As I’ve spent more time at Ed Tech events, I’ve run into more and more AI solutionism. No offense to anyone, but it kind of drives me crazy. When AI is your hammer, every problem in education looks like something you can smash. * Grading is hard => AI
At Pickcode, we focus on one thing – creating the best possible platform for teaching and learning computer science. That may sound simple, but actually building the platform is pretty complex. We support students running code in multiple programming languages, displaying graphical output in the cloud, collaborating in real-time, and more.
On March 7th, I spoke with Sarah, a teacher at a school in Philadelphia about her experiences using Pickcode. Sarah uses Pickcode for her web design classes, and another teacher at her school, Matt, uses Pickcode to teach Python. Both Sarah and Matt used to use Replit, but when Replit
When we started working on Pickcode, I called it a "startup" since that's what most well known tech companies call themselves. Now, I think of us as a small business. Startup investors will tell you that the best measure of success is how fast a company
Replit has always been a technically impressive product, but their recent shift away from education left many teachers in the dust. As of a few years ago, Replit claimed “We are deeply committed to expanding access to CS education”. However, in November 2023, they unceremoniously announced the deprecation of their
During my time in the classroom, I saw firsthand how difficult it is to be a computer science teacher today. Classroom management, kids on cell phones, limited prep time, insufficient PD, emailing parents, entering grades, academic integrity issues… The list continues for a while! The absolute last thing that I
In this post, we’re going to talk about the value of simplicity in software. Simple tools are easier to use, more reliable, and more valuable than their complex counterparts. First, let’s start with my car. I drive a 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid, which I bought used in Spring
At Pickcode, we care deeply about the importance of protecting student data privacy. Our commitment to upholding the highest standards of data security and privacy is a necessity in our efforts to empower K-12 Computer Science teachers and students. Personally, as a parent, I know firsthand the concerns that come
Learning to code is often seen as a SERIOUS and IMPORTANT activity, because we’re “training the next generation of engineers” for “success in the modern economy”. What if we could find some other reasons for teaching programming? Do you sign up your kids for the 4th grade basketball team
You’re reading this post in a web browser. The developer of this site laid out the page with HTML, specified its style with CSS, and made the page interactive with Javascript. You can make the Google Docs, Linkedin, Github, and ChatGPT apps all with just those three languages. Typically,
When starting or overhauling a computer science program in your school, it’s important to consider what constitutes a complete solution for a coding classroom. Basically, you need a curriculum with lessons, and a place for students to write code while completing lessons (a code editor). Solutions fall into three
When I was a teacher from 2021 to 2023, Replit was the ideal product for teaching Python and Java in my classroom. However, at the end of 2023, Replit turned their focus to AI-based development for professionals. Due to this shift in focus, Teams for Education was deprecated in Fall