Breaking Barriers: Coding Without Fear

Attendees become patrons in a simulated library program environment during this interactive, hands-on session. Participants will learn about program sequencing, logic puzzles, computational thinking activities, and ways to use Mozilla’s free online code editor, Thimble. The session will be based on the Rhode Coders curriculum designed by Providence Public Library’s (PPL) Technology Instructor. PPL staff will facilitate the workshop, discuss their program experience, and answer questions about implementation challenges and successes. Rhode Coders was designed to remove traditional barriers for people interested in coding. To eliminate the barrier of fear, a club/family member atmosphere was created in a safe, supportive environment. Lack of confidence is tackled by infusing fun, using gamification techniques and providing various activities that cater to different learning styles to explore a particular skill. Lastly, the barrier of cost is eliminated by providing instruction for free. Participants should bring their laptops loaded with the Chrome browser to get the full experience of the session. The primary coding language used in this session will be CSS. Some previous coding experience is useful but not required