Programming and digitalization
Are you a teacher and curious about digitalization and programming? If so, Tom Tits Experiments' free professional development courses in and about programming could be for you!
Until the fall of 2024, Tom Tits offers workshop series in programming for educational staff in preschool, preschool class, school and special education. The training is carried out on behalf of the Swedish National Agency for Education and is offered free of charge.
The offer applies to those who are active educators in preschool, preschool class, primary school and special education in the following counties;
- Stockholm County
- Uppsala county
- Gotland County
- Västmanland County
- Örebro County
- Dalarna County
- Södermanland County
Programming at an early age
With in-person workshop sessions at Tom Tits Experiment
The professional development course is designed for all those working in preschool, early years of primary schools and within special education and provides a general understanding of programming and digitalisation. No prior knowledge is required. The course combines theory with practical work and includes three sessions of Tom Tits Experiment. Between the sessions, you work individually with the Swedish National Agency for Education's online course ‘About programming’.
Dates for the sessions at Tom Tits Experiment
- 12 September 13.30 - 16.30
- 30 September 13.30 - 16.30
- 16 October 13.30 - 16.30
Total time including physical workshop meetings is approximately 20 hours.
To apply and for more information, please contact utbildning@tomtit.se
Content of the training
As a participant you will encounter the following content:
- Basic concepts and building blocks of programming.
- Computer science thinking. Problem solving using programming.
- Testing analogue exercises and digital tools.
- Links between programming, everyday life and the curriculum
- The need for multiple perspectives in programming professions
- Reflect on programming and teaching in your organisation
Cost and equipment
The workshop series is commissioned by the Swedish National Agency for Education. Principals of the participating teachers are responsible for creating the conditions for competence development by allocating time and ensuring that equipment is available. Each participant needs access to a laptop or digital learning tablet.
Programming with workshops
With physical workshop meetings at Tom Tits Experiment
This professional development programme is designed for teachers in mathematics or technology in grades 4-9 within primary school or special education. It provides an introduction to programming. You choose whether you want to work in Scratch, Micro:bit or Python. The course combines theory with practical work and includes three sessions at Tom Tits Experiment. Between the sessions, you work individually with the Swedish National Agency for Education's online course ‘Programming’. No prior knowledge of programming is required, but it is an advantage if you have taken the web course ‘About programming’ or have equivalent knowledge.
Dates for the sessions at Tom Tits Experiment
- 7 November 13.30 - 16.30
- 19 November 13.30 - 16.30
- 2 December 13.30 - 16.30
Total time including physical workshop meetings is approximately 20 hours.
To register your interest and for more information, please contact utbildning@tomtit.se
A minimum of 10 participants (Scratch, Micro:bit, Python) is required for it to take place.
Content of the training
As a participant you are introduced to programming environments that can be a starting point for teaching at a level that corresponds to what is required based on the core content of programming. As a participant you will encounter the following content in all tracks:
- Basic concepts and building blocks of programming, including sequence, options, conditionals, repetition and functions.
- Algorithmic thinking. Problem solving using programming.
- Creating, debugging and testing programme code.
- Reading, understanding, debugging, testing and improving existing programme code.
- Introduce basic concepts and building blocks of programming.
- Algorithmic thinking. Problem solving using programming.
- Create, debug and test programme code.
- Read, understand, debug, test and improve existing programme code
- Demonstrate and reflect on links between programming and the core curriculum content
- The need for multiple perspectives in programming professions
Cost and equipment
The workshop series is commissioned by the National Agency for Education. The principals of the participating teachers are responsible for creating the conditions for competence development by allocating time and ensuring that equipment is available. Each participant needs access to a computer, webcam and internet connection. For those who wish to learn more about Micro:bit, additional hardware will be needed.
About the different syntaxes
Scratch is a tool that allows children and young people to explore programming and create their own interactive projects. It is designed to be easy to use and has a visual interface (block programming). Scratch can be used in different subjects and age groups. It can be integrated into lessons on maths, science, languages and many other subjects. Students can use Scratch to visualise and understand different concepts and create interactive presentations of their knowledge.
Micro:bit is a small computer that can be programmed to display text and images, respond to keystrokes and play music. You can also perform more advanced tasks, such as using sensors, wireless communication and connecting external components such as LEDs and servo motors. In this course you will learn to use visual programming (block programming). Micro:bit can also be programmed using JavaScript or Python.
Python is a popular text-based programming language that is relatively easy to learn to write and read. With quite little code, powerful programmes can be created. Python is an interpreted language, which means that the programme code is executed through an interpreter instead of being compiled into machine code. This makes it easy to write and test code because you can run it directly without having to compile it first. It also gives Python the ability to be cross-platform, meaning that programmes written in Python can run on different operating systems. Python is used in various fields such as web development and computer science.
