Author: Erviola Konomi

Students age: 16 years

Happening at:
High school “Zhani Ciko”, Patos, Albania

Date: 02/02/2020 – 26/03/2020

Materials
Computers (Depending on our target group, we might ask participants to bring their own laptops). Papers, decorations, cards.

Let’s code in Albania

Description:
Our mission is to make a difference through our continuous support to educators in their professional development towards effective science teaching and learning.
All young people should be educated to think deeply by using internet in safety way and to have the chance to become the innovators, educators, researchers and leaders who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our world, both today and tomorrow.

With this event teacher want to engage students in STEM and coding activities in a playful way and it will be usefull for they when starting their careers and finding a job. Moreover, the event effectively supports young people to develop critical thinking, creativity, digital and collaborative skills, and science capital. The pedagogical method has a strong inclusive potential and fosters the STEM education and the inclusion of disadvantaged students both inside and outside the classroom.

The goal is also to show to the classical education system that the IT professional world is ready to spend time in order to help the education system in building and enhancing their computer programming curriculum.
• Let’s code event aims is to create awareness for the need of a basic understanding of today’s technology and STEM. It strives for children to be taught the basics of algorithms in order to safely make use of today’s internet, the development of students competences such as computer thinking, problem solving, and increased creativity and teamwork – very good skills in all spheres of life.

This event enabled children:
• Find their passion for developing ICT skills and possibly become IT professionals;
• Be in a social setting where they can interact with other minded children, instead of just spending their time;
• Strengthen and interconnect people in eTwinning projects
• To generate more interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Participated in eTwinning projects: CODING: A WAY TO GROW UP, Coding to the future

Students clubs will organise workshops for new participants and show them how to make a game or an app with code.

Event specific objectives are:
Empower disadvantaged young people in the acquisition and development of IT and STEM and collaborative competences as well as problem solving, self-confidence and creativity through a peer-learning training programme on Coding and use it in STEM projects.

Introductory digital applications: Exploration of several apps that provide the basic concepts of digital coding, through a playful learning experience.
Visual coding with the Scratch and Minecraft language: Insight into a widely used coding language for children, and how it can be applied to make fun games, applications and animations.

We created for the students the quality, experience and the opportunity to be educated by leaders and professionals in the field of ICT. #ICT #robotic #coding

Main themes: Data manipulation and visualisation, Basic programming concepts, Unplugged activities, Art and creativity, Internet of things and wearable computing, Promoting diversity, Other.

List of activities: I ask the students how to create an Algorithm?
Algorithms are all around us, governing everything from the technology they use to the step they take to get ready each day.
What Is an Algorithm?
An algorithm is a detailed step-by-step instruction set or formula for solving a problem or completing a task. In computing, programmers write algorithms that instruct the computer how to perform a task.
Can you create your oun algorithm?

To explain the algorithm students have created a game that is demonstrated in front of other students, teachers and our stakeholder.

Initially Code event was linked to the curriculum of the school by designing it as a project in the subject of ICT and in the subject of mathematics. We are part of eTwinning projects, linking STEM with coding, where students expressed the desire to continue ICT engineer.

Group 1: Participants actually don’t need computers and internet connection to learn computational thinking. We will try out some off-line coding with Edmodo – Robot and print some worksheets.
• Something to work with and learn. We will show participants how fun it can be to create something on their own. Our students have created a game that students can opportunity to create a algorithm.

Our goal is to create an algorithm, through games, ”A tourist tip of Edmodo to Albania“.

A group of tourists, along with the guide, go to a tourist village. Cicero has prepared fun games to make the exploration more interesting but only 2 of the tourists agreed to take part, the others continuing their exploration alone.

Cicero explains the rules of the game to tourists, which are used in the game checkpoints, different orientation signs, information and queries that will teach you more information about tourist attractions.
The game conditions are as follows:
The tourist will move a square for each selected card.
If the card “turn right” or “turn left” is selected the tourist will stay in spot and return to the directed cards. If the tourist is positioned in the square that has a question mark, he or his group will select a question from the question box. The question is about Climate Change.

If students answers correctly he/she will continue the game by selecting the letters of the algorithm to move the game to the next level, otherwise he will lose the guide and return to the starting position.

