Sean McManus
About Author
Sean McManus writes inspiring books that introduce children to programming, including Scratch Programming in Easy Steps, Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps and Raspberry Pi For Dummies (co-authored).
Sean learned to program when he was nine, starting with the Logo language, which is often considered to be the grandfather of Scratch.
Outside of work, Sean is a keen photographer and makes electronic music. Sean has been a Code Club volunteer, helping primary school children to learn Scratch and web design. Connect with Sean by visiting his website (www.sean.co.uk) or follow him on Twitter @musicandwords
Author link
Interview
CODER ACADEMY
IVY KIDS
OCTOBER 2017
CODER ACADEMY has been written and designed to support and encourage children aged seven to 10 years as they take their first steps in coding and learn to write in Scratch and HTML. The book takes them through early activities, for example creating a character and animating it in code, and designing a game and website.
We asked author SEAN MCMANUS to tell us more about stimulating children's interest in coding:
Q: Can you tell us a little about your background in coding and how you first became interested in tech as a child?
A: When my junior school got its first computer in the 1980s, I was hugely excited. I loved making programs to draw shapes in Logo, which was like an early version of Scratch, which children use today.
At home, we had an Amstrad CPC computer and I spent many happy summers making games for it. My bedroom coding got me started as a writer too: my first magazine articles were tutorials for computer magazines, and my first book was a programming book. When I'm writing books for children today, I tap into my memories of how much I enjoyed coding as a kid.
Q: Why did you write this book and why do you think children should get involved in coding activities?
A: Coding teaches you a new way of thinking, but the really powerful thing is that it empowers you to get a computer to do whatever you want. You can use it for art, music, games, science. Coding really is a fundamental thinking and creativity tool today. And it's great fun too.
Q: Coder Academy is written for children aged 7-10 years but how would you suggest adults use the book with children, either at home or in the classroom?
A: There are activities in the book that children can create in the classroom and the teacher can discuss with the class. At home, children can read and enjoy the book by themselves. Like any book, though, it's also an opportunity for parents and children to learn and have fun together.
Q: Through the book, children's skills are gradually developed through the different activities. How did you plan these?
A: The book starts by explaining what coding is, and then demonstrates some of the fundamental ideas using Scratch.
Scratch is a free programming language which is widely used in schools and code clubs. Children can make the programs shown in the book and test them to get an understanding of things, like how to store data and how to get sets of instructions to repeat.
There are sections that look at how coding can be used creatively and a chapter where readers design their own character, animate it and put it into a simple game.
There's also a chapter on music, where readers can compose their own tune using patterns on the page and design their own on-screen instrument. The final chapter introduces web design, and shows readers how to make a simple web page about their interests.
Q: Was it difficult to plan these activities into 'bitesize' chunks as they can cover quite complex skills?
A: The thing about coding is that even the most complex program breaks down into simple instructions, ultimately. It just takes an awful lot of them sometimes! So, it wasn't too hard to create 'bitesize' activities: it was a case of covering each instruction type in the first chapter, and thinking up some simple, short demonstrations that readers could make.
Q: Which coding activities in your experience are the most challenging for children?
A: Commands for repetition and making decisions often prove tricky. These instructions have brackets, which other instructions can go inside. Children sometimes get the wrong instructions in the brackets.
Scratch eliminates many of the errors in other programming languages, though: it's highly visual, with minimal typing, so even someone who can't spell well can get good results.
Q: Do you feel there are specific areas of coding in which children get very little hands-on experience, for example creating a web page?
A: Web pages are tricky because not many people have a hosting account or know how to actually publish a web page now. Additionally, there are obviously safety issues around children publishing content online.
It can still be a lot of fun to make a web page that can be viewed in the browser from your computer, though, which is what is covered in this book. My web page for Coder Academy provides some pointers for adults who want to publish their children's web pages.
Q: The book has some games included in the final pages, why did you want those to be included?
A: A lot of my most productive "coding" time is spent away from the computer, thinking things through and reading about new technologies. Children, too, can enjoy learning about coding away from the screen, so there are lots of games and on-the-page activities throughout the book.
At the back, we have a robot programming challenge which helps to learn logical thinking. There's also a pairs game (just for fun), and stickers that readers can use to mark their progress in the book.
The book follows the format of the successful Academy series, which has previously included Astronaut Academy, Vet Academy and Engineer Academy.
Q: Will you be writing a follow-up book or can you suggest follow-on activities for children who finish Coder Academy?
A: I've already written some other books that are a natural follow-on for readers. Super Skills: How to Code (QED) is a natural follow-on for those who complete Coder Academy. Scratch Programming in Easy Steps (In Easy Steps Ltd) digs deeper into Scratch with more and bigger games to build. Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps (In Easy Steps Ltd) takes things further with more advanced animation and some 3D projects.
Both of those titles have been popular with teachers and are better suited to older children. For adults and teenage readers, Raspberry Pi For Dummies (Wiley, co-written with Mike Cook) introduces Python (a text-based programming language) and Sonic Pi for music coding, as well as electronics.
More information and free chapters are available on my website, www.sean.co.uk.
I've also made a series of 10 block Scratch demos, which you can also find on my website. These are tiny programs that are quick to make and demonstrate a key idea in Scratch. Some of these have been hugely popular with children.
Q: What else can adults do to help develop and encourage a creative coding journey for children?
A: Sometimes children learn how to use a programming language but then struggle with what to do with it. So, it can really help to sustain an interest if adults can have discussions about the kinds of games or programs that could be created, or how they could be improved, to help children think of their next steps.
The other thing is to work with children where possible to help them to understand how the programs work. Some children copy programs from books without really thinking about the instructions. When they really understand how simple programs work, they can start to invent their own games, and that is the most amazing experience.
Coder Academy: Are you ready for the challenge?
