Coding with Pinoo in Elementary School
It is very important to start coding education at an early age. Of course, the materials and activities we offer while giving coding training are also very important. Especially primary school age groups may think of it as a difficult concept when they hear the word coding. It is necessary to tell them that coding is as easy as putting together a puzzle.
So what material should we use for coding in primary schools?
There is no single answer to this question. As technology develops, the materials produced change and multiply. In fact, they are all tools developed to teach coding. Basically, the aim is to teach the concept of algorithm.
In our long and ongoing education journey, we, as Atölye Vizyon, were having some problems while giving coding education to children and young people. Difficulty using some materials by students, the slightest instability of the project, spending a lot of time building circuits, less time for coding, etc. When we evaluate all these, "Why don't we develop a tool that we don't have these problems?" the question arose. After the studies, we developed the Pinoo control card. Although we initially thought for the primary school level, we enabled the development of advanced projects with new modules and sensors.
With Pinoo, we can develop many projects with primary school students. Intelligent irrigation and burglar alarm systems, game console with joystick module, barrier system, thermometer applications and much more…
While all these projects are being implemented, the student does not only build electronic circuits and write code, but also creates designs and makes presentations by preparing a model suitable for his project. This means that a primary school student can develop problem-solving skills, creative thinking, imagination, etc. improving his skills.
As an instructor who uses Pinoo in primary, secondary, high school and even teacher trainings, I think it is the right choice to start coding. It's never scary, it doesn't feel like I can't do it, it's plain and clear. You can also develop thousands of projects depending on your imagination, from beginner to advanced. While creating algorithms and projects with block-based coding logic at primary school level, you can work on a text-based platform called IDE in advanced groups.
Coding education with Pinoo in primary schools gives students the pleasure of being successful. He also produces solutions to situations he lives in, such as looking at different situations and finding the problem in the event streams.
If there are students who have not met Pinoo yet, we invite you to Atölye Vizyon. Great surprises and experiences await you on this journey.
Hümeyra DERE