My oldest child, Jake, has a great interest in programming. I knew he would appreciate a live class from CodeWizardsHQ to review. He got a coding book for Christmas, has borrowed a few others from the library, and has read instructional resources online. He can often be found programming on Scratch, Python, or his Raspberry Pi.
I personally don't understand any of that myself, but my techie husband does and he's able to help our son to some extent. Jake has a desire to pursue programming as a career though, so these coding classes for kids and homeschool computer programs would help him to succeed and truly understand coding at a professional level.
CodeWizardsHQ generally focuses on 12-week courses in which they inspire students to have a passion for coding through fun and engaging projects. Occasionally though, they offer a one-time class. It is this one-time, one-hour class that we experienced.
Their approach to coding "combines the benefits of teacher-led instruction and the ease and convenience of online classrooms." Each class is taught live, so the student can see, hear, and interact with the instructor in real-time. Because each class has only 6-8 students, the instructor is able to give personal attention to each student and offer feedback, encouragement, and suggestions.
Their well-structured program and developmental curriculum have been designed by professionals with a passion for coding. Each class is challenging enough to keep students advancing toward mastery, but fun enough to keep them engaged. Students learn "real text coding, the logic, structure and practical applications of important programming languages." There are four courses a student can progress through, starting with the Introduction to Programming course and ending with an Internship Program with a nonprofit organization. By the end of the classes, a student will have the coding skills he needs for additional internships, scholarships, colleges, and jobs.
Jake was excited for his class. Signing in was easy, and the instructor was immediately friendly and helpful. Because Jake is only 12 years old and this is a safe environment, this was his first experience with online chat. He was able to interact with the four other middle school and high school students that were in his class as they learned together.
This was the first class of first introductory course, so it was pretty basic. The student's project was to create a comic strip using HTML. There were various preset options they could choose to change the background, add a character, insert text, or include a picture. The project was based around copying these preset codes and inserting them into the template.
I understand that this was just a first class, but there were some things that concerned me. For instance, if the students wanted to use an image that was not in the coding platform, they were encouraged to upload their own picture from an online search. There was no mention of copyright issues. This could potentially cause problems, for both the student and the company. Also, Jake didn't feel like he really learned anything as the whole class was simply copying and pasting. There was no instruction as to the format needed or what HTML even meant. I would assume these things would be addressed in later classes, but I cannot be sure.
Looking over their site, it seems like CodeWizardsHQ is a quality, structured coding education. It looks like the instructors are qualified and the projects are engaging, but I cannot get a true understanding of it with only one class. I can say that Jake enjoyed the class and would be interested in continuing with the course.
You can connect with CodeWizardsHQ on the following social media sites:
Facebook Group (for parents whose kids are interested in coding)
You can read more reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.
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