As you know, we love featuring educational innovators on our blog. With millions of people around the world trying the Hour of Code, that could be you!
Here’s the deal. Whether you’re an educator, student, or a participant, send us your Hour of Code story by filling out the form below. Include as much detail as you can, what went right, what went wrong, and something you learned. We’ll review all of the submissions and feature the stories in the next week or two!
When do you begin coding?
What subjects should we focus on to be better at coding?
I’m very excited to announce a new and much-requested feature. Our latest update lets you make cool interactive games by letting our Python Trinkets react to click and key events. But, in true Trinket spirit, how about I show you first, then tell:
Turtles in Space is a simple asteroids clone that demonstrates this new speed and interactivity, adapted from “Python Programming Fundamentals” by Kent Lee. You can move around with the arrow keys and fire with the ‘x’ key. Each asteroid is a Turtle, as are the bullets it fires. Before Trinket, running this awesome Python game would take downloading and installing software and working through compatibility problems. By putting Python games in a Trinket, now anyone can see how the game works, remix it, and share it over the internet.
Our awesome Trinket users have already started making cool interactive programs. Check out this simple drawing program by Patrick Rodriguez:
Want to change the rules of the game? Try remixing either of these programs! Tweet the link @trinketapp and we’ll feature your work.
We’re building out challenges that will help you build our own games, step-by-step. Interested? Email us at hello@trinket.io for more information and a sneak peek! We’re always looking for help testing what we build with students. And, as always, we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions- we couldn’t do it without you!
This is part of a series of posts containing advice and tips for having a great Hour of Code event during CS Ed Week, December 8th – 14th, 2014. Have your own tips to share? Find us on Twitter!
Teachers: Whether you’re just getting started planning your Hour of Code activity or have everything laid out, don’t forget to involve your students’ parents! Having adults from outside the school involved can really enhance your event. Here’s how, with examples from three schools and districts around the US.
Parents: look for ways to get involved at your kid’s school! Regardless of your level of coding ability, there are many ways you can help, from volunteering to helping your child through the activities at home. Read on for ideas on how to get involved.
We released our Blocks trinkets just a few short weeks ago and have had lots of fun seeing everything students have created. We’ve also heard from teachers and students alike how neat it is to be able to see the underlying code that the blocks produce. That feedback has been great but we’ve been wondering how to make even better blocks. Today we’re releasing some updates to blocks that we think you’ll really enjoy, including an improved code view.