Linda Liukas at the Klax School
On the 6th of November we had the pleasure of welcoming our school mentor Linda Liukas to the Klax School! The Finnish author and illustrator is best known for her successful book series 'Hello Ruby', which introduces children to programming through exciting adventures and exercises which is very popular with our primary school students. On her arrival, Linda was presented with a picture drawn by the children and was shown some of the coding games we offer at our school.
As our school mentor for learning in the digital age, Linda Liukas is also in regular contact with our educational staff. On this day, she met with Mr Mattschull, head of school profile, Klax specialist teacher Mrs Schaper and other colleagues to discuss her latest project: a computer-themed playground that opened in Helsinki about a month ago, proving once again that children can be taught to program without screens. The playground features scaffolding that resembles mobile devices such as a computer, a screen, a giant keyboard or a mobile phone. Children can explore the inside of many devices and even use them to solve binary or arithmetic tasks.
The playground is designed so that teachers with school children can explore the playground and learn new things through play. Of course, parents with their children and young adults are also invited to discover the public playground. Many of the structures have QR codes on them, offering different activities and further explanations. There are also a number of activity cards specially designed for the playground, providing even more variety and learning ideas.
Linda Liukas' presentation was very exciting and allowed for a lively exchange with our educators. After all, children learn many skills on the playground, such as independence, creativity and teamwork. With a computer playground, the young explorers can also learn the basics of computational thinking, because it's all about experimenting and having fun. We were delighted to have a great exchange with Linda and look forward to her future projects!
Learn more about Linda Liukas at lindaliukas.com
