Raymond Belone

I teach the first steps of coding to complete beginners. These are introductory lessons, aimed at someone who has never written a program and wants to find out whether they enjoy it.

We use two free tools from Microsoft, MakeCode Arcade and MakeCode for the BBC micro:bit. Both run in a web browser, both are free and neither needs anything installed, so there is nothing to buy or set up before the first lesson.

In MakeCode Arcade we make a simple game. The student gets a character on screen that they control, then we add a little at a time, something to collect, a score, a sound when it goes right. Nothing complicated, just enough that they have made something of their own and can show it to someone.

With the micro:bit we start with the board doing small useful things, a message scrolling across the LED display, a button that changes what it shows, a reaction to being shaken. If the student does not have a micro:bit we use the simulator on the website, so no kit is needed to begin.

My lessons are relaxed and practical. I share my screen, the student does the typing and we finish each lesson with one thing that works. When something goes wrong I explain why rather than quietly fixing it, because understanding an error is most of programming. I go at the pace of the student and I am happy to go over anything again. There is no homework unless they want something to try.

I have been a software developer for 24 years. Earlier this year I taught these same tools at a children’s activity camp to ages 7 to 14, jointly with another instructor, and I instruct students at a school. I hold an enhanced DBS for the child workforce and a Level 3 paediatric first aid certificate.