Coding education on the rise: Knox County students teach elected officials how to code

Brandon Bruce

Guest columnist

Councilmember Stephanie Welch learning about programming robots from a student at PolitiCode at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Knox County Schools were closed Nov. 5 for the City of Knoxville elections, but 40 students and their teachers from seven area schools gathered at Farragut High School to teach elected officials how to code at the inaugural PolitiCode event.

Students from South-Doyle High School, Northshore Elementary School, Holston Middle School, Farragut High School, Vine Middle School, Hardin Valley Academy, and Dogwood Elementary School showed off what they’re learning in classes by teaching 25 elected officials how to program robots, create digital soundtracks, build apps and design circuits.

Mayor Glenn Jacobs learning about coding from students at PolitiCode at the Unviersity of Tennessee in Knoxville.

“When you’re looking at the opportunities of the future, this is what it’s all about,” said Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

Joining the mayor as students for the day were government leaders and staff from the Knox County Commission, Knoxville City Council, Knox County Board of Education, State of Tennessee General Assembly and Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives.

PolitiCode was a joint effort by the Knoxville Technology Council, Knox County Schools, and the Great Schools Partnership. Theresa Nixon, Stephanie Welch, Larsen Jay, Jonathan Scoonover and Jasmine Floyd were all instrumental in organizing the event, which has already sparked interest in several other cities, including Nashville.

Google visits University of Tennessee for Google Cloud Hero competition

Google visited the University of Tennessee campus Nov. 8 to host a Google Cloud Hero competition. UT computer science and business analytics students got to learn about key Google Cloud Platform solutions and gain cloud skills. The three-hour hands-on, competitive lab experience was led by Leslie Redd, Global Lead in Cloud Learning for Google.

Leslie Redd, Google, with Randy Boyd, UT Interim President, at the Google Cloud Hero event at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

UT and the Knoxville Technology Council co-hosted a welcome lunch for students, faculty, staff, and Google. Tighe Kuykendall, Senior Director for Infrastructure Services at Discovery Communications and a KTech board member, kicked off the competition by stressing the importance of learning how to do business in the cloud.

Students participating in Google Cloud Hero at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

UT was one of the first university campuses worldwide to host a Google Cloud Hero event. Heather Hubbard Morgan, assistant vice president for research, outreach and economic development, led the effort. About 110 students participated.

Hour of Code is coming
to area schools Dec. 9-13

Team UT-Battelle is recruiting classroom volunteers to support local teachers during the Hour of Code events organized for Dec. 9-13. The Hour of Code is an annual global movement that engages students of all ages in computer science with fun, hands-on coding activities.

ORNL will partner with East Tennessee schools to host the event locally and send volunteers across the region to assist teachers in the classroom.

Muse teaches students and teachers how to code

Muse Knoxville is hosting coding classes for school field trips at its location in Chilhowee Park throughout the school year. Students in kindergarten through second grade get to use Bee Bots, while students in grades 3-5 use Ozobots and start learning line coding. In addition to field trips, Muse Knoxville offers the same classes via its outreach program in which staff bring bots and iPads into area schools.

Teachers also got to use Bee Bots in their professional development training over the summer at ORAU in a lesson that combined coding with learning about the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Teachers learned how to code the bots to travel as the moon lander to two craters, the camera station, the American flag, and then back to the module.

Visitors can try out all the Muse Knoxville bots at Science Nights and during Family Coding sessions at Free Family Nights.

Knoxville Entrepreneur Center and KnoxDevs launch coding internship program

In addition to running Code@KEC camps for middle and high school students, the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center recently partnered with KnoxDevs to launch an internship program for software developers.

Starting in January, new and aspiring coders will have the opportunity for paid internships with technology and software companies in the Knoxville region. Interns will be paid and gain valuable on-the-job experience, and tech companies will get development help and early access to emerging talent.

YO-STEM hosts monthly STEM Saturdays

Youth Outreach in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math is a program dedicated to exposing students from underserved communities to the growing STEM world through hands-on activities.

Projects at STEM Saturdays have included building robots and drones, and conducting live science experiments. The kickoff event last year included a rocket launch. Check the calendar to register for the next STEM Saturday.

Brandon Bruce is a board member at the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center and the Knoxville Technology Council. He can be reached at brandon@brandonbruce.com.