In the TACCLE3 coding project, a lack of didactic material for teachers to get started teaching coding to young pupils from primary school level on, was identified. In order to compensate such deficit, a survey of resources and starter kits to support the teachers’ approach to teach coding at primary school level was undertaken. A collection of ideas, and pupil oriented tools and environments such as iconic programming software, literature, and examples of good practice in video towards coding, computational thinking and STEM was reviewed by partners of 5 countries and developed as a downloadable resource kit.
The TACCLE3 coding resource kit aims to broaden participation of teachers in computing and coding fields. Accordingly, in the project, it is argued that revisiting playful and more holistic, art and design based approaches to teach and learn about coding seems to be a powerful tool to introduce computation into material and visual culture.
In particular, we highlight the evolution of recent children’s programming starter kits, such as textile construction kits like EduWear, based on the LilyPad Arduino, which combines computation, ICT, fashion and craft (Germany). We discuss the implications of these designs for learning, play, and broadening participation in computing fields.