I can code--with help from my parents.

Youth can learn to code with parental assistance. A blog, web site, and social networks will assist parents to be co-learners with their children, to have confidence and develop competence. Early learning of coding can open doors to the technology age.

Parents can be great co-learners and leaders of their children but they may lack the confidence to teach programming even with the great materials available.  I have taught programming for many years and believe that children as young as 7 years old can learn to enjoy the challenge of programming through Scratch or Alice and then on to Python.  But the children need adult assistance and this is sometimes available through school or clubs but could be even more available through parents.  

I am developing new resources to promote available materials and provide encouragement for parents to enter into this adventure with their children. These resources will include interactive parent guides to the existing materials such as the workbooks on programming from DK or books such as "Help your kids with Computer Coding," also from DK Publishing.

For many years I gave workshops on implementing NCTM standards in math.  I worked with parents and teachers on learning to assist their students with hands-on math. I will develop workshops and materials to assist teachers to assist parents to enter the world of computer programming.

Having resources on the internet will make help available to many more parents and students. At first this learning initiative will be for English speaking families. But I would like to network with others who are able to provide resources for parents and students around the world.

Parents who are not programmers often lack the confidence to use the great resources that are available for learning programming. Students seldom are given an opportunity to learn programming in a non-stressful self-paced environment.  Some students will have this opportunity in after school clubs or with gifted teachers, but many more students could be reached if we can effectively work with parents. The approach to programming through Scratch or Alice is non-competitive and creative fostering a better atmosphere for learning. Parent and child can enjoy working together and develop confidence and competence together.

I have taught programming for many years in courses and as Coach of a robotics team.   I have also assisted parents who wished to teach their own children.  Many times parents have told me that their child wanted to learn, but the parent did not know how to assist.  I have been able to provide the assistance they needed. 

I am developing the platform to scale this up to offer this assistance to others. I have selected materials and am working on the parent guides to be placed in a blog, on a web site, and in social media.

The initial blog will focus on assisting parents of middle school age students to work with their students on Scratch and then Python.  This will be a pilot for families in the Washington DC area. There will be initial meetings and a final evaluation meeting.  

The next stage will be a web site with a linked blog.  Families will join through email sign up and there will be defined targets and required evaluations.

The third state will be marketing to appropriate groups on social media and with an optional evaluation form at the end.

Progress in completing assignments. Feedback for improvement. - Twenty families in the DC Metro area sign up.

Levels of achievement based on accomplishment of targets and feedback obtained. - Operational website with linked blog.

Traffic on the website. - Select and market to on-line groups that serve families and youth.

Many parents are not as tech savy as the younger generation but have more experience with learning.  So parents and children working together will be even more effective than they could be alone.  I have seen this in helping families work with hands-on math together. Courses teaching programming at UVA have shown that a buddy system works well in learning programming. In this case the buddies are family. Learning together will benefit both parent and child and their relationship.

Learning to program together will build both confidence and competence in the child and the adult.  Success is built into the materials available for Scratch, Alice, and Python.  I have seen students from 7 years old through adults gain self-esteem from learning to code.  In 8 years of teaching this way to high school students I had no failures and students were proud of their accomplishments.  When teaching Python, I use drawing as it is very satisfying to see your own work be correct.  I have assisted home-schoolers and after-schoolers to excel in math by learning together.

The solution will be deployed on-line and available through the internet.  We can also make it available though CD's and other media for areas or people that do not have reliable access to internet.

Once the first state is done, the pilot, I plan to apply for non-profit status and apply for grants.  I am now retired from teaching, but I have also been a grant writer.  

I care for a disabled daughter and a husband with medical problems.  I would have more time to work on this project if I could hire additional assistance for them. I essentially left teaching to be able to care for them.

I need to develop skills for making voice recording (podcasts) and videos as many people like to learn through these mediums.  

The community of leaders can help me work towards the goal of parents and children learning to code together. I will need assistance in developing the blog and the website as well as reaching out to the targeted population.  In the long term I would like to provide this service for other languages.

Individuals that I have worked with in education and in home education (Both home schooling and afterschooling.

On-line courses. But they can be of additional benefit so they are not really competition