![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
Clarksville, TN<\/strong> – When Bridget Cloud first offered free junior computer coding classes at Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library, she had one class and a few young students. But the number of students \u2013 and of classes \u2013 grew quickly.<\/p>\n\u201cThe interest for the little kids, it just kept going and going and going,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Northeast](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Austin-Peay-local-teacher-team-up-to-offer-free-coding-classes-for-young-students-4.jpg\" "\\"Northeast")
<\/a>Northeast High School\u2019s Bridget Cloud, standing, is founded and leads Clarksville Junior Coders. \u201cWe’ll be working on something, and the kids will get off track,\u201d she said. \u201cThat’s what’s so cool is they’ll get off track, and they’ll find something else, and they’ll call me over, and we’ll get all excited together.\u201d (Dr. James Cloud, APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
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And now, with Austin Peay State University offering support, she\u2019s offering three Clarksville Junior Coder classes every other Saturday through the school year, and the sessions fill up quickly.<\/p>\n
The classes already are full for September 22nd, and the October 6th classes have only a few seats left.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat so many kids are interested is exciting,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cI want to keep them engaged. I want to spark their curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Happens in Class?<\/h3>\n
\u201cI wanted to offer students a chance to get to know computer programming, to get to know it in a fun environment with no stress or grades or anything like that,\u201d Cloud, who manages the Computer and Information Technology Academy at Northeast High School, said. \u201cJust having fun and playing around with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Clarksville Junior Coders has free sessions every other week through the school year. Austin Peay State University sponsors the classes by offering graduate teaching assistants and a faculty adviser to teach the sessions. (Dr. James Cloud, APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
The classes are open to students from kindergarten to fifth grade and use Tynker, a web-based system that focuses on teaching young children computer coding.<\/p>\n
During the August sessions, the students programmed characters on the screen to dance by dragging and dropping simple tasks into a series of commands, or loops. The students could tell the characters to kick then tell them to spin, for example, or to kick multiple times.<\/p>\n
[320left]\u201cThey just drag it and drop it,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cThey just have to think through the logic. They don\u2019t have to worry about the syntax or the coding. They\u2019re learning problem-solving, the basics of computer programming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each session offers something different. While the students programmed dance move loops in the first set of classes, they programmed \u201cif\u201d statements in the second session: that is, if you click one button, the characters do one thing, such as kick, and if you hit another button, the characters do something else, such as spin.<\/p>\n
How Did Austin Peay State University Get Involved?<\/h3>\n
This summer, Cloud approached Dr. Leong Lee, new chair of the APSU Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, about helping with the classes. She also applied for the APSU master\u2019s program in computer science and quantitative methods.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Students at Clarksville Junior Coders learn the basics of computer coding. During the August session, they learned how to make a character on the screen perform specific dance moves. (Dr. James Cloud, APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWe were discussing the possibility, and (retiring chair) Dr. (Bruce) Myers came around and said, \u2018Hey, we just accepted you into the master\u2019s program,\u2019 and Dr. Lee looked at me and said, \u2018And Junior Coders is going to be your GTA (graduate teaching assistantship).\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee not only offered Cloud a GTA position to continue Junior Coders, he awarded GTA positions to two other students, Bonnie Taylor and Damilola Olaleye, to help teach the classes, and he appointed Dr. James Church as APSU faculty sponsor of the program.<\/p>\n
[320right]Church helped with the August Junior Coders session: \u201cI watch these kids work, and I see them tinker, and I see them play. \u2026 I\u2019ve watched kids come to life on these things. They get involved. They find ways to make the characters on the screen do crazy stunts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re OK with that because the more they\u2019re interacting with that character on the screen through programming, that\u2019s still learning how to program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austin Peay is offering support for Junior Coders \u201cbecause we believe in Bridget\u2019s idea, the earlier we can get children to understand computer programming, then later in life they won\u2019t be intimidated by it,\u201d Church added. \u201cWe are overwhelmed by the community support for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>The classes are open to students from kindergarten to fifth grade and use Tynker, a web-based system that focuses on teaching young children computer coding. (Dr. James Cloud, APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
Want To Learn More?<\/h3>\n
Learn more about Clarksville Junior Coders by visiting its Facebook page at www.facebook.com\/juniorcoders<\/a>. You can sign up your child by visiting http:\/\/signup.com\/go\/zhyiCLa<\/a>. Again, slots are claimed quickly and far in advance.<\/p>\n