“Quarantine Coding Club” teaches kids how to be part of the COVID-19 solution
TEMECULA, Calif. — In February 2020, a recently founded nonprofit called MetaCoders launched in-person coding classes in Temecula.
Groups of 5-6 students were being taught in Saturday coding classes at Temecula United Methodist Church and coding summer camps were scheduled at the CSUSM Temecula campus.
But the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans.
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Since COVID-19 shut down Temecula Valley Unified schools, the staff at MetaCoders have taken their classes online by creating an online Coding Club that teaches students how they can build technologies to help their own virus-afflicted communities.
“The goal is to empower students to build their own digital solutions to solve problems they might see in their households and neighborhoods,” says MetaCoders co-founder, Lindsey Handley, Ph.D. “I don’t think every student who joins our online program will necessarily build the next COVID-19 app, but I do believe they’ll come away with a sense that coding is more than just building video games – it can be an incredibly powerful tool for contributing to and connecting your community.”
The team at MetaCoders have taken their classes online by creating an online Coding Club that teaches students how they can build technologies to help their own virus-afflicted communities. MetaCoders photo
They’re calling the program Quarantine Coding Club and parents can register their K-12 students for 1-hr sessions on days and times convenient for them.
“One of our goals was flexibility,” says Jordan Hisamoto, MetaCoders Program Manager. “We know families’ lives have been turned upside down by COVID-19.”
New curriculum is available on a daily basis so that students always have new online activities to look forward to with their favorite instructors.
For other educators, the transition has been less straightforward.
With little training and few resources, teachers across the country are trying to find ways to engage students in digital classrooms or through educational apps.
In Temecula, TVUSD has already transitioned to online learning for students and school closures were recently extended all the way to June 19th.
With the technical expertise of their staff, MetaCoders have an edge in digital spaces that they’re hoping to take advantage of.
After hearing complaints from many students and parents about the lack of student engagement in Zoom classrooms, MetaCoders began experimenting with novel digital classroom designs.
“We’re working on a new concept called ‘hyper-classrooms’ where students have the freedom to explore different digital spaces with different learning activities”, says MetaCoders co-founder, Stephen Foster, Ph.D. “If a student doesn’t feel like they’re getting anything out of an activity, they can move to another classroom and try something else! We know that when students have autonomy in their education, they really engage!”
This research and development is partially funded by MetaCoders’ sister company, ThoughtSTEM, which has a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (NSF SBIR) grant that supports the development of cutting-edge educational technologies.
“The goal is to empower students to build their own digital solutions to solve problems they might see in their households and neighborhoods,” says MetaCoders co-founder, Lindsey Handley, Ph.D. MetaCoders photo
“It’s clear that learning how to code is more critical than ever,” says Dr. Handley. “If we had more coders in the world, we’d be able to build more work-from-home solutions, crunch more data faster, help more essential employees and our neighbors stay safe… We want to make sure that in the future our students are prepared to rebuild this economy to one that doesn’t crumble under a pandemic like we’ve seen.”
Quarantine Coding Club currently has sessions M-F from 12pm-1pm and 3pm-4pm, but new sessions are expected to open based on parent interest.
Parents can get a free session for their student by emailing [email protected] with the secret password “Temecula Against COVID”.
Learn more at: https://metacoders.org/online.
Article submitted by MetaCoders
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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.