Why Should Your Child Learn To Code?
The true Power of Coding does not lie in learning to program computers, but rather, its benefits are realized through the many tangible and intangible life skills that are developed in the student.Greg Moneypenny
The Power of Coding is all about ...
Creativity
Coding inspires Creativity.
Students become content creators.
Instead of simply consuming other people's content, students become empowered to unleash
their imaginations and express themselves through games, animation and of course, code.
Kids have so much fun learning to code games, stories and animation that they
don't realize that they are actually learning and absorbing multiple concepts.
Critical Thinking
Prolonged involvement in Coding increases Critical / Analytical Thinking.
Students learn to design for specific outcomes.
They plan, organize and prepare their digital concepts and must remove obstacles to make their
creations work properly. Through Coding, students expand their problem solving skills, sharpen
their focus and learn to apply critical thinking to each barrier they encounter.
Collaboration
Students collaborate and work together
Across peer groups, students work side by side while exploring the world of coding.
They share both their successes as well as their failures. Together they learn that
computer programs almost never work perfectly the first time and through the process
of collaborative debugging, students build resilience and learn to accept friendly
but constructive criticism that eventually helps them achieve their goals.
Communication
Prolonged involvement in Coding hones Communication skills.
In Power of Coding students communicate and review their creations collectively.
Through the creation of animation and computer games, students develop their storytelling abilities.
Students are engaged with instructors and other students alike. They are encouraged to share their
ideas, their code and what they have learned.
Students are exposed to concepts such as "Digital Literacy" (ability to locate and evaluate information for value)
and "Digital Citizenship" (importance of formally noting and providing credit for another's work).
Development
Prolonged involvement in Coding develops many other aspects in the student.
Students are shown how planning, preparation and organization can speed development and reduce
errors. Students must work through the sometimes frustrating but very rewarding process of debugging
their code.
As a result of that perseverance, students and parents often see a marked increase in the
student's patience and resilience. This enhanced persistence increases their self-confidence
and helps the student in all aspects of life and, in many cases, the student's academic
performance improves across the board (not just in the STEM related programs).
Fun
Coding is fun to learn.
Students work in an inclusive environment that encourages safe risk taking and experimentation
in an academic setting with an emphasis on fun.
The joy of coding promotes positive attitudes towards math and computing careers for both girls
and boys which ultimately results in an increased propensity to continue with post-secondary studies.
News and Information
Course Information
Registration Information, Course Requirements,
Prerequisites and Events
and
News and Links
Coding news, Observations, Opinions & Links
FAQs
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About Power Of Coding
In the winter of 2014 my wife, Tina Moneypenny, a dedicated educator at St. Mary’s elementary school in Collingwood Ontario, attended a Mathletics conference in Toronto. During that conference, Tina met a keynote speaker who spoke at length about how other jurisdictions, specifically in the European Union, had begun to incorporate Coding into their curricula.
That night I was asked by Tina, to put together a course to teach her students computer programming. Reluctantly I agreed, and then set out to create the curriculum to teach the fundamentals of computer programming, or Coding, to her students. The St. Mary’s Coding Club was born. Since those days in early 2015, the Coding Club at St. Mary’s has flourished. In addition to the expected outcomes, such as children’s excitement surrounding computers, it brought with it a number of other more significant benefits to both students and educators alike. Those unintended benefits were so compelling that the "Power of Coding" was born. Read on to discover just how impactful the "Power of Coding" can be.
What people say about "Power Of Coding"
Our son Noah has always had a keen interest in technology and computer science. As parents we wanted to support him and find a program that would provide him with an opportunity to further his knowledge. It was around this time that Mr.Moneypenny started offering a program at St.Mary's Elementary School and it was exactly what Noah needed. Noah learned various concepts, computer languages, applications and a classroom which encouraged curiosity. This program boosted his enthusiasm on this subject and has given him the confidence to explore software solutions and to innovate. Mr.Moneypenny creates a classroom environment that encourages independent thinking, creative solutions and an understanding of the many fields of study that are influenced by technology. We cannot say enough good things about the program from subject material to the positive learning environment. We highly recommend this program to any parent or school.Nilusha & Roshan P.
About the Instructor
For the past 35 years Greg Moneypenny has been employed as an I.T. professional for various companies
within the Food manufacturing, Agricultural, Automotive manufacturing and Aerospace and Defense
industries. Greg has held many positions and has had numerous responsibilities and roles within the
Information Technology field during that time. Those roles encompassed aspects of I.T. including
designing, developing and maintaining software applications in over 30 programming languages. Greg has
also performed server, router, switching and other infrastructure deployment and administration and
has performed training sessions to a wide variety of audiences. From there Greg moved into managing
large technical projects to eventually managing and building high performing I.T. teams.
Over the years Greg managed Harmony Information Processing Solutions Inc.
as a side business and has provided computer repair and professional I.T. consulting services for a variety of clients with a
focus on quality, value and individualized support at competitive rates.
In 2014 Greg's wife Tina asked Greg to learn the SCRATCH computer programming language and create
a curriculum to teach students computer programming concepts using SCRATCH. The results
of that request became "Power of Coding" and now, recently retired, Greg has focused his attention to
helping kids learn the fundamentals of coding and discover the fun of learning to program
in Collingwood, Stayner, Wasaga Beach and the greater Georgian Triangle.
Contact Us
Call us
Power of Coding
P.O. Box 1297
Stayner, Ontario
L0M 1S0
705.443.9930
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