Lydiksen Elementary Builds a Strong Foundation with Tynker

We have a wonderful Tech Instructor in our district who introduced coding to us when Hour of Code first came out. Since then, our school has participated in Hour of Code, provided a Family Code Night, lunchtime coding club, and an after-school coding club. We see students collaborating, problem solving, persevering, and seeing learning as fun. I see students building a positive mindset when they are coding.

We believe in the value of providing students with 21st century learning opportunities. Providing these opportunities in their early learning years will hopefully build a strong foundation for their future. If you have an administration that believes STEM is an important part of the curriculum, then your district will build a community that provides these types of learning opportunities. Understanding the need for providing STEM opportunities is felt at our school, and it has since become a big part of our curriculum.

The Pleasanton Unified School District believes that all students and staff must have equitable opportunities to develop and master both information literacy and technological proficiency. In our district’s strategic plan it states, “our mission is that our students will make a better world. We will optimize student learning by utilizing innovative technologies. Learning how to use technology tools effectively and ethically is a component of 21st century learning and is reflected in the Common Core State Standards”

While I have not had the opportunity to fully experience the program, I will say that from what I have seen, Tynker gives students an inviting platform for learning. Tynker gives our district a place where our elementary-aged students can code. I know that students who participate in the Hour of Code always want more. I think that Tynker will deliver this. As students progress they can even learn JavaScript and Python; I have a child in college as a CS major and know that these coding languages are widely used.