If they are positioned in the 2x box we have duplication of the last movement of the algorithm. If positioned in the “return” box, it will rotate 90° left or right.

If the tourist arrives at one of the destinations in the “Tourist Village” or “Apollonia” he decides whether to continue the journey in the other attractions, otherwise he will leave the other group with tourists.

Once the game is over, the two tourists or two groups of tourists share their thoughts and impressions on the guide by also presenting the algorithms created and compare them and find the errors in their algorithms. Students give code instructions to each other. Play the game (In this game you give instructions for moving the robot in squares, then keep track of the robot’s movements, create algorithm, in the bands, prepare a task, write the commands to complete the task).

This event learned to engage children in STEM and coding activities in a playful way. Moreover, the event effectively supports young people to develop critical thinking, creativity, digital and collaborative skills, and science capital. The pedagogical method has a strong inclusive potential and fosters the STEM education and the inclusion of disadvantaged students both inside and outside the classroom.

Conditions with cards. Students have created algorithm playing with cards. Students are divided into groups of 2 teams. Each group sets different playing conditions.
Letters are divided into groups. The first card is selected, if no higher than 9, teams earn one point, otherwise the team wins as many points as there are cards. If letter is higher than 9 red again gains one (1 + 1) point, otherwise, if the black card is lost one point, it gains two points.

Group 2. Strak pack – The game with our cups.
Purpose: Emphasize programming techniques and the link between symbols and actions.
Students will:
Learn to turn real world activities into commands.
Gain commands for coding practices with symbols.
We recognize the need for coding accuracy.

Group 3: Encode message
The aim is the development of students, competences such as problem solving, and increased creativity and teamwork – very good skills in all spheres of life. Strengthen and interconnect people.

To bring digital coding and writing to all age groups, in a fun and engaging way by integrating cross-curricular knowledge into the various fields for which students at the “Zani Ciko” school organized several activities. Game “Encode the message”, “Decode the message”.

Students create a message via binary code to be subsequently deciphered by other groups.“Protect the environment”, “The Book is a Treasure”, “Trees are oxygen”: these were some of our students’ coded messages.

Main purpose:
Binary layout and coding idea. The student uses the concept of binary to illustrate how a computer encrypts data that will be stored for later use.
Students will
• Learn that a computer does not understand the language the way we do.
• Discover that all types of information can be stored in different combinations with only two choices.
• Learn to encode letters in binary.
• Learn how to decode binaries in letters.

Group 4: Minecraft and Scratch games
In the scratch and Minecraft program we are creating an animation where the students express their wishes in the form of characters, for the professions of the future and argue why. Students at the end of the animation created a quiz with questions and the discussion, in order to identify the global created, through small actions.

Group 5: Pixel Art
I ask the students what is Pixel Art? Pixel: A single point or dot of color in a larger image. Large images are made up of thousands of small pixels.

How does it work? Each box in the grid is a single pixel. Some of the pixels have been coloured to make a simple figure. We can label the rows and columns of the image to make it easier to pick out specific pixels:

February 11th – International Safe Internet Day.
The number of children and young people who are threatened by bullying, identity theft, harassment and sexual violence has increased significantly.

According to the 1st National Report on the Safety of Children and Youth on the Internet “Crimes without Punishment”, the two main platforms of child and adolescent complaints of violence, bullying, abuse or profile theft are Youtube 33% and Instagram 43%.
Prevention is better than punishment!

Report! # iSigurt.al #betterinternetforkits #SID #stopbullying #Saferinternet #esafetyinternetday

Our students have done a survey with children grade 6-7, about social media that they use and is reported after they have done analyzing that young children use FB and Instagram in ages 12 years old.

We also created an online survey about how to protect device, the ages for using social media, copyright law, combat online bullying… etc.

We created a activity for Security Internet Day in our school.

Stop bullying!

Student’s posters.

Students created leaflets.

Work presentation

Outcome: We closed our activities by giving students certificate of participation, by the school principal Arta Fejzaj, for thanking, motivating students for work they did.

Resources:
Scientix Webinar Hungary – Coding and Algorithmic Thinking in STEM Education
All you need is Code: Lesson Plans
Code Week: Teach
Coding in STEM Education