It is very important to start coding education at an early age. Of course, the materials and activities we offer while providing coding training are also very important. Especially primary school age groups may think of it as a difficult concept when they hear the word coding. It is necessary to tell them that coding is as easy as putting together a puzzle.
So, what material should we use for coding in primary schools?
There is actually no single answer to this question. As technology develops, the materials produced change and increase. In fact, they are all tools developed to teach coding. Basically, the aim is to teach the concept of algorithm.
In our long and ongoing education journey, as Atölye Vizyon, we were experiencing some problems while providing coding training to children and young people. Students have difficulty using some materials, the project is disrupted at the slightest imbalance, too much time is spent building circuits, and less time is spent on coding. When we evaluate all these, we say, “Why don’t we develop a vehicle that does not experience these problems?” The question arose. After the studies, we developed the Pinoo control card. Although we initially considered it for the primary school level, we also enabled the development of advanced level projects with new modules and sensors.
With Pinoo, we can develop many projects with primary school students. Smart irrigation and burglar alarm systems, game console with joystick module, barrier system, thermometer applications and much more…
While all these projects are being implemented, the student does not just build an electronic circuit and write code, but also creates designs and makes a presentation by preparing a model suitable for his project. This means that a primary school student’s problem-solving skills, creative thinking, imagination, etc. improves his skills.
As an instructor who uses Pinoo in primary school, secondary school, high school and even teacher training, I think it is the best choice to start coding. It never scares you, it doesn’t make you feel like you can’t do this, it’s simple and clear. You can also develop thousands of projects depending on your imagination, from beginner to advanced level. While you create algorithms and projects with block-based coding logic at the primary school level, you can work on the text-based platform we call IDE in advanced groups.
Coding education with Pinoo in primary schools gives students the pleasure of success. It also produces solutions to situations experienced in daily life, such as looking at situations differently and finding problems within streams of events.
If there are students who have not met Pinoo yet, we invite you to Atölye Vizyon. Great surprises and experiences will await you on this journey.
Hümeyra DERE