Apple Revamps Everyone Can Code Curriculum, Offers Coding Classes in Apple Stores in December

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that it has overhauled its Everyone Can Code curriculum to bring it to more elementary and middle school students around the world.

The new curriculum includes more resources for teachers, a new guide for students, and updated Swift Coding Club materials. The refreshed materials build on existing interactive puzzles and activities to make coding more approachable and connected to students' every day lives.

Apple is adding Everyone Can Code Puzzles to the new student guide in Swift Playgrounds, and each chapter will let students build on core coding concepts and experiment with new techniques. The teacher guide will provide teachers with the tools necessary to bring coding into their classrooms.

The new curriculum includes the Everyone Can Create project guides, which Apple says will help students "express what they learn through drawing, music, videos and photos."

According to Apple, millions of students in more than 5,000 schools worldwide use the Everyone Can Code curriculum.

From December 1 to December 15, Apple is also offering free Today at Apple coding sessions that are set to be held at Apple Stores. The aim of the classes is to teach attendees to write their first lines of code in order to celebrate Computer Science Education Week.

Apple says that the sessions will provide opportunities for students of all skill levels. Those starting out will explore block-based coding with robots, while those with more experience will be able to use Swift Playgrounds to learn coding concepts or code an augmented reality experience.

Some Apple retail stores will also be offering special sessions designed for coders of all ages, including preschool-age kids, who will be able to learn pre-coding activities through the Coding Lab with "Helpsters," one of the Apple TV+ shows.

Apple is supporting Hour of Code this year with an Hour of Code Facilitator Guide that will help educators and parents host sessions using Swift Playgrounds and educational apps from the App Store.

Article Link: Apple Revamps Everyone Can Code Curriculum, Offers Coding Classes in Apple Stores in December

 

[So@So@So]

Hmmh - given the quality of the latest iOS release, maybe Apple took "Everyone Can Code" a bit to literally...

 

[BWhaler]

Wonderful program. Glad Apple is doing this.

 

[macfacts]

Everybody can code unless you have an iPad.

 

[Razeus]

How old do you have to be? I'd like to take my 7 year old to this.

 

[konqerror]

The thing is the program is a thinly-veiled way to sell iPads. Anybody who's serious about learning to code is going to have to switch to a Mac afterwards, so it makes no sense otherwise to make this an iPad-only app.

 

[Plutonius]

Anyone can code but not everyone can code well.

I wonder how much they are going to teach coding vs how to use the iPad as a coding tool.

 

[itsmilo]

I would like to disagree. I had to take java 5 times at university and it almost cost me my degree and the worst years of my life. I even recorded myself when I was finally able to delete Eclipse from my computer

 

[i4k20c]

does anyone know if these classes are for adults too? i would love to learn to code on the side.

 

[needsomecoffee]

Everyone in the walled garden can learn to code. Our entire school district is left out. Appreciate Apple's effort, but as they move into services -- embracing a cross-platform approach will be beneficial for consumers/kids and ultimately Apple. Hopefully the recent job posting for Windevs is a start. Still crossing my fingers that Apple will start to show its endorsement for PWAs not just native apps.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

The thing is the program is a thinly-veiled way to sell iPads. Anybody who's serious about learning to code is going to have to switch to a Mac afterwards, so it makes no sense otherwise to make this an iPad-only app.

The iPad retains its value as a training tool long after someone starts creating apps in Xcode on the Mac.

Even so I wish we could have an iPadOS version of Xcode with the ability to build and run apps inside the walled sandbox of the operating system. At the *very least* it would be great way to quickly build UI prototypes.

does anyone know if these classes are for adults too? i would love to learn to code on the side.

Apple has coding intro sessions at most of their stores. For anything more in depth I recommend the Ray Wenderlich website, and Dr. Paul Hegarty’s iOS development course at Stanford (available in the Podcasts app).

