A guide to exploring Coding in 10 easy steps.
Step 1: Log In
Navigate to discoveryeducation.com or your custom URL. Input your username and password and select Sign in.
Step 2: Select Coding
Select Coding from the Curriculum Packs section of your My DE homepage. You can also access Coding from any page using the menu in the upper left corner.
Step 3: Choose a Coding Language
Choose where to begin based on your students’ level and prior knowledge. Most new learners will start with Block Coding, a visual language which has been designed to teach students to write code using visual blocks.
Step 4: Explore Lessons in Learn
In the Learn section, a carefully planned sequence of lessons gradually builds up students’ coding, debugging and computational thinking skills, guiding them to create captivating, fully functional apps using visual blocks.
Step 5: Review Lesson Supports
Each lesson is supported by a lesson plan and video, which you can access from the lesson index. *Please note: Lesson plans are only viewable if you are accessing the service with a teacher account.
Step 6: Navigate Lesson Steps
Lessons comprise a series of different steps to help students learn, practice and apply coding concepts.
Students drag code blocks from the code wall onto the canvas, where they can be connected together to create complete code sentences. When they hit Run, they can see the output of their code on the stage area on the right, and any bugs or errors will be highlighted in the console.
Step 7: Apply Your Learning
In the final Build step of each lesson, students can add objects and blocks to create their own scenes, with no pre-defined structure – and they can export these into the free code area, to enhance them with additional code blocks, or download and save for later.
Step 8: Free Code Opportunities with Create
Students can start from a blank canvas or from a saved app and let their imaginations run wild, using the objects, events and actions from the whole course to create their own free-form apps, games and simulations.
Step 9: Reinforce Vocabulary
The Glossary provides valuable support on technical language for teachers and students alike, with definitions to illustrate each term.
The Help tab provides definitions for the various blocks and actions available within the Learn and Create sections of Coding.
Step 10: Try Python or HTML
When your students have become proficient at Block Coding, have them try Python or HTML. Both languages follow similar Lesson steps and use similar supports. The Create sections offer opportunities for even more challenging, unstructured free coding.
