As expert learners who persevere through numerous challenges, teachers already possess many of the required traits to develop software. Resourcefulness, grit and perseverance, the ability to project manage and iterate in order to improve effectiveness – these are qualities shared by iOS developers and educators.

While you prepare to return to your classroom this fall, think about how you can model being a 21st century creator, not consumer, for your students. If you are already personally coding and do not have stand alone time for computer science in your school, how will can you incorporate the concepts of algorithmic thinking and problem-solving, required for coding, into your already packed curriculum? If you are not coding, how will you stay current for your students?

When I taught high school Geometry and French, I used my mathematical mind to break down difficult concepts. Without fully understanding what I was doing, I incorporated the skills required to program an app in my classes because programmatic thinking served as a tool for students to digest complex information.

In my geometry class, students dove deep into conditionals and logic. We unpacked elaborate conjectures and then dissected sentences for their truth values to determine when conditionals were true in both directions. More than once, my French students and I used tree diagrams to understand verb conjugations.

Now, as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Mobile Makers, I work with teachers to intentionally identify areas where coding concepts and skills naturally bridge with their content. From sorting types of brush strokes to sorting animals based on how they regulate their body temperature, programmatic thinking is part of being human. Mobile Makers is committed to supporting districts and teachers to incorporate coding concepts into their content so that all students, regardless of whether they have a computer science class or not, are exposed to algorithmic thinking in an intentional manner. We are eager to learn and share with you!

This blog post is sponsored content from MobileMakersEdu. MobileMakersEdu supports schools to bring mobile iOS app development to high school students. By providing training, curriculum, and support to high school teachers of any content area, schools engage students in coding through Computer Science or CTE pathways. As an Apple Professional Learning Provider, they offer workshops and training that enable teachers to bring App Development with Swift into their classrooms. Coding and programming skills are a new literacy and Swift is the best language that is both easy to learn and already being used by leading app developers around the world. Learn more at mobilemakers.co.