District 75 students learn how computers work by playing games

How do you teach young children how computers work? You set them up with the game "Frozen" and have them skate Anna and Elsa across the ice.

Using LearnPads, Washington Elementary School second-graders in Mundelein directed Elsa to move forward 100 pixels then turn right by 90 degrees to continue her skating routine on the ice. After she did a few turns on the ice, technology teacher Patience Bertana showed the students how their code appeared.

To help them understand coding a little better, Bertana explained, "Second-graders are good at following directions. Computers are good at following directions. You push a button and the volume increases, you click return and it takes you to a website. The movie 'Frozen' is made up of codes directing the animated characters to do certain things. You will learn how to direct that code."

In the upper grades of Mundelein School District 75, at Carl Sandburg Middle School, in particular, students are tinkering with more advanced code by working on challenges with "Angry Birds" and "Candy Quest," said Amanda Palmieri, who teaches those classes.

What students are learning about code in classrooms across Mundelein School District 75, students are doing nationwide. In 2013, Code.org, a nonprofit organization, launched a challenge to expand participation in computer science by making it available in more schools. The organization aims to make it possible for every student to become exposed to computer science.

District 75 is teaching students to code, not so much as an end in itself, but because the world in which students live has morphed. So many of the things society once did with elements such as fire and iron, or tools such as pencil and paper, are now wrought in code.

District 75 is teaching coding to help its students craft their future.