So, as the education system of Uganda went into silence in March, Cleopatra Kanyunyuzi and Cassius Musasira thought of a creative way to make children equipped with skills. That led to the birth of Club Tangaza, an online platform that conducts coding classes via Zoom.
It employs coding instructors from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, who teach affiliate coding programmes to learners. At the moment, Kanyunyuzi says Club Tangaza has enrolled at least 100 learners but what is crucial is that there is no physical interaction between teachers and learners.
However, this comes at a subscription fee of between Shs 100,000 and Shs 180,000 per month depending on level of entry.
The two coding experts started Club Tangaza in December, 2019 but it took until June 15, 2020 to start the first lessons.
According to Kanyunyuzi, Club Tangaza is helping people in acquiring skills that have been a reserve for computer science and software engineering university students at an early age. The instructors conduct classes from their physical addresses while the learners study from the comfort of their homes.
“Learners attend online classes with a live instructor who interacts with them in real-time. The curriculum is fun-based and easy to follow for children and beginners; most importantly, it’s totally hands-on,” she says.
“Unlike online self-taught courses, this approach provides set schedules, encourages accountability and responsibility, and when learners get stuck, there is someone on the other end to help. Learners do not need to have any coding experience.”
Classified studying
With Tangaza, there are three different sets of learners. According to Musasira, children aged four to six years get to learn coding fundamentals thraough block based games that are fun and easy to follow. Block-based coding is the best way to kick start children’s interest in programming while preparing them for text-based coding.
Meanwhile, children aged 7 to 12 learn text based coding. The lessons are gamified and also easy to follow. They do not require advanced coding. Children get to write code in a programming language called CoffeScript. Musasira adds that they run a development club for older learners from 13 years and above.
“This is ideal for teens and beginners. Coding is no longer a reserve for Computer Science or Software Engineering students. Anyone can learn how to code! Learners are started off on a web development course that includes programming languages, HTML, CSS and JavaScript,” he says.
“Web development is a great place to start for someone ready to have an exciting career in coding. Other Languages taught include Python, Java, C, C++, C#, PHP, SQL and the list keeps on growing.”
Kanyunyuzi emphasizes that Club Tangaza follows a learner-centric approach.
“How Long a particular course is dependent on the learning curve of the students. If a topic is easily understood by the majority then, the progression should be steady. The few learners that lag behind are accorded extra attention. If a topic or course is giving majority of the learners trouble, then it is accorded more time,” she says.
Grading
At the end of each course, Learners receive a certificate of completion recognizing the skills they have learnt and the level of mastery they have achieved.
According to Kanyunyuzi, Club Tangaza is continuously investing in paid licenses for learners to access internationally-accredited coding platforms for standardization. At the moment, the team at Club Tangaza grades following the K-12 Curriculum.
“The level of coding we are teaching and the education resources we use are similar if not the same as what most coding schools around the globe, in American, Europe, Asia are using,” she says.
“One specific learner has started teaching his siblings coding at home, some are already building web pages, by the end of the web development course, they will be in position to build fully functional websites and web applications both in the front-end and back-end. That is to say they will be certified full-stack web developers.”
Looking ahead
Kanyunyuzi says Club Tangaza plans to partner Mentors Without Borders, a group of professionals who teach young underprivileged people from all over the world how to enjoy the process of setting goals and taking steps towards these goals in their chosen fields.
“We need them to offer internship/volunteering placements to teach underprivileged children the coding skills they have learnt,” she says.
“Club Tangaza, will have a bigger footprint in the rest of Africa and the world and will be the hub of young, passionate and innovative Software Developers and Engineers that have an edge in their respective Careers. It will be known as one of the best online coding platforms in Africa and at large that takes on Code Zeroes and nurtures them into Code Heroes.”
Required skill
Meanwhile, as the ministry of Education and Sports considers popularizing the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum, some schools and teachers are introducing coding to their students as a necessary skill to acquire in the technology field.
Dr Fredrick E. Kitoogo, the principal of Uganda Institute of