public Library, IL

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