Chapter 16: Learning to Code using Turtle Academy

 

Chapter 16: Learning to Code using Turtle Academy 

Date: 10th June 2024 Monday 6:50 pm & 8:45 pm

This is yet another very interesting post on an amazing edtech resource named “Turtle Academy” for learning coding. I remember exploring the site before as well but being able to use it with the amazing learners at the Ranaa Child Welfare Foundation is actually a great learning experience for me too. As I shared before as well, I work voluntarily at the Ranaa Child Welfare Foundation as part of my initiative “Technology For a Cause - Enhancing Skills Empowering Kids” voluntarily to provide quality education experiences to the underprivileged children in Peshawar.

This post is based on the lesson taught using Turtle Academy. It is a simply wonderful resource online that can be used to teach basic coding skills to learners at the primary or the secondary level. It has a very simple and easy to use interface. I really like the practice exercises with solutions given. I actually learned a lot from the practice exercises. There is a place where you can type the lessons and see the code in action. If you intend to do some challenging tasks, there is a tab titled “programs” where a number of educators have shared their amazing code. Learners can choose from the challenges as well. There is a “playground” where the learners can actually practice the code.

Initially I had thought of teaching learners coding using Scratch but when I explored the turtle academy , it was more simple than Scratch, including the commands, interface and the lessons. The lessons are stepwise and very easy to follow and practice. Once the learners get their hands on Turtle Academy, they can then easily work on Scratch. Turtle Academy works around a small turtle (LOGO inspired), the turtle moves in different directions and angles based on the user's commands. It is very creative and interesting. It keeps the learners motivated and engaged. Also it helps build resilience, patience, grit and perseverance. It also teaches the learners that making mistakes is part of life, they can practice at their own pace as many times as they want too, and they can create amazing objects, shapes using coding. It teaches them creativity and problem solving skills as well.

Let’s start exploring the lesson on coding. I started with asking the learners if they had done coding before and which tool they had explored. One of the students, Shahzad (from my previous group) remembered coding in Scratch. He is too good at coding in Turtle Academy and is also a very keen helper. I have observed him helping his peers to practice coding. The learners started with practicing basic commands for example:

How to move the turtle forward?  Forward 100

How to turn the turtle in a direction of 90 ? Right 90

How to turn the turtle in a direction of 120? Right 120

How to clear the screen? Clearscreen?

How to move the turtle back? Back 100

This was the first lesson and it was good to see the learners eager to learn and practice coding. Due to electricity issues the learners could only work on my laptop and two mobiles. I really appreciate the help and assistance of a teacher at Ranaa, who was kind enough to let the students practice coding in turtle academy on her mobile. She accepted my request and that meant al ot. I did observe that it was easy to write code on the laptop as compared to the mobile. The screen on the mobile is small as compared to the screen of the laptop. 

In the second lesson, the learners practice making different shapes using the code. This time the learners had access to laptops and they could easily type the code. They were able to make a square, an octagon and a triangle. They practiced making the shapes by changing the values in the code for distance and angles. Some learners remembered the code and some still needed practice. 

In the third lesson, they learned and practiced new commands. These were:

Penup - the turtle draws or moves without leaving a trace behind

Pendown - the turtle draw or moves while leaving a trace behind

Loops using Repeat command - creating different shapes using the repeat command, instead of writing the same command several times.

Setcolor - to change the color of the pen

Setwidth - to change the width of the pen

Arc 360 100 - create a circle with a radius of 100

This was also a good lesson, most of the students were able to practice the commands and create different shapes of different colors , different widths. It does seem a little difficult and challenging for them, but with practice they can not only learn the code but create some interesting shapes. They are learning how to type on the keyboard as well. Some learners can type faster while others type a little slow. It is also helping build their vocabulary. The learners also understand that with incorrect spelling the code fails to run or execute. If there is a spelling error in the code, the error is highlighted in red and the learners have to rewrite the code again. 

In the fourth lesson today the learners revised some of the commands they have learned in previous lessons. They practiced making different shapes of different colors and width. They also practiced making a circle with a different radius. They could use the “repeat command” to create some nested shapes. They had practiced the commands earlier but some of them seem to have forgotten, which is fine because coding needs a lot of practice. They learned two new commands today:

Filled “Blue - to fill a shape with color

Wait 10 - to increase the time , the process of creating a shape is slowed down by the number of seconds user inputs

This time we had access to more laptops and charging was not an issue. Almost all students were able to practice making different shapes in Turtle Academy. The learners were observed as helping each other in coding which was a good sight to see. The learners needed practice with the “Repeat command” and the “nested loops”. They could write and execute the command but needed practice. In the next lesson they will practice “nested loops”, “nested repeat” and creating some crazy octagons. 

The white board is used for demonstrating and sharing instructions with the learners about the tasks. Since it is not fixed, there is a chance it might drop off the chair. Otherwise I must appreciate the staff and admin at Ranaa Child Welfare Foundation, they are very supportive and accommodating. 

Overall these have been very valuable learning experiences for me and the learners at Ranaa Child Welfare Foundation. It is a completely different experience observing the learners actually practice on an edtech resource. I would be extending the lessons on coding in the days ahead. Though I do intend to introduce coding in Scratch or code.org in the days ahead.

Enjoy Reading :)

Regards and prayers

Sheeba Ajmal