Don’t you love when something that students love to use is also educational? Well, my personal third grader was certainly tickled when I gave him an opportunity to “play” with this super fun learning resource Code Car!
Honestly, it isn’t just for kids! I know a little bit of coding, but not as much as this “beginner” activity. I am definitely going to be sitting down and doing the lessons with him too. I love to learn new things myself as well.
So what is Code Car? It is a little computer board that has audio and lights, which plugs in to your computer via the USB cord and by adding different pieces of code to it, you are able to make the “car” perform various functions, such as:
- Headlight On
- Brakelight Blink
- Flash Both Sirens
- Toggle Your Sirens
- Beep the Horn
- Car Tunes
- Brake Pedal
- Honk the Horn
- Honk the (Variable) Horn
- Rising Pitch Horn
- Siren Lights Button
- Siren Toggle Button
- Backup Alarm
- Headlight Switch
And for those that are a little more advanced (or way more advanced than me), there is a Hack the Code Car option to really dig in to customizing the code for the car. Pretty awesome, right?
Setting it up was super easy: download the software from their website, plug in the car, and open the program. Each easy lesson includes:
- an Introduction as to what the car will do when you are successful in installing the code
- the actual Code in a code box so students can install it right away to see what it does, but most importantly they are able to start “reading” and deciphering how the language of coding works
- Tutorial Videos for reading the code
- Challenges that have the students applying their new knowledge about that particular piece of code
- Concepts which explain more in-depth what they are really learning
- and a super short Quiz which tests how well they learned it (we’re talking a 2-question multiple choice quiz so nothing students will panic over)
The box include all the pieces, including the retractable cable and code reference cards. I love that the lid snaps shut so the pieces are all contained – plus it is small enough you could easily fit an entire class set into 1-2 plastic shoeboxes.
Needless to say, Code Car was a hit with my third grader. He was almost late getting to school because he was having fun learning with the lessons and begged me to use it again tonight INSTEAD of playing video games for his 30 minute allotment! If that’s not a testimonial, I am not sure what is – ha! In fact, as he was using the first code lesson, he decided to see what would happen if he added something into the code. Well, it “broke” because the code was not set up correctly any longer. I imagine MOST kids will also want to do this instinctively to see what happens. The best part of watching him was noticing he immediately then took a look at the code again – and even played the tutorial video – to try and figure out how to make it work correctly again. Watching the problem-solving skills is something educators strive to see as much as possible. It was almost magical. 🙂
I know Code Car would be a wonderful gift for any child maybe third grade and up who has access to a computer to be able to use the tutorials. It would also be fantastic for classrooms! Coding is already a high-demand skill and learning the “language” can be like learning any other foreign language. If we can teach our children the basics of how computer coding is read, then they have a head start on being more interested in those technology jobs that will become even more commonplace as the demand for technology continues to grow.
This would be a wonderful suggestion for a Donor’s Choose project or a request for funds from a local tech company who could use it as a tax write-off for their business. Want a chance to win one for yourself? Get entered below and thanks so much to Let’s Start Coding for this wonderful giveaway for one lucky Organized Classroom reader!
Have fun coding!
~Charity
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I have been looking for ways to get my students to learn how to code. I think I could figure out a way to connect Code Car to our science standards, and it would be a great beginning to coding. I want to try it myself!! 🙂
Hi Jessica, Weston from Let’s Start Coding here! We’re working on connecting Code Car to a bunch of standards, and we’d love to help you out! Email us at info@letsstartcoding.com and we’ll connect!
I son would love this.
I really enjoy all the inspiration that you provide. This particular one about coding is such a fun way to learn. It will also be away to show how the computer “talks” to each item.
Such a great idea! My nephew will love this and I am going to look into it to use with my students.
These look so awesome! I would love to use these as part of an on-going stem lab with my students. They would work in partners.
I have started introducing coding to some of my classes. This would be a great way for them to learn!
I would LOVE to give this a try! My 3rd graders have already done a bit of coding with Lego WeDo’s and Scratch, and they love it!
This would be an awesome addition to our library/technology room. The 2nd through 4th graders are earning to code. The teacher has various ways they can practice was they are proficient at it. This would be perfect to add to the collection she has started.
This is so COOL! I teach STEM to the entire K-8th grades at my school and I’m always looking for new and fun things to incorporate into my lessons. This would work PERFECTLY!
This would be amazing for a station in my classroom to let my firsties try to learn code. i have 8 gifted students and this would be perfect for them and a challenge for the others. Would LOVE this in my classroom!
This would be awesome to win. I would love to do more coding with my class (and my own son would really love it). If only we had endless finances . . .
I would love to try this with my students! I’m loving all of the STEM and coding here!
We have a Stem Class Once a month and this would be perfect as one of the activities.
I would love to incorporate these coding cars into my Friday math centers. This would be such a fun activity for my students.
This is fabulous! Thank you for giving it a try and sharing your experiences with us. I would use this in my classroom Maker Space program and share it with at an upcoming meeting of teachers who are developing, implementing, expanding Maker Spaces.
I love the idea of introducing coding in Elementary schools. This is something my students would really enjoy!
I just attended a STEM conference that included some coding sessions. This would be a great way to introduce young students to coding. (Beyond their interest in Minecraft!)
I am trying to incorporate STEM activities into my fifth grade classroom. This would be an ideal addition.
I would love to have one of these for my classroom! Any activity that gets the kids excited about learning is great in my book! I think it would be a great resource and learning experience for any student, and myself as well as my children know more about coding than I do!
Great way to go beyond Hour of Code.
My 4th graders would love to give this coding activity a try!
I wrote a Donors Choose grant for this after I read this post … hooting to get a small set for an upcoming Family Nighy at school! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I believe this would be an amazing alternative of coding for youths. My son (2nd grade) and his peers would jump at any chance to code. I would love to see alternative coding that might spark interest in girls as well.
This is amazing! I have personally seen the power of coding, and I would love to see it become something more accessible to students of all ages. It is wonderful to see how students begin to think differently, and more methodically, when presented with a coding challenge. Thank you for sharing this resource!