[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” disabled=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label=”Fullwidth Header” title=”CHAPTER 3″ subhead=”Implementing Coding in B.C. ” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” header_fullscreen=”off” header_scroll_down=”off” scroll_down_icon=”;” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” content_orientation=”center” image_orientation=”center” title_font=”Roboto||||” title_font_size=”65px” subhead_font=”Droid Sans||||” subhead_font_size=”40px” content_font_size=”14px” custom_button_one=”off” button_one_text_size=”20″ button_one_letter_spacing=”0″ button_one_use_icon=”default” button_one_icon_placement=”right” button_one_on_hover=”on” button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ custom_button_two=”off” button_two_text_size=”20″ button_two_letter_spacing=”0″ button_two_use_icon=”default” button_two_icon_placement=”right” button_two_on_hover=”on” button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ disabled=”off”] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=”Fullwidth Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/code\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/04\/IMG_9261.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” disabled=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off” border_color=”#ffffff”]<\/p>\n
But this statement was problematic. For one, it ignored the work being done in other jurisdictions, such as Chicago, New York and San Francisco, which, by 2013 had all committed to requiring coding in classrooms in the next five to 10 years. Schools in Nova Scotia have taught the basics of coding to students in kindergarten through Grade 3 since 2015.<\/p>\n
But Clark\u2019s quote also doesn\u2019t accurately represent the form that coding takes in many schools across the province.<\/p>\n
When coding was originally introduced into the curriculum, Education Minister Mike Bernier suggested to reporters that children didn\u2019t necessarily need computers in order to learn code: \u201cYou don\u2019t actually have to be sitting in front of a computer to learn coding. There\u2019s lots of different ways to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
NDP MLA Rob Fleming, who previously served as the party’s education critic, took objection to this in a party press release. \u201cThe minister of education actually said, with a straight face, that students don\u2019t need computers to learn computer coding. That is like telling a kid to learn to ride a bike without a bike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fleming went on to say that the $6 million allocated towards coding until 2018 wouldn\u2019t properly cover equipment expenses. \u201cThe reality is that many schools in our province lack computer screens and some don\u2019t even have broadband Internet service. It is essential that students get hands-on experience with up-to-date technology to properly teach coding.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, reports emerged of many schools, particularly in B.C.\u2019s interior, that had very few or no computers at all to work with<\/a>, and even if they did have computers, the internet bandwidth provided in many cases was limited.<\/p>\n The other element of teaching students to code came from actual human beings: the teachers. The government was ostensibly left with two options: bring in new teachers to teach the curriculum; or attempt to train the existing teachers in how to bring coding to their classrooms.<\/p>\n The latter option was embraced. And while the government didn\u2019t release information as to why that was, it\u2019s easy to see that hiring new teachers would have been a financial burden without replacing existing teachers \u2014 which wouldn\u2019t have been popular politically.<\/p>\n The question of how to teach teachers, who were mired in routine, some of whom with more than 20 years of experience teaching the same thing, was addressed in the aforementioned email put together by the Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Document Cloud 2″ disabled=”off”]<div class=”DC-embed DC-embed-page” data-version=”1.1″><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <div style=”font-size:10pt;line-height:14pt;”><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> Page 98 of <a class=”DC-embed-resource” href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911-Coding-FOI-1.html#document\/p98″ title=”View entire Coding FOI 1 on DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>Coding FOI 1<\/a><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <\/div><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <img src=”\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p98-normal.gif?1491703094″ srcset=”\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p98-normal.gif?1491703094 700w, \/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p98-large.gif?1491703094 1000w” alt=”Page 98 of Coding FOI 1″ style=”max-width:100%;height:auto;margin:0.5em 0;border:1px solid #ccc;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both”><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <div style=”font-size:8pt;line-height:12pt;text-align:center”><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> Contributed to<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/” title=”Go to DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank” style=”font-weight:700;font-family:Gotham,inherit,sans-serif;color:inherit;text-decoration:none”>DocumentCloud<\/a> by<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/public\/search\/Account:13385-nathan-caddell” title=”View documents contributed to DocumentCloud by Nathan Caddell in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>Nathan Caddell<\/a> of<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/public\/search\/Group:researchmethods” title=”View documents contributed to DocumentCloud by David McKie’s Research Methods in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>David McKie’s Research Methods<\/a> \u2022<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911-Coding-FOI-1.html#document\/p98″ title=”View entire Coding FOI 1 on DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>View document<\/a> or<!