At Salem City Schools, we strive to keep evolving our classes to better equip our students with realistic and beneficial skills in our ever changing world. In doing so, we have a coding class in our Jr/Sr High. The class is a preparation for career paths in the expanding technological world we live in. Kaylin McClaugherty teaches the class and introduced a new “friend” to help out with some lessons. That friend is the Code-A-Pillar.
The Code-A-Pillar is a hands-on way to expose students to the critical thinking and problem-solving skills required for computer coding. By strategically ordering the Code-A-Pillar’s body segments, students can send the little robot on a particular path avoiding obstacles and reaching a goal. This helps students learn coding because a computer will only do what the user programs it to do. Likewise, the Code-A-Pillar only goes where the students have programmed it to go. It is a fun way to get students excited about mapping out directions and teaches them the grit required to work through the trial and error of computer coding at a basic level. Although they appear to be elementary, the students are challenged to complete different tasks with them. With skills in coding, students have the opportunity to peruse jobs such as a software application developer, web developer, database administrator, computer systems architect, or business intelligence analyst.
Mrs. McClaugherty’s students have had a blast with the Code-A-Pillar and we have some pictures below of the Code-A-Pillar in action. We will continue to grow here at Salem City Schools in an effort to get our students better prepared for the future, and we look forward to seeing what our students do.
