CodeMonkey
Curriculum Standards Alignment
Being aligned to CSTA standards, the most accepted Computer Standard (CS) in the United States, makes CodeMonkey an advantageous program to use when teaching computer science from primary through middle school. CodeMonkey’s added value is not just its standards alignment, but that it is a scalable program. Where many coding programs may teach important CS concepts, and may even fulfill certain CSTA standards, CodeMonkey is the only program that systematically leads students on a path from Kindergarten through eight grades where they build upon previous knowledge and learn the skillset needed to be prepared for high school Computer Science. Code Monkey is not an one off program that you do to have fun, it is a program that prepares students for what they will be learning in high school Computer Science classes.
In Summary, the added value of using CodeMonkey for US Computer Science:
- Aligned to most nationally recognized CS standards, CSTA
- As student progress through our CS program, they get a much firmer understanding for the foundations and skill of coding
- Provides students with the proper skills and knowledge to be properly prepared for high school Computer Science
This is a little more complicated as there are many aspects in which CodeMonkey aligns very well to the IB Curriculum.
PYP
In the PYP curriculum there are 5 principles which an IB student should be learning throughout their schooling. These 5 principles lead students to learn traditional subjects like math, English, and other courses, but they also lead very nicely into why they should be learning Computer Science. PYP principles pathway of learning requires the students to gain knowledge, concepts, skills, attitude, and ultimately action in any course that they will be learning. Most coding programs focus on the first two aspects (Knowledge and concept) but that does not enable one to take action. CodeMonkey is one of the only Computer Science programs designed for primary students to not only gain the knowledge and concepts, but also the skills so that they can take action. IB schools do not want students to feel like what they are learning is in a vacuum, but to be able to use that knowledge for good and action. CodeMonkey is the program that will be able to take student knowledge and put it into positive action.
Part of MYP is a topic titled DESIGN. In Design students are required to:
- apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems
- explore the role of design in both historical and contemporary contexts
- consider their responsibilities when making design decisions and taking action
CodeMonkey’s creative courses, i.e. Challenge Builder, Game Builder and Coding Chatbots, are the perfect creative pieces that fit into the design course.
Design courses can be offered as:
- a distinct digital and/or product design course
- a series of distinct digital and/or product design courses
- a single course which combines digital and product design
Using these cases, CodeMonkey can be strong learning tool to enable IB schools to look at coding and Computer Science in the way that students design.
The next aspect is STEM Education in MYP
Two aspects of STEM Education are related to:
- STEM investigations aligned with MYP sciences, mathematics and design assessment criteria
- Computational thinking
CodeMonkey has a few courses specifically which tie into interdisciplinary courses, i.e. DDM and Space Monkey, but even more so, our courses are embedded with Math. Our courses enable students to learn coding while improving in other topics, like English or Math (this ties into MYP’s required interdisciplinary unit).
Additionally, computational thinking is deeply ingrained into the pedagogy used to build CodeMonkey courses. All of our courses teach students to break down larger ideas, concepts, and skills and learn to tackle them in short and simple ways.
In summary, CodeMonkey adds strong value for PYP and MYP:
PYP:
- CodeMonkey fulfills all 5 elements of what a PYP student must learn
- It specifically teaches students knowledge and concepts, but also is the only program that will lead them into action
MYP: - Students can use CodeMonkey creative courses to fit their design requirements
- CodeMonkey fits easily into MYP’s STEM Education in that it teaches students computational thinking in a meaningful way, and aligns with other courses such as physics, math, and even English.
PYP and MYP: - IB education emphasises interdisciplinary learning. CodeMonkey, both for PYP and MYP students, contains within its program many different subjects. Computer science, math, physics, science, as well as English learning. It is a unique program that teaches students many different topics through the ease of playing a game.
The UK Curriculum has 4 aims for Computing Education described below:
Students can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation CodeMonkey teaches all these concepts through a fun, intuitive and easy way. Schools do not have to develop their own methods in teaching these ideas to students, but will be able to use CodeMonkey to easily educate their students on these fundamental concepts and skills.
Students can analyze problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems CodeMonkey has been built to have students learn and relearn coding concepts and skills. No matter how far a student gets into a course of CodeMonkey, the program is built to ensure that they reuse skills they have already learned to ensure expertise.
Students can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems CodeMonkey provides coding skills to younger students to solve different types of problems.
Students are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology Learning CS with CodeMonkey will enable students to not only be responsible, but also confident and creative as they have the skills to be able to create. CodeMonkey has built in courses for students to display their creativity and competency in computer science.