Category Archives: Coding

Get excited about programming with EU Code Week! 

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“EU Code Week is a grass-roots movement that celebrates creativity, problem solving and collaboration through programming and other tech activities. The idea is to make programming more visible, to show young, adults and elderly how you bring ideas to life with code, to demystify these skills and bring motivated people together to learn.” https://codeweek.eu/about 

The Innokas network, together with the Finnish National Agency for Education, challenged teachers, schools and educational institutions to get excited about programming and computational thinking in Finland! We hosted exciting and versatile distance learning lessons for students of different ages, from preschool to middle school. Schools were also invited to organize their own coding event with their students and to add their event to the EUCodeWeek.eu -page.  

In October 2023, nearly 15000 students and their teachers registered to participate in nine distance lessons with the topics ranging from coding games, to programming without devices, to artificial intelligence. It was truly an engaging and innovative way to get excited about programming and learn together! 

On the EU’s Code Week website, you can find tips, materials and courses for implementing events, as well as the English-language social media channels maintained by the European Commission, where you can follow the activities of the code week throughout the year. 

EU CODE WEEK @ Jalavapuisto school, Espoo

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I decided to build most of this years EU Code Week events in our school around the Cody Color -game that the Italians introduced to me in the EU Code Week summer school where 25 leading teachers got together to network and learn new things. Thank you Italy!

I started by cutting sheets of paper about 30 cm x 30 cm and introducing the rules to the game to my own class. The instructions you can find here: Color challenge. It’s never too late to try! The kids really loved it.

We spread around the hallways to play. We practiced on a 4 x 4 grid although we later tried on a much bigger one. This grid was excellent for 2 kids but even 4-5 could fit, as long as they knew their steps.

After my class learned the game well we sent invitations to teachers in our school to book us on Code week to come and teach it to their classes. We got many invitations and spent many hours on week 41 teaching other children in our school. On one particular lesson we had 10 spots in the gym for anyone to come and try. For first time users a good hint is to draw a small red dot on the back of your right hand and a yellow one on the left hand. Makes turning the right way a lot easier.

At the end of that class my class tried out the massive 12 x 13 grid with 24 children at the same time! It was super fun but the grid being so big you could only figure out your path so far and some of the success was pure luck.

We also tried the Battle Royale on the website to prepare us for the night school and beating all the parents. After playing on the floor the kids got a hang of the website game really quickly.

On Thursday the 10th of October we had a coding night school. The kids came back to school at 5 o’clock with a lot of parents who had accepted our code challenge. We started with about 50-60 people on the Battle Royale. Everything worked really smoothly. The parents got super excited too! But as hard as they tried they couldn’t beat the kids -some came close 🙂

On the same evening we also tested the code.org website and their Hour of code activities. We got quite a few diplomas printed for completing it!

And we also had time for doing the pixel art posted to EU Code Week teachers group in Facebook by Catherine Swain. Thank you for the fun idea!

But no night school would be fun without pizzas, playing tag on the dark hallways of the school and sleeping altogether on the gym floor. We’ll do all this again next year!

And this excellent 4K class has well deserved their certificates of recognition for contributing to the success of EU Code Week 2019. Good job!

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EU Code Week Ambassadors and Edu Coordinators meeting 4.-5.9.2019

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I had the privilege of attending EU Code Week Ambassadors and Edu Coordinators meeting in Brussels on September 4.-5. on behalf of Finland’s Ambassadors and Edu Coordinators. The two days were full of networking, key speakers and planning. I also introduced Innokas network as one of Finland’s best practices on the field of coding and innovations.

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On the first day we heard from Nadia Aime and her personal story on how it has lead her to work toward bringing equality in coding for all. We also heard about the Code Week pilot Summer school. You can read more about the summer school in my blog here.

Then it was time for best practises. I introduced the Innokas network, it’s story and all the things we do. You can read more about the Innokas network here. Other best practises came from Poland, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Austria. They covered topics like computational thinking, tips and tricks for engaging code week and connecting the national digital education with the code week website. Day one was finished with a networking dinner.

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On Thursday we got to see a sneak peek at the new redesigned EU code Week website. It should be out any day now, so keep a look out for the orange! We also got to hear three interesting presentations.

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Claire Sears from the British Council told us about their work on training all the teachers in the Western Balkans. She also introduced the online courses they have for all teachers. 

