You may remember us posting about our submission to the Infy Maker Awards back in November – the Infy Awards are put on by Infosys Foundation USA and are all about empowering the next generation of creative problem-solvers.

We submitted our program Coding Crew – which is ready-to-teach 10 lesson + one event course that teaches elementary, middle and high school students to code and design their own video games – and we WON!

Coding Crew was created by our Director of Community Learning Mya Stark and has been implemented in dozens of schools so far to great success and we are thrilled to now have received a $10,000 grant and the opportunity to participate in the Making CS Inclusive professional learning experience led by the leading education non-profit organization, Digital Promise. With their awards, the winning educators will be creating hands-on, experiential, and inclusive opportunities for students to learn computer science in personally meaningful ways, helping their students to understand how it’s relevant to the real world and to their lives.

 

Here’s a little video of Coding Crew in action

 

We are so proud of Mya and our whole team that made this now award winning course a reality!

More about Coding Crew

Our program uses a peer-based learning model that engages students in computer science concepts while guiding them through the process of co-designing a video game with their classmates. Older students take on the role of mentors, teaching younger peers to create video games using Scratch, a beginner-friendly coding platform. By training teachers to facilitate Coding Crew independently, they ensure the program’s sustainability, allowing it to reach new groups of students each semester and build a lasting foundation for STEM proficiency in low-income communities.

 

If you would like to bring Coding Crew to your school, check out this page and then email Mya@twobitcircus.org.

Congratulations - you've done it! See you soon.