Coding for Kids
Evonne Hackett Teaches Coding Twelve Months a Year!
CodeMaker Camps empower teachers to keep doing what they love during the summer.
| Connect |
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 @ehlmstech |
 Lakeview Middle School |
 Rossville, GA |
This week, we’re excited to feature Evonne Hackett, a stellar Blue Ribbon educator at Lakeview Middle School in Rossville, Georgia! She’s taught pre-K through college-age students, and over the past 8 years she’s taught grades 6 through 8. She has an EdS degree in Instructional Technology and is always learning new skills to share with her students. Because she feels learning to code is so important for students, she both integrates coding into her everyday teaching and hosts a Tynker CodeMaker Camp during the summer! Read on to learn more about this exemplary Blue Ribbon Educator.
Coding in the Classroom
Evonne believes that it’s critical for students to learn to code, not only because learning the technical skill will be beneficial, but also because it will help students develop their cognitive abilities: “Bringing coding into the classroom can help our students learn to analyze, process, and create ideas. We need to teach coding to help our students learn to think. Jobs of tomorrow demand that our students be creative problem-solvers, think logically, and have self-management skills and mental flexibility.” With those kinds of skills, students will be well-equipped for wherever they go in life.
Any coding experience in the classroom should be accompanied by authentic learning, as Evonne explains: “When students code, there needs to be a purpose so that students can transfer their skills in a meaningful way.” That’s why Evonne uses resources like LEGO WeDo robotics kits to help students bring their code to life. Coding also helps students develop key skills like teamwork as they collaborate to make a robot function. Based on Evonne’s conversations with students, they see learning about coding and robotics as relevant to their future: “Why learn to code? Kaden says he wants to build robots. Jeremiah says he needs to be able to work in a world that is driven by technology and robotics.”
Coding at Camp
Not only does Evonne teach coding in the classroom, but she’s also a proud Tynker CodeMaker Camp teacher! Over the summer, she offered courses in Creative Coding and WeDo Coding Studio. By hosting a coding camp, Evonne helps students maintain and extend their coding knowledge as they practice their skills throughout the summer. She sees the Tynker CodeMaker Camps as a great option for teachers who teach coding: “With Tynker’s new CodeMaker Camps, educators are now empowered to keep doing what we love during the summer months: engaging with families and students while earning money during the months when we don’t receive a salary.”
For Evonne, Tynker has been a helpful tool for both herself and students: “Tynker has helped increase my knowledge of coding and is a great platform for my students. Summer camps with Tynker have been exciting because we have been able to relax and work at our own pace.”
We’re proud to have Evonne Hackett as a member of our Tynker Community! We’re sure her students will benefit from her enthusiastic approach to teaching coding for years to come.
Read our previous article about Blue Ribbon Educator Paul Rayner, who helps students solve authentic problems!