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Loubna Azghoud from the Women in Tech Festival presented us with their Code festival for 2019. The subject this year is Code & Fly to the moon. Read more about it on their site starting September 9th. 

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Deidre Hodson from DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture introduced the SELFIE. It’s a free, easy to use tool to help schools find out where the students and teachers are in regards of digital learning and digital competences.

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The Innovative school model by Innokas and the holistic approach on embedding technology in teaching and learning introduced by SELFIE and european Commission have a lot in common in my opinion.

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We also worked on brainstorming for the Code Week vision of the future and mind mapped for the actions of Code Week 2019. The countdown is on! 26 days and counting!

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Anu Kahri,
EU Code Week Leading teacher in Finland
Classroom teacher, Jalavapuisto school, Espoo, Finland
Innokas-trainer

EU CODE WEEK summer school 2019

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I had a great opportunity this summer to participate in Brussels in the first ever EU Code Week Pilot Summer school! 25 EU Code week Leading teachers from 16 different countries were welcomed on Tuesday the 9th of July by Commissioner Maryia Gabriel. Her goal is to get 50% of all schools in the EU area to participate in EU Code Week by 2020. That leads us straight to the Leading teachers’ goal of building a stronger network and spreading the idea that Code Week is for everybody. 

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On the second day of EU Code Week Pilot Summer school we worked on parallel workshops. It was hard to choose, because you only had time to participate in 2 of the 4. There was workshops on tinkering and making, robotics and makeblocks, micro:bit, visual programming and, game design. During the workshops we talked about developing technologic and information literacy and, competences like problem solving, creativity and collaboration. 

My favorite workshop was working with Pocket Code. With Pocket Code you can create, play and share games and animations that you develop with your phone or tablet. It was super easy and fun! 

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In the afternoon we worked with Computer Science Fundamentals and the code.org curriculum in particular. 

Day 3 of the EU Code Week Summer School focused on building a MOOC together. We started by listing advantages and finding solutions for existing challenges on the following topics: 

  •  Visual programming 
  • Robotics 
  • Tinkering 
  • Unplugged activities 
  • Coding with all subjects 

On day 3 we also got to play a royal battle on CodyColor which was introduced to us by Leading teacher Stefania Altieri. The aim on the game is to keep your robot moving on the platform as long as possible. You have a 4 X 4 grid and you can choose where your robot “walks in to the grid” but after that the moves are pre-determined by the colors in the squares. It was a super fun game that I will definately play with my kids at school. As an unplugged first, so that they learn the directions and then the actual battle.  

On Day 3 we also got to visit the House of European History museum. The museum aims to become the leading museum about transnational phenomena which have shaped our continent. The museum explores the historical memories, diverse experiences and common ground of the people of Europe and how these relate to present day. It was a very interesting and interactive guided tour via a tablet and I got to experience it in Finnish! The House of European History can be experienced in all 24 EU official languages. 

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On day 4 – our last day – we learned how to organize a hackathon but mainly focused on the future. We worked on our action plans for the coming EU Code Week. Many different ideas and many different ways on how to put these ideas into practice were shared. It is very important to share and to create a network. We recieved our diplomas for the good work we’d done during the week and said farewells to all new friends near and far, knowing that a new network is supporting us from now on.  

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Do you want to learn more? Watch the video and sign up for the MOOC!

EU Code Week – Deep Dive MOOC

 

Anu Kahri 

EU Code Week Leading teacher in Finland 

Classroom teacher, Jalavapuisto school, Espoo, Finland 

Innokas-trainer 

 

PS. Brussels is known for it’s Manneken pis but did you know that it has inspired two other statues… The Jeanneke Pis and the Het Zinneke. Make sure to find all three if you ever visit the city 🙂

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Innokas-Network’s robotics tournament

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Since the beginning of April YLE has broadcasted a tv-show called Robomestarit. It airs every Sunday morning. It is a production based on the idea of a robotics tournament designed by Innokas-network. It aims to present robotics and coding while also showing what they make possible. At the same time the show is both entertaining and pedagogical.

Last weekend we got to see the finals of X-Sumo and Rescue and who won the competitions. The last episode of the show will be aired next Sunday. For both Freestyle and Dancing with robot it is time for the finals!

Yle/ Rami Pohjalahti.

