| Pando’s newest group, the Code Crushers, has launched at Curtis Middle School. Funding for this initiative provided by the Brian David Higby Fund at the Wichita Foundation has allowed Pando to purchase 6 brand new Chromebooks, a traveling charging station, and snacks for the group members each week.
The Code Crushers is a traveling Pando program that will visit middle schools for 6 weeks, meeting once per week to explore the world of website building and coding. The idea for the group came from local web designer Marisa VanSkiver, owner of Captain Coder. While previously living abroad, she led a similar program in Europe, and since being back in the states she had been looking for an opportunity to create a similar program. After meeting Pando staff at a local event, the idea quickly evolved into the 6 week group course.
Curriculum for the group comes from Code.org, a nonprofit website focused on educating youth on coding, as well as personal experience from Marisa. Each lesson, about 40 minutes long, gives students an interactive experience to piece together visual representations of code to get familiar with the language, and then view their end work as a visual. Plans for the 2023-24 school year include traveling to other local Pando middle schools, and potentially creating a second traveling kit for elementary students.
Have a special interest and want to start your own group? Contact Daniel Morford at dmorford@pandokids.org |
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