Joyce: We’re here today with Sarah Horvath from YouthCodeJam.org. Youth Code Jam has empowered so many kids in Texas, in STEM, in Computer Science… And we’re here to learn a little bit about how that’s going with Sarah. Sarah, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sarah: So, my background is actually in Elementary Education, I’m a certified teacher. I started teaching in a 5th grade classroom, in my first year of teaching. I’ve taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grade and I eventually moved to Youth Code Jam where I now teach Computer Science to kids all over San Antonio. I’m the curriculum coordinator here and now I work with teachers, helping them integrate Computer Science into their classroom; I can teach camps for kids and I get to work with them throughout the school year, in clubs and in their classrooms; I get to develop curriculum for Youth Code Jam that we use all over the city; and I had to help make sure that our activities are TEA aligned, so that teachers can use them in the classrooms. It’s a lot of different fun things now, as well as, of course, our code jams.
Joyce: So, when did you decide that you could teach coding? What made you get to that path?
Sarah: So, originally I didn’t see myself as a Computer Scientist or a Coder, I actually really didn’t even enjoy math originally; I thought I was interested in English writing, my undergrad was in journalism, actually, and I was told that math was hard, growing up, but I had a wonderful math instructor in my master’s program who actually taught me that I love math. And then, I started teaching that to my kiddos and started to love math. And then, one day I came across Khan Academy’s Hour of Code and I just started doing it with my kids, just kind of as a fun thing. So we finished early one day and I noticed that my kids, who were previously struggling in math, really felt confident in it, when they could problem solve and figure it out and they were actually able to explain to some of my advanced math learners how to solve some of those problems. And from that, their confidence blossomed and that was really exciting for me. They were able to feel confident in something involving math and so I started to do a little bit more research on Computer Science and the link between Computer Science, Mathematics and problem solving. And I realized that this was something I wanted to incorporate into my classroom on a regular basis. So, it just kind of became something for my early finishers, as a bonus incentive. And then, as the years continued, it just became part of my core content during stations and that sort of thing. Also, because I think it’s important for students to not just be consumers of technology, but to be creators of technology and being empowered by that and have opportunities to display their creativity in the world of technology. A lot of kids have the capacity to be innovators now, not someday when they grow up, but right now with technology and we should provide that opportunity to them.
Joyce: Great! That’s such an inspiring story, Sarah. You just led a two-week summer camp on Python Programming and self-driving car applications. How was that experience?
Sarah: It was wonderful and I’m really grateful to have that opportunity because I didn’t really think that I would ever have that opportunity. Even a year ago, I never would have thought that I’d be able to program a self-driving car in Python, let alone teach a camp in that. And at the beginning of the summer I didn’t know any Python and now it’s the end of the summer and I taught a camp in Python. And that’s an interesting language, it’s a text based language, which I didn’t know and now I know a little bit of. So, that’s really cool! And now my kids do too. At the beginning of the YCJ Camp I had them raise their hands and said “Who knows Python?” and one kid like this, [SHE SHYLY RAISES HER HAND]. And then at the end of the Camp I said “Who knows how to code in Python?” and they all did this, [SHE EXCITEDLY RAISES HER HAND]. So, that’s really exciting that their confidence grew that much, right? So, I think what’s really exciting about being able to use the AutoAuto curriculum is that it’s broken down into these bite size portions that make it feel really doable, really accessible and just like I can empower my students to just follow their inspiration and run away with their excitement and work.
Joyce: That’s great Sarah! That’s very inspiring and really nice to hear. You know, like you said, like a year ago you couldn’t see that, you wouldn’t think of that, but now you’re here, you did it, your kids loved it and you’re ready for more. That’s really inspiring for everybody out there. So, with that in mind, what advice would you give to any teacher out there for getting started with teaching coding?
Sarah: So, there’s a few things I would say. First, don’t get overwhelmed; you can do this in small pieces, right? You don’t have to do everything all at once; you can integrate one little thing at a time and your kids will benefit and be so grateful that you did. The only thing is there’s lots of free and cheap resources out there… Youth Code Jam can help! [GIGGLES] …and you don’t have to buy the flashy technology that costs a lot of money, necessarily, to get started. And one day, when you do want to, there’s lots of grants available for that. And the other thing is that you can (and you should) do this during your core time, school time, because the kids who can benefit and need to see you modeling Computer Science the most are the kids who can’t come after school, who can’t attend a special event, who can’t come during the weekend or who won’t necessarily sign up for an elective. They need you to do it for them, to model it for them, during their core time.
Joyce: That’s awesome to hear Sarah! I love that! I would love to see girls, you know, doing this and I don’t see as much, right? That’s one example there, if you teach how to do a little bit in their classroom time, the girls can see “Wow, this is for me as well”.
Joyce: Is there anything else you want to say to the teachers out there or anybody interested in learning Programming?
Sarah: Hmm, yes! Computer Science is not as scary as you think it is and it’s okay to fail. We teach our kids all the time that it’s okay to try things and, you know, making mistakes is what helps us to learn. And the same is true for us as adults! It’s okay for us to try something new and fail and learn from our mistakes. And we should be doing that because that’s how we’re going to learn and technology moves so quickly. If we’re not doing that, then we’re really doing ourselves and our students a disservice. So, if you ever want to code with me and make a bunch of mistakes and learn from it. Look me up at Youth Code Jam, Sarah Horvath at YouthCodeJam.org.
Joyce: Thank you so much, Sarah! We’ll have those credentials in our video as well, for anybody wanting to look forward to more resources, and look forward to getting started. Thank you so much for your time!
Pictures source: San Antonio Business Journal