The different competition tracks of Robomestarit are based on Innokas-Network’s robotics tournament which is held every year in different cities. This year it takes place in Tampere, 14th to 16th of May. The tracks are Pelastus (Rescue), X-Sumo, Tanssii robotin kanssa (Dancing with a robot) and Freestyle. The last mentioned has three teams competing in different challenges every week. . The winner is announced in the last episode.  Dancing with the robot is a different kind of track. If you want to win you need to do it on social media and get the most votes. X-Sumo works as a cup where two teams put their robots to the test of strength in robo sumo-wrestling and winner continues in the race. Rescue track puts the robots in different kind of situations where their mission is to transport a fuel tank to the space ship.

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The teams taking part come from all over Finland. Most of the participants are 5th or 6th graders but there are some exceptions. Many of the teams have won their regional preliminary competitions and this is their final step.

Every episode lasts about half an hour. Naturally most of it is about the competitions but there is also much more to see and learn. One of the show’s presenter, Innokas-Network’s educator Juho Kemell has visited different kind of working environments that have robots. Those visits are an educational peek to the importance that robotics have in problem solving. While of course it is interesting to just watch the show the viewers also get to take part through social media and open challenges. Best viewer challenge participants get their videos shown in the program. Every episode has also an educational part, the ABC of coding. It teaches the very basics of coding and getting more into detail every episode. Don’t forget to check out their YouTube channel with interesting extra content.

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More info: http://yle.fi/robomestarit

In YLE areena: https://areena.yle.fi/1-4356057

Robomestarit in Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChM3KcavvF7O48aEn9a_diQ/featured

(All the pictures are property of YLE)

Visiting the filming of Robomestarit!

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At the YLE (Finnish National Broadcasting company) studio in Tampere adults and kids are moving smoothly between the lobby, dressing room and studio. The filming of the Robomestarit tv-show has started. The day starts when the presenters and the teams arrive. Last minute corrections are made to the outfits and people are getting familiar with the studio. The children seem really excited in their cool custom-made outfits and the atmosphere is electric. The schedule shows minute by minute what is going to happen during long day which ends in the filming of the actual episode. In addition to the filming in the studio, the day also consists of group and individual interviews.

The teams have a strict daily schedule. Participants go to make-up like any other TV stars. There is a lot of waiting and many children have travelled a long way to be here. Still everybody thinks it’s surely worth it. When following the filming of the interviews it is great to hear the young participants speak about their teams and how the skills they are practicing will help them in the future. In the middle of a relaxed chat with the children one of the director comes and takes them back to the studio. The face shots need to be retaken. Here we go again…

One of the presenters of Robomestarit, Juho Kemell, works as an educator in The Innokas Network. He has arrived early in the morning to get ready for the day’s filming. -“It has been quite a hassle which means it will be a great day!” Some material has been filmed before today. Juho and the crew have been visiting different kinds of companies during the last couple of months and observed different robots used in various industries. The judges are also preparing for the day and going through the most important rules regarding the upcoming contests. -“It is an awesome show!” says Erkki Hautala, an X-sumo judge and Innokas Network’s educator while guiding the teams to test and prepare their robots.

Yle/ Rami Pohjalahti.

Melissa Kaivo, known to children from the TV-show Galaxi, is also a part of the production. She is one of the presenters and a travelling journalist who visits the teams’ schools. She thinks that the live-aspect of the show is very exciting. Not everything is filmed beforehand thus letting all of the viewers, teams and presenters really live through the show throughout the spring while the show airs. She also thinks it is cool that the viewers get to influence and take part in the program through social media.

The fog machines are blowing in the studio and the atmosphere is almost too impatient. The audience, teams and the presenters are ready. Lights, cameras, applause! What happens after this can be seen on YLE channels or YLE-areena.

The Innokas Network and YLE are putting together and filming an 8–episode long TV-show Robomestarit in the spring 2018. The Robotics Society in Finland is supporting the production with the real–life examples. The show is based on Innokas–Network‘s robotics tournament which is held every year. In the competition school age children take part in different competitions and do  problem solving using robotics. For example, “Dancing with the robot” and “X-Sumo“ (Sumo wrestling for robots).

You can find more about the show and the broadcast schedule from The Innokas Network’s webpage. Or visit https://yle.fi/robomestarit/ or YLE streaming service https://areena.yle.fi/1-4356057 at this moment all material is unfortunately available only in Finnish.