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This year, elementary school students in Terrebonne Parish literally jumped into learning to code with Unruly Splats, a STEM education tool that combines coding and active play in any classroom. Using an iPad or Chromebook, students can code Unruly Splats to create games that promote movement and collaboration.
“In our district, we believe it’s important to introduce students to coding concepts at an early age so that they feel confident to pursue computer science education later on in their education and careers,” said Nathan Cotten, Science Curriculum Specialist for the Terrebonne Parish School District. “Rather than students only sitting behind a computer screen, our teachers are using Unruly Splats to connect coding to active games in a way that’s engaging and approachable.”
While the state of Louisiana does not have a computer science requirement at the elementary level, the Terrebonne Parish School District is proactively looking for ways to incorporate coding concepts into the existing curriculum. The first three schools to pilot Unruly Splats this year are Oakshire Elementary, Broadmoor Elementary, and Mulberry Elementary.
In January, Oakshire Elementary third-fifth grade students started learning basic coding skills and playing games with Unruly Splats. Now, these students are designing and coding their own games to share and play with the kindergarten, first, and second grade students.
“The students are having a blast running around playing games–you’d never guess they are learning to code at the same time,” said Patty Authment, Oakshire’s library media specialist. “They are extremely excited about creating and coding original games and anxiously awaiting the day when they can test their games with the lower-grade students.”
Unruly Splats help schools fulfill a range of high-priority objectives including:
- Cross-curricular coding: A Gallup study found that 73% of principals in the US believe that computer science is just as important as offering core subjects like math and English. Unruly Splats allow teachers to incorporate coding into any subject, including PE, general education, science, and even music!
- Recess-like play combined with computer science: The games kids play with Unruly Splats encourage physical movement, helping to combat a decades long drop in active play for children.
- Hands-on teacher training and support: School memberships come with lesson plans developed by teachers and ongoing bite-sized professional development opportunities to ensure teachers are empowered to incorporate coding into their classrooms.
“Computer science education is often intimidating and sedentary. We want to flip those stereotypes on their head and inspire kids to try coding who didn’t think it was for them,” said Bryanne Leeming, Founder and CEO of Unruly Studios, the maker of Unruly Splats.
To learn more, visit www.unrulysplats.com.
About Unruly Studios
Unruly Studios is the creator of Unruly Splats, the first STEM learning tool that combines coding with active-play. Unruly Studios’ vision is to create an electronic playground that makes learning more playful, collaborative, and inclusive. The team is made up of experts in cognitive science, toy manufacturing, education, and technology who bring broad industry experience from Scratch, Hasbro, Mattel, Nickelodeon, iRobot, Disney, and MIT Media Lab.