Everyone in the walled garden can learn to code. Our entire school district is left out. Appreciate Apple's effort, but as they move into services -- embracing a cross-platform approach will be beneficial for consumers/kids and ultimately Apple. Hopefully the recent job posting for Windevs is a start. Still crossing my fingers that Apple will start to show its endorsement for PWAs not just native apps.

I too would like to see a client-side web framework for Swift. Maybe it will happen after WebAssembly really takes off.

 

[decypher44]

Maybe they can code MR? Mobile site not coming up. Only desktop. And now throwing 522 and 525 errors.

 

[sledgehammer89]

Where is Swift Playgrounds for iPhone? I don't want to code on iPhone, but want to run my code on iPhone...

 

[brofkand]

Are they going to actually teach coding, or are they just going to teach Swift Playgrounds?

Swift Playgrounds won't get kids very far if they want to learn to code. It's good enough to teach the bare, bare, basics I suppose - but it's not a particularly powerful app.

 

[harriska2]

Wish they had beginner/intermediate adult classes.

 

[SmokeItLow]

Are they going to actually teach coding, or are they just going to teach Swift Playgrounds?

Swift Playgrounds won't get kids very far if they want to learn to code. It's good enough to teach the bare, bare, basics I suppose - but it's not a particularly powerful app.

Learning some of the basic coding concepts is a step in the right direction at least. The playgrounds iPad app does a fairly good job with the gamification of coding. For young kids, I think it's more important to perk their interest and make it seem fun and not a scary thing. I see too many kids afraid to even try coding because "they're not good with computers" or it "looks hard". We need more focus on exposure to coding at younger ages here in North America.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

How old do you have to be? I'd like to take my 7 year old to this.

I don’t believe that there is an age limit. As long as you think your child is old enough to learn to code, then go ahead.

 

[Paradoxally]

I would like to disagree. I had to take java 5 times at university and it almost cost me my degree and the worst years of my life. I even recorded myself when I was finally able to delete Eclipse from my computer

To be fair, Java is a horrible language and Eclipse is a nightmare to use.

 

[robjulo]

They should be focused on getting iOS and Mac product into schools by subsidizing them to a ridiculously low price point. They are getting killed by google and Microsoft in that space and it is going to cost them in the end.

 

[CarlJ]

Everybody can code unless you have an iPad.

Your logic is flawed. I have an iPad. I write code all the time (not on the iPad).

 

[macfacts]

Your logic is flawed. I have an iPad. I write code all the time (not on the iPad).

So you don't write code on the iPad and no one can compile code on the iPad, the iPad is useless for coding.

 

[Lalatoon]

I would have to say that Apple is one of the best in marketing

I mean this programs (like the one giving iPhone for kids learning photography) is the best way to make sure that the next generation will be lock into Apple brand. I think the idea is you have to indoctrinate the next generation in their formative and teenage years. As they grow up Apple is also growing inside their heart and mind or psyche.

I am not complaining though, just an observation.

 

[DeepIn2U]

They should be focused on getting iOS and Mac product into schools by subsidizing them to a ridiculously low price point. They are getting killed by google and Microsoft in that space and it is going to cost them in the end.

exactly! As youth no grow up macs are foreign to them. Soon iOS on iPhone n iPad will too since exposure early on to the other platforms pulls them away. Jobs recognized the significance of being in K12 market while Cook only cares bout iOS for future growth. Makes me believe Mac is on life support right now.

 

[unplugme71]

Are they going to actually teach coding, or are they just going to teach Swift Playgrounds?

Swift Playgrounds won't get kids very far if they want to learn to code. It's good enough to teach the bare, bare, basics I suppose - but it's not a particularly powerful app.

I can’t imagine more than 20% of Apple retail stores have 1 person that codes. My guess is, it’s a guided tutorial Apple created that someone sits there and plays.

I’ve seen a lot of creative classes and some trainers are simply either horrible at teaching or not well educated and simply put there to fill a role.

I remember having to fill in for iWeb. Luckily I had learned html on my own so I was actually useful to the person. I can’t imagine how many times someone quits or calls out and a random person has to fill in for training that day.