Photo by Michael Erb Emerson Elementary School fifth-grader Aasher Guinn, left, speaks to classmate Camryn Deenis, right, during a coding class at the school. Students are being taught the basics of programming through an online curriculum and a program called Blockly.

PARKERSBURG — Emerson Elementary School students are learning the basics of coding through a new curriculum and online tools.

The coding curriculum teaches students how to program simple tasks by using the site code.org and the Blockly program, said Stephanie Agee, library media specialist at Emerson.

Blockly uses code blocks which can be linked together to form simple commands. As the tasks are completed, the program introduces more complex problems.

“Classroom teachers are co-teaching with me for the coding class and they are also becoming more comfortable with the language and curriculum,” Agee said. “The curriculum being used is Computer Science Fundamentals and it can build year after year as they move up into different grade levels.”

Students used Blockly to move characters from the popular Angry Birds series of apps through different tasks. If the code is placed improperly — such as in the wrong order or with parts missing — the program prompts the student to try again by adding, removing or moving code blocks.

Photo by Michael Erb Fifth-graders Alivia Bibbee, left, and Emma Casto, right, work with the Blockly coding program on iPads during a coding class at Emerson Elementary School.

Agee said the very first lesson addresses that frustration, showing students that mistakes are part of the process.

“The first day we teach patience and perseverance,” Agee said. “They build structures out of gumdrops and toothpicks, and they have to hold up a textbook. It doesn’t work very often.”

Agee said the second day students talk about debugging and basic computer language, and are encouraged to try again and make improvements in their designs.

“I tell them with coding there isn’t a real, actual answer. It’s all about discovering the answer,” she said. “That teaches them to get into the mindset that it’s not going to be right the first time.

Agee said the curriculum uses both plugged and unplugged lessons, so students often learn about programming without using the tablets. The students spend a week working on the coding program and then continue lessons and exploration in their regular classes.

Photo Provided Emerson Elementary School students Eden Debord, left, and Addie Butcher, right, use an iPad to control the movements of a Sphero robot as part of a coding curriculum at the school.

Some of those lessons involve combining coding with the use of Sphero robots, which are self-driving spheres which can be programmed for movement and simple tasks. Agee said teachers hope to introduce more types of programmable robots throughout the year.

“We are just laying the ground work so the real fun can begin with the robots in January or February,” Agee said. “We have six Dash and Dots (robots) and enough Spheros to do a class with partners.”

Though it may look like students are just playing a game — and the process is designed to be fun — Agee said the program teaches valuable lessons on the basics of coding, problem solving and how to troubleshoot when things don’t go as planned.

“We’re not just playing,” she said. “That’s what I cautioned everyone on: Don’t let it be seen as a toy, teach them the code to go with it. That’s why we are laying the foundation on the coding first.”