Jackson Middle School seventh grade students Lea Tanner, left, and Kerrigan Keller, right, watch as seventh grade science teacher Cherish George, center, shows them how to use a micro:bit computer on Tuesday as part of a lesson presented by the West Virginia STEAM Technical Assistance Center. Students used the micro:bits to code Morse code messages that other students had to decode. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

VIENNA — In learning about coding, students in Vienna got hands-on experience to get a better understanding of a number of scientific principles and more which could begin to open up possibilities in their own futures.

Around 115 seventh-graders at Jackson Middle School did a computer coding exercise on Tuesday to learn about the science of neurons, the history of communication and develop computer science skills through a program offered through the West Virginia STEAM Technical Assistance Center (STEAM TAC) as part of a program to provide students with hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) learning experiences.

The students were learning to code Morse Code through a micro:bit, a small programmable computer that’s designed to teach kids about coding and computer science.

“We are using code to show the kids how signals are communicated,” said Angela McDaniel, West Virginia University STEAM Specialist. “They send messages to their teammates and then the teammates have to decipher the messages.”

The exercise gives the students an idea how neurons in the brain work and send messages to each other, she said.

Jackson Middle School seventh-grader Emmalynn Amrine, left, West Virginia University STEAM Specialist Angela McDaniel (blue shirt) and seventh-graders Maclaren Lott, right center, and Farrah Bailey, right, work on an exercise. McDaniel was in Vienna Tuesday as part of a computer coding exercise to learn about the science of neurons, the history of communication and develop computer science skills through a program offered through the West Virginia STEAM Technical Assistance Center (STEAM TAC). (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“This mimics how that works,” McDaniel said, adding the whole concept can be abstract to students and this exercise gives them a better idea of how the concept works.

“We talk about how that is like two neurons talking to each other with neurotransmitters,” McDaniel added.

Teams of students got into groups and were able to send messages to another group sitting across from them who had to decode the message.

Jackson Middle School seventh grade science teacher Cherish George said she has been a huge fan of STEAM TAC since they started and she had one of the first STEAM TAC programs presented locally.

“I have requested they come every year,” she said. “Coding is just one of the many aspects of STEAM and it is crucial to give these kids experiences that I can’t always provide them in the classroom.

Jackson Middle School seventh-graders Wyatt Mace and Jace Riffle worked with a micro:bit computer Tuesday during a lesson presented by the West Virginia STEAM Technical Assistance Center (STEAM TAC) at the school. Students learned to code Morse code and send messages. (Photo Provided)

“It prepares them for career opportunities and thinking about possibilities for their futures and where they want to go.”

George said she makes it a point to bring in STEAM TAC every year.

“It is such a wonderful experience,” she said. “In my experience, students are always engaged with anything that is hands on.”

McDaniel talked about how excited she was with how quickly the lesson was being picked up by the students at Jackson.

“So much of their future is going to be coding, no matter what career path they choose you can almost guarantee there is going to be some kind of coding or some kind of computing,” she said.

Jackson Middle School seventh grade students Leigha Berven, left, and Rylie Vanfossen, right, watch as West Virginia University STEAM Specialist Angela McDaniel, center, teaches them about coding utilizing a micro:bit . Students learned to code Morse code and send messages. (Photo Provided)

The programs are able to go beyond what many of their teachers are able to offer in the classroom.

The goal is to get students interested in these fields early so they may want to take a class covering these skills when they get to high school which can better prepare them to further their education, McDaniel said.

The students enjoyed the experience.

Seventh-grader Addison Thorpe enjoyed the experience of working with the micro:bits.

“I think it was really fun,” she said. “When you do something hands on you can actually see it and understand what is happening better.

“I feel like when someone comes to your class and helps you it makes you more interested in wanting to do that in the future.”

Seventh-grader Elliana Friend enjoyed being able to work out how to do the coding and being able to send the messages as opposed to someone just talking about it.

“It is a whole other depth of learning instead of just listening,” she said. “It really opens up opportunities for a lot of kids to experience something they might not have gotten into before or would not have been interested in before if (STEAM TAC) had not come into class.”