Meet Dash and Dot, pictured above! These robots are the mascots—and teaching tools—of St. James Codes, which started at St. James on Sunday, March 3rd from 11 a.m. to 12 noon in the Lab (and meets thereafter on the first Sunday of each month). St. James Codes will be using these robots to learn how to code using the Blockly app. Students (intergenerational—all ages) will be collaborating and working in teams to learn the basic functions of coding and then will be able to solve puzzles and manipulate Dash and Dot to follow their directions. These coding skills are transferable to other applications and robots. Bring your smartphones, iPads, or laptops for the class.
Barbara Stachelski, the teacher for the class, is a national board-certified educator specializing in students with special needs. She recently retired from Tustin Unified School District after 21 years. Barbara taught coding and robots within her classroom for over 10 years and ran the St. James’ Girls Who Code club for over a year. She was also involved in the idata project out of the Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin with a small group of students here at St. James teaching them coding to help people with visual impairments become involved in astronomy. For more information contact the church office at office@stjamesnewport.org or 949.675.0210.
