Teach coding with Book Creator

A few years ago, I was asked to lead a coding session at an iPad conference. Never having touched an app such as Scratch Jr. or Lightbot, I initially panicked. How could I lead a session on something that I knew so little about?

However, after speaking with computer science educator, Douglas Kiang, I learned that the real power lies in teaching computational thinking and creative problem solving - not any specific type of code. Armed with this new understanding, I decided to design the session using Book Creator instead.

Since most of the teachers already felt comfortable with Book Creator, and could imagine using it in their classrooms beyond a single coding activity, it provided a great opportunity to introduce the tenets and process of coding without having to introduce a new app or program.

The videos below walk through how we used Book Creator to introduce the concept of coding as a language and a logic.

For more ideas about how to introduce computational thinking, Douglas and I co-authored this article on EdTech Researcher. I hope that every teacher might find a way to participate in Computer Science Ed Week and Hour of Code; however, to make deeper connections to your curriculum, consider teaching thinking and not just coding.