<p>Irene Pepit is our school lead educator for Zawadi Yetu in Mogotio, Kenya.</p>

School Lead Educator

<h2>Learning To Code</h2><p>Coding is one of our specialties at Techlit Africa, lead by Evans. To teach coding, we use MIT Scratch, a block based coding program. But scratch can be overwhelming for lower grades.</p><h2>Struggling With Block Coding</h2><p>Eugene, a Grade 3 boy at Zawadi really struggled on his first day of Scratch. The class had students dragging code blocks, changing backgrounds <em>(called backdrops)</em>, and changing characters <em>(called sprites).</em></p><p>Eugene could not drag the code blocks at all. Even when Evans showed him how dragging works, he would just stare at the screen.This was on the first day.</p><h2>Scratch Junior To The Resuce</h2><p>On the next coding class, Evans introduced Scratch Junior, an easy version of Scratch made for the young kids. In Scratch Junior, students don't have to drag and drop. Eugene really enjoyed scratch junior.</p><p>He was happy seeing different coloured sprites, now that he could easily add and remove sprites. Scratch Junior worked so well for Eugene that he said he wanted to make a busy environment full of moving vehicles, bicycles and airplanes. He was so to proud of his work that he stood happily and showed the whole class.</p>

Grade 3 Boy at Zawadi Struggled With MIT Scratch, But Learned To Code With Scratch Junior | He Shares Work With Classmates

<p>Eugene, a Grade 3 boy at Zawadi, really struggled on his first day of Coding lessons. Luckily, our coding specialist Evanso introduced Scratch Junior and Eugene became so very productive. He was so excited that he shared his work with the whole class. </p>

Eugene Learns To Code With Scratch Junior

Zawadi Yetu

<p>Nelly Cheboi is a celebrated social entrepreneur, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/nelly-cheboi/?sh=179de9a85764" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forbes 30 under 30</a> honoree, and<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/14/world/education-technology-recycling-kenya-poverty-cnnheroes/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> CNN Hero</a>. After growing up in rural Kenya and lifting her family out of poverty, she focused on her community.</p>

CEO | CNN Hero | Forbes Under 30

<p>Every Thursday, we all gather around on Zoom to share stories from the classroom. Every educator writes a story to share from their week about student achievement.</p>

Classroom Stories | TechLit Africa

Stories From The Classroom

Scratch Jr.

Software Engineering

Eugene Learns To Code

<p>Tyler Cinnamon is a American programmer and entrepreneur. He started TechLit Africa with Nelly Cheboi in 2018 to disrupt poverty with used IT devices.</p>

Founder & COO

<p>Scratch Jr. is a block coding application for even younger kids.</p>

Scratch Jr. - Block Coding - For Primary Schools

Posts About Program: Scratch Jr.

Eugene Learns To Code