10 Things to Ask About a Coding Curriculum: Question 10 Platform Efficiency

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    After several months, we have finally come to the end of this series. Number 10 is also a perfect one to end on. It’s platform efficiency, but what does that actually mean? I think it speaks to the entire experience a student has with the coding curriculum in school. 
     Do students get the experience of using block, text, and physical components? Is there a clear pathway? Do they get to experience multiple text languages? Are student skills actually building? All of those questions can be part of a curriculum’s efficiency, and it also speaks to the broader problem of the field because most curriculums are not very efficient.
    As you look out on the field of coding curricula out there you see many that are either focused on one grade band or one coding language. Adding those physical components is also incredibly scattered as you either have to use that hardware proprietary software or the experience can be limited. Coding is a complex topic and most providers just don’t have the time and the resources to make more. It becomes a question of just focusing on what you are good at.
    These one-note providers and components then put schools in a bind from top to bottom. At the school and district level, it means that you have to purchase and manage multiple resources which isn’t realistic in a topic area that isn’t required. It also makes it tougher for teachers who aren’t natural programmers to get involved as the more things you have the more complex it is. Teachers also have more difficulty giving students a broad coding experience because they are having to pick and choose from all of the things that are out there and are limited by the resources they know.
    For students, having lots of different platforms can provide for a disjointed experience. They don’t have that continuous pathway that allows them to improve, and they spend more time learning new platforms than actually coding. They also can have a tougher time free coding on their own time because they don’t know where to go.
     What if there was a better way? What if there was a platform that had multiple languages and even included coding physical devices? What if that platform was built on skills? I am here to tell you that this platform does exist, and that efficiency is what makes it really stand out.