May 8, 2023
By: Bill Conger
DeKalb West School continues to take a step forward with the use of technology in the classrooms with a fun approach to learning computer coding.
DeKalb West School Computer Teacher Lori Vandergriff received an $800 Hometown Help grant from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas for the purchase of coding robots. The organization has helped fund past projects for Vandergriff including most recently a 3D printer for the computer lab
Students in grades 2-5 are learning to design a pathway or obstacle course by creating a computer code for the Botley coding robots to maneuver.
“Students in grades 6-8 use Sphero robotic spheres to code and navigate through mazes, play games, and write code with Javascript like real programmers use,” Vandergriff explains.
In October, Vandergriff attended a STEM workshop at Tennessee Tech about ways to introduce coding.
“I already use a program called Kodable with the younger grades, I use Code.org with the middle grades, and 6-8 use Code Combat. Kodable and Code.org use block coding to help students learn the terminology and basic coding. Code combat introduces 6-8 to Java, Python, and C++ coding. They write code to create and play video games. The robots are just another way to allow the students opportunities to learn about coding.”