EXCHANGE: Program gives students an introduction to coding
KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - Children cheered inside the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library's main branch as Dash, the robot they were helping operate, located his friend Dot after navigating through an obstacle course.
While the children were working together to ensure the reunion took place, many of them were getting their first taste of coding, thanks to a partnership between the library and new membership-based community SHAK Makerspace.
"I usually play with electronics and stuff like that, but I've never done anything like this," said Austin Justice, a fourth-grader at Wallace Elementary School. "What I like about Dash is that he can go super-fast and turn his head and do all kinds of cool stuff. I want to learn more technical stuff like this."
Justice was one of a handful of local elementary students serving as test subjects for the library, which plans to offer more opportunities to utilize technology involving coding like 3-D printers and robots in the coming months.
KHCPL Technology Manager Lou Ann Stroup said the library's goal is to provide access to coding technology so that people of all ages will be able to learn more about and enjoy it.
"At this age, students get interested and this is the type of software that is used in a number of different industries," she said. "Programming doesn't have to be boring. They can learn programming and have fun with it. Sometimes they won't even realize they're programming."
That was the case during last week's event, which was held in conjunction with the national Hour of Code day. The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics of the skill.
The library will be offering children another chance to hang out with Dash and Dot from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, where they'll be able to host a runway show and make custom costumes for the duo.
In addition to showing children that coding and utilizing coding technology can be fun, Stroup said the library wants to stress how many career opportunities there are involving coding technology, even locally, with major employers like Chrysler and Haynes International.
"They're using the programs anyway in their gaming," she said. "If you can get them interested in the coding behind that, whenever they get up to being (older) they're already into it. It can be very useful with all of the robotics that is used at Chrysler and Haynes.
"This leads right into the STEM programs," she added. "We need more people qualified to do these types of things. They're not going to think about doing programming, they're thinking 'this is something fun to do' and it gets them interested."
The evening also served as an introduction to SHAK Makerspace, which will celebrate the grand opening of its 6,000-square-foot facility at 2538 N. Washington St. in January. Representatives from SHAK were on hand to provide information about their new space and how people of all ages will soon be able to access it on a daily basis.
The space will offer a membership-based community, providing access to tools, resources and other like-minded makers for creating, innovating, tinkering and prototyping.
Currently there are around 25 members signed up to access the space once a week from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Inside the facility, they have access to industrial metalworking, woodworking and sewing equipment, 3-D printers, a pottery kiln, a loom and plenty of space to complete projects.
Entrepreneurs can access the space starting at $35 per month, where they will also have access to other members with similar interests, Vice President Mike Kessler said.
"Part of what we're trying to do is connect the need with the people who have the skills," Kessler said. "A lot of what we're doing is crossing capabilities. Somebody may know how to write software, but they don't know how to do the mechanical piece of what they're trying to accomplish."
SHAK Makerspace secretary Susan Alexander said teaming up with the library was a natural partnership in creating awareness about a form of technology that continues to grow in popularity while becoming a core skill in school curriculum.
"This was a program we sought out earlier in the year and said, 'This is something we should be offering,'" Alexander said. "The idea is to take coding to the public and make it accessible. We want all of that knowledge to be accessible, so this fit in with our vision."
Although she said she wasn't sure if she wanted to pursue a technology-based career, Boulevard Elementary fourth grade student Ocean Hood said she learned coding and operating robots was just as fun as it was educational.
"You can make these kinds of robots talk and move," she said. "You can make their head move around. It's cool. I like that you can drive them toward people and they can say stuff."
___
Source: Kokomo Tribune, http://bit.ly/1NvSgfq
___
Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com