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The 15th annual Computer Science Education Week kicked off with an hour-long coding session at John H. Taggart School in South Philly, where students gathered to play coding puzzles and control robots.
Over the past 15 years, the School District of Philadelphia has increased computer access, creating digital literacy labs in 132 schools. This year, more than 3,000 students participated in this tech-based curriculum.
“We want to make sure that all students have the opportunity to learn how to program, code, and more importantly, learn skills and collaboration through that,” said Melanie Harris, Chief Information Officer for the School District of Philadelphia.
Over the past 15 years, the district has invested in its digital literacy program, expanding access to over 48,000 students across 132 schools. Earlier this summer, 45 schools received upgrades to their computer labs, part of a $3.1 million investment.
Computer Science Education Week kicked off Monday morning with an hour of code at John H. Taggart School in South Philadelphia. (Ben Bennett/For WHYY)
John H. Taggart’s digital literacy lab was updated this year, outfitted with 12 desktop computers and 22 MacBooks, to ensure that students can be mobile when coding. Harris says in addition to technology upgrades, the spaces have been created to be modular, incentivizing collaboration.
“You want the kids working together,” Harris said. “It’s about creating very flexible learning spaces as well.
The lab has individual tables for students that can be brought together to form larger units when working in a group. Some are topped with whiteboards, allowing a tactile approach to solving coding problems.
There are currently 132 digital literacy libraries across the school district. This year, over 3,000 students participated in the tech-based curriculum. (Ben Bennett/For WHYY)