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <a href=”https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3537911\/pages\/Coding-FOI-1-p98.txt” title=”Read the text of page 98 of Coding FOI 1 on DocumentCloud in new window or tab” target=”_blank”>read text<\/a><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –> <\/div><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –><\/div><!– [et_pb_line_break_holder] –><script src=”\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/embed\/loader\/enhance.js”><\/script>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off” border_color=”#ffffff”]<\/p>\n As shown above, the ministry allocated 10 hours of training to enable teachers to learn about curricular changes and the implementation of new programs.<\/p>\n The government provided two-day workshops, allowing all 60 school districts to send two teachers to sessions in Victoria, Vancouver, Chilliwack, Kelowna, Trail or Prince George.<\/p>\n In 2013, after four years working in business intelligence, Agarwal launched TechUpKids<\/a>, a coding camp that runs in summers, on the weekends and after school hours.<\/p>\n Agarwal once worked for a company based in India, which made for complicated working hours. With two children, the lifestyle wasn\u2019t working for her any more. She started teaching her daughters some programming, and, when a friend suggested that she start teaching her children as well, an idea was born.<\/p>\n \u201cI did two weeks and had no idea what I was going to do, and I tried to start a curriculum,\u201d she says at a coffee shop on Vancouver\u2019s west side, where many of the schools she teaches at are located. \u201cAt the time, there was not so much in the media about programming, so I would go around, and I used to go offer the flyers to people. People didn\u2019t seem too interested, but they\u2019d take it and then mostly through friends and friends of friends, they\u2019d talk to each other on social media and on my social media about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the provincial curriculum was introduced, Agarwal became highly sought after by schools \u2014 mostly but not exclusively of the private variety \u2014 who wanted their students to have more exposure to coding. By December of 2016, a \u201cvariety of schools\u201d had contacted her. (She declined to say which ones.)<\/p>\n \u201cSome schools have a problem with funds, so I don\u2019t know how coding plays a role there. But there are schools, which are willing to offer programs but they don\u2019t have teachers who are trained for it. So they are looking for people to go into the schools in school hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Agarwal has found that coding isn\u2019t necessarily prevalent, even in the more privileged schools. \u201cEven though there is curriculum in place, I don\u2019t think much has happened so far; they\u2019re trying to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, she agrees with the methodology of bringing in teachers for lessons instead of hiring new teachers that know coding: \u201cLet\u2019s say I teach a six-hour workshop once. They (the teachers) can start understanding the program in their school and then I can go in again for five or six hours to go over stuff that they could have found difficult. In the long run, it\u2019s more sustainable for groups to have their own teachers year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Doig is one of those teachers. Ten years ago, Doig left his job as an electrical engineer and got a teaching degree from the University of British Columbia. Since 2014 he\u2019s been teaching at Shawnigan Lake School, a co-ed private boarding school for secondary students (Grades 8 to 12) on Vancouver Island just north of Victoria.<\/p>\n “When I came to Shawnigan, they didn\u2019t have a computer science teacher and they saw that I worked as a computer programmer in the tech sector,\u201d says Doig over the phone from the school, where he lives among the students and serves as a \u2018house master.\u2019<\/p>\n In addition to computer science, Doig teaches physics while also offering robotics electives to senior students and coaching rugby. And while Shawnigan\u2019s status as a private school allows for some freedoms in what he thinks the students should be learning, it still must follow ministry guidelines for its courses.<\/p>\n But according to Doig, those ministry rules for coding might not be very strict.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s programs like \u2018Hour of Code\u2019 that some schools would be able to hang their hat on and say \u2018Well we did some coding,\u2019 and it allows for kids to get online and do some canned programming that\u2019s provided by a third party. How deep that goes, well it\u2019s going to be just as deep as a physicist teaching biology some days,\u201d says Doig, who speaks from experience, as he\u2019s also in that particular boat as a physicist who teaches his Grade 8 class about biology.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I know I can go deep if I need to, because I have colleagues that can help with that. But they don\u2019t always have the resources to bank on a computer science colleague in an elementary school, or even some high schools.\u201d<\/p>\n Doig teaches his younger students in Scratch<\/a>, <\/strong>and notes that students also get some experience in HTML<\/a>. <\/strong>He\u2019s most comfortable imparting his wisdom in the more complex language of Java<\/a>.<\/p>\nThose that had the resources and interest to go further in teaching their students coding went to people like Rita Agarwal.<\/strong><\/h3>\n