Book Review: Code in Every Class

When I went to Sydney last year for the Innovator Academy, we were all given books. I was lucky enough to be given a book that related exactly to my project: Code in Every Class by Kevin Brookhouser and Ria Megnin. I only recently got around to reading it, which is unfortunate for me, as it has proven quite useful when it comes to wrapping my head around certain things.

The book aims to be a help to all educators, regardless of their skill level when it comes to coding and computational thinking. A beginning will take away a lot from it, but so, too, will an educator experienced in teaching these concepts.

The bulk of the first few chapters deals with the rationale behind teaching coding in class and how teaching coding to everyone is something that we must pursue - even if those learners will never code another line in their lives. The arguments and ideas set forth are extremely helpful in persuading those who would put barriers in front of those of us who want to teach coding.

The authors explain how coding can and should be integrated across the curriculum (hey, doesn't that sound familiar - at least I know I'm on the right track) and it gives a lot of foundation information that will help any beginning get a foothold. And what they don't give (or don't have time and space to give) can be found in the many links shared throughout the book.

The last section of the book has a large number of activities that can be done, ranging from beginning lessons to quite complicated ones. Again, there are many links shared so that the reader can get more information.

I would definitely recommend this book to any and all educators, even if you already are using coding (or more accurately, computational thinking) in your practice. It will help you spread the word and more likely than not, give you many ideas to begin or transform the way you teach coding in your classroom or with your learners.

It can be found on Book Depository and Amazon.