60 Ready-to-Use Coding Projects

The lessons of ALA’s Libraries Ready to Code initiative are conclusive: your library can make a difference in developing computational thinking in children, teens, and even adults. And you don’t even need to be a techie to make it happen; in fact, many activities in this new book from tech champion Kroski dispense with a screen altogether in favor of twister boards, masking tape grids, or bowling pins. Other activities are built around affordable software or tech toys like Scratch Jr., Scratch, Bee-Bot, or Code-a-Pillar. Organized by age group, and complete with step-by-step guidance on everything from learning outcomes to an estimated budget, projects include

• teaching coding to preschoolers with beads, pipe cleaners, and elastic string;
• choreographing music videos with Ozobots;
• programming Mad Libs-style games using Python;
• teaching algorithms with story mapping, pattern play, or mazes;
• using Scratch for digital dress-up or meme remixes;
• team-building and outreach with robots;
• drop-in programs for exploration and unstructured play; and
• teaching adults with Lynda.com or Meetup partners.

This book’s structured presentation will help both school librarians and programming staff at public libraries quickly scan for projects that fit their needs.

Ellyssa Kroski is the Director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute as well as an award-winning editor and author of 37 books, including Law Librarianship in the Digital Age, for which she won the AALL's 2014 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. Her ten-book technology series The Tech Set won the ALA's Best Book in Library Literature Award in 2011. She is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at Drexel and San Jose State University, and an international conference speaker. She was honored with the 2017 Library Hi Tech Award from the ALA/LITA for her long-term contributions in the area of Library and Information Science technology and its application.