Summer code camp: Children program robots by learning coding during Marquette Techfest

The first step of Codefi's coding camp was for campers to name their robots.

The bots themselves were little white shells on wheels, called Finches, specially designed for classroom use, and the third- through sixth-grade students named them creatively.

One group went with Destroyer of Finches; another was White Blob that Moves. One was called Jeff.

But all of them performed the same functions, taking rudimentary commands and showing the students how keystrokes can make technology dance.

The 20 children who began Monday were the second class of the camp's inaugural session; 18 campers went to the same camp last week.

Creighton Edmundson, left, and his brother Wiley Edmundson go over functions Moinday for their robot, The Finch, during the Code Camp: Coding with The Finch with the Marquette Technology Institute in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Andrea Cox, who teaches fourth grade at Jefferson Elementary School, led the camp and said the children usually are quick to grasp the underlying principles.

"By Thursday, they're all on their own," she said, adding each team will tackle a coding challenge to end the weeklong camp.

The camp is part of Marquette Techfest, and the teams whose robots perform best are scheduled to be part of the July 27 Techfest celebration.

"Some [teams' robots] were playing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb,' 'Ode to Joy.' They were getting pretty crafty," Cox said.

By entering values into the coding software, the robots would chirp, flash, motor around and hopefully spark an interest in tech.

Hayden Hill, left, programs his robot Monday while his group member Mason Landgraf watches during the Code Camp: Coding with The Finch with the Marquette Technology Institute in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

"It's a lot of logistical thinking and application," Cox said. "It's a great way to get them to think outside the box."

Cox said the concepts and modes of thinking learned in the camp can be applied in any science, technology, engineering and mathematics class.

And many likely will use it in coding classes as the skill becomes more prevalent in K-12 education.

One student, 11-year-old Jacob Funk, said he'd used similar coding software in a class at Jackson middle school before coming to the camp.

His brother, 9-year-old Joshua, hadn't coded before but said he was sold on the robots halfway through the first day.

"I'd like to find the price and buy one," he said.

"When I was growing up, my parents were programmers," Cox said. "But I didn't have a robot."

Cox said coding is a way for kids to prepare for a quickly shifting job market. Once someone knows how to code, she said, problem-solving skills can be more attractive to employers than a college degree.

Plus the camp teaches the kids how to work together as a team.

"They learn how to compromise," Cox said. "That's a life skill itself."

tgraef@semissourian.com (573) 388-3627