On Friday, Dec. 19, Raider Robotics and the Education Enrichment Foundation (EEF) of Scotch Plains-Fanwood are collaborating to host the sixth annual hackathon at the high school from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m..
The EEF is a nonprofit organization led by volunteer trustees that partner with educators and district leaders to develop students into innovators and leaders through rewarding learning and leadership programs.
Participants from grades three through 12 are able to choose from six hands-on workshops that are led by coders and volunteers at the event. These engaging programs include:
- Scratch: Walk through a visual programming site that guides through the steps of creating their own stories, games and animations.
- Codesters: Learn how to use an online platform that uses drag-to-text instruction to build Python text-based coding.
- Web Design: Create your own website by using supplemental tools and develop key designing skills.
- Earsketch: Produce your own music using coding and technology to compose beats and apply additional effects.
- Robotics: Work in small groups to design, build and program Lego robots.
- Java: Explore the fundamentals of programming through the most widely used coding language and prepare a presentation of your final product.
Coding is an emerging literacy that builds problem solving skills, ranging across a variety of fields that students can concentrate on in their future. Robotics Team Advisor and Technology Education teacher Matthew Ducker Duffy stresses the importance of instructing coding to students.
“The big thing for us is to make sure that we are inspiring future students to go into STEM, [shaping] better computer programmers, problem solvers and people that make things, whether it be a computer program, a website, a video game or even 3D printing,” Duffy told The Fanscotian.
If you are interested in volunteering the night of the event, complete the following google form by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkmk1FKrXIrRjgVUQeUCWgmNbEH4ZrPGvFMl2Dfo5Eqg5T7w/viewform
“We are looking for students who are interested in supporting workshops during the night,” Duffy said. “The hope is that these students are teaching the elementary and the middle school students STEM skills, and encouraging them to make something out of it.”
