Tynker Expands K-12 Computer Science Curriculum to Include 16 New Courses in JavaScript, STEM Integration and Drone Programming

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (PRWEB) JUNE 27, 2016

Tynker, the leader in creative computing that has introduced more than 32 million kids to computer programming through innovative game-like learning activities and courses, today announced a new curriculum for schools across the U.S. and Canada. Tynker will demonstrate the new courses at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference, taking place from June 26-29 in Denver, CO.

The new 2016 curriculum adds 3 new JavaScript courses, 12 STEM programming courses, and a course on drone programming in partnership with Parrot, one of the world’s leading civil drone companies.

“To date, over 32 million kids have been introduced to computer programming through our online courses, apps, and in-class teaching platform. We’ve had significant demand to expand into STEM subjects and makerspace arenas, so it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to offer these exciting new courses,” said Krishna Vedati, co-founder and CEO of Tynker. “We hope that our new upper level courses in JavaScript, STEM, and drones will inspire an even greater number of students to embrace coding as a path to enhancing their learning and careers.”

Only 25% of all US schools are currently teaching Computer Science in the classroom, but there is a growing movement led by parents, the private sector, and the government to expand coding education. In response to this growing need, Tynker’s comprehensive, fun, game-based curriculum has been used by more than 50,000 schools to introduce students to computer programming.

Tynker’s drone curriculum offers a structured approach to get elementary and middle school students flying drones in minutes. Students practice their drone flying skills in a virtual environment before they are ready to execute the commands on a real drone.

“Who doesn’t want to program and control their own drone?” says Jerome Bouvard, Education Program Director, Parrot. “We are really excited to collaborate with Tynker, the leader in teaching kids to code, and create a learning platform that will inspire students of all ages to innovate and build the next generation of useful applications with drones, not yet imagined!”

The curriculum includes 10 scaffolded lessons and introduces kids to safe and fun drone-flying as well as relevant programming concepts as they complete fun missions such as:

● Program a drone’s flight path from takeoff to landing
● Build a drone controller to control a drone in real-time
● Program flips, turns and other stunts
● Integrate loops and variables to make geometric patterns
● Code games such as Flappy Drone and drone racing
● Take an aerial picture and share it with your class

Each lesson has a detailed teacher guide, main concepts and collaborative ideas, mapping to applicable standards, sample working programs, interactive tutorials, and applications to real-world issues.

Tynker’s STEM and Project-Based Learning modules challenge students with real-world problems in all subjects, including Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Studies, and Language Arts.

Students and teachers can choose a specific problem or subject area they are passionate about, and Tynker’s STEM lesson modules provide a framework for them to collaborate, experiment, and apply concepts and skills they have learned to solve that problem and share results with the class.

“The implementation of Tynker coding and the STEM and project-based lessons has led to an amazing shift in our students’ engagement in all grades,” says Jenny Anderson, STEM Coordinator at the Casita Elementary School in Vista Unified School District, where Tynker’s programming and STEM courses have already been rolled out in all grades. “Since using Tynker as our coding program,” she says, “we've seen our students engaged in creating their own animations, digital stories, and multiplayer games. Our math scores have increased and with the ease of Tynker's block based programming, our learners are exploring the limitless world of computer science!”

12 STEM courses are included for grades 3-8. Activities are aligned with Common Core State Standards, NGSS and NCSS. Examples of STEM activities include:

● Simulate the greenhouse effect and show how it causes climate change
● Program a game where the player sorts words based on their part of speech
● Experiment with a coin toss to understand randomness and probability
● Diagram ancient trading routes or migration patterns
● Code a game where you match equivalent fractions

Tynker’s JavaScript courses are specially designed to bridge young learners from visual block-based programming to mainstream text-based coding with syntax and structure. Introduction to JavaScript is an immersive adventure where students solve coding puzzles, complete debugging quests and build projects as they apply their coding skills to the test. The other courses will focus on game and app design where students will learn various aspects of programming as they build a collection of fun games using JavaScript.

To see a preview of the new K-12 courses at ISTE, visit Tynker at booth #425.

About Tynker
Tynker’s award-winning creative computing platform helps children develop computational thinking and programming skills in a fun, intuitive, and imaginative way. More than 50,000 schools and 32 million students, spanning over 150 countries, use Tynker. Tynker was founded by a seasoned team of technology entrepreneurs who share the passion for giving children the critical life skills needed to become leaders in the technologies of tomorrow. For more information, please visit: www.tynker.com, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @GoTynker.