A Practical Introduction to Coding Events in Libraries

Karin Dalziel - kdalziel@unl.edu Elizabeth Lorang - llorang2@unl.edu

Jennifer L. Thoegersen - jthoegersen2@unl.edu

October 15, 2015

http://go.unl.edu/coding

•Why code, and why should libraries host coding events?

• Programming concepts • Blockly demo • How? • Resources • Play time!

Agenda

??Coding is the creation of instructions to make a computer perform specific tasks.

What is Coding? ?

?

?Why???

?

?

An algorithm is a set of instructions, like a recipe, which will generate an outcome when followed.

001: Measure out 4 cups of flour 002: Measure out 1 tablespoon of yeast 003: Measure out 1 teaspoon of salt 004: Add items from 001-003 to bowl 005: Measure out 4 cups of water 006: Add item from 005 to bowl 007: Mix all ingredients 008: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Programming Concepts

Algorithms

A loop is a way to repeat an instruction until a condition is reached. You could iterate through a list (for each pet in list A) or count down the number of times (while x is less than 10).

Programming Concepts

Loop

Conditionals follow an if/then/else structure and help break down complicated structures into manageable chunks.

for each pet in pets if pet is dog then let outside else keep inside end

Programming Concepts

Conditionals

max_weight = 0 heaviest_pet = NULL

for each {pet_name, pet_weight} in pets

    if pet_weight > max_weight

         max_weight = pet_weight          heaviest_pet = pet_name

    end  end

print "The heaviest pet is " + heaviest_pet + " at " + max_weight + " pounds!"

Programming Concepts

All Together

pets = {

"Pye" => 10,

"Corwin" => 15,

"Zipper" => 14,

"Oogie" => 75,

"Nemo" => 8,

"Koda" => 50

}

Blockly Demo

https://blockly-games.appspot.com/maze?lang=en&level=1&skin=2

?How???

?

?

Don’t panic! There are organizations and individuals as well as existing activities to help you.

Resources

Play time!

A Practical Introduction to Coding Events in Libraries

Karin Dalziel - kdalziel@unl.edu Elizabeth Lorang - llorang2@unl.edu

Jennifer L. Thoegersen - jthoegersen2@unl.edu

October 15, 2015

http://go.unl.edu/coding