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Errata for Invasion of the Alien Ducks.

Hello and welcome! Why have I started this site? I run a Code Club in a library in rural Norfolk in the UK which I thoroughly love. One of the biggest challenges I've found is in having suitable materials for the children to work through; particularly when delivering the sessions on library computers that are completely locked down (and old). All of the lessons I deliver are done using tools that can be run in a browser on a relatively low specification computer. Also, the materials and tools I use are free to minimise costs.

Even though there are plenty of materials out there, they are often hard to find in the ocean of the world wide web. I have also found that some platforms are better supported than others and the quality of materials available varies a lot.

This site is a curated list of quality materials from other sources that I use in my sessions and some that I have produced myself to help you on your coding journey. The materials are presented as structured pathways to help you develop your skills in a progressive way.

I regularly make updates to this site. See recently changed for the most recent changes, change log for a more comprehensive details of changes and road map for information on my the work I plan to do over the coming months and years!

My recommended pathways are:

Exploring

Start your coding journey with blocks using the free online tools Scratch and Snap.

Head over to Exploring to get started.

Progressing

Progress to Building more advanced block based projects with the free MakeCode platforms MakeCode Arcade and BBC micro:bit, amongst others. The MakeCode platform provides the next level in blocks based coding which can be downloaded to run on your very own device.

Head over to Progressing to get started.

This level also opens up the opportunity to experiment with physical computing. A fantastic way to start to explore this is using the BBC micro:bit, a low cost microcontroller packed full of sensors. A fantastic way to use those sensors is to Building an escape room with MakeCode. Head over and follow the instructions which will take you through the steps of building an escape room. This is an excellent group activity.

Head over to Escape room to get started.

Advancing

Advance to be a coding legend using Python and CircuitPython. Work your way through all the materials here and you will be coding like a pro.

Head over to Advancing to get started.

Recently changed

For a full change log, head over to change log. For details of my proposed road map, head over to road map.

I've started reworking the MakeCode Arcade materials, including adding a new project called Slider based on some of the work I did for the Escape room. Head over to the Progressing section to see the first drafts of the updated Chase, Catch, Smash and Slider projects. To make these materials easier to follow, I am introducing animated images.

I've added in a brief section containing an overview of some MakeCode Arcade devices I have and some I do not. This will be added to over time. Head over to the devices page to find out more.

I've added in a section on starting with Replit; including how to work within the 10 repository limit for free accounts. Head over to my Replit guide to get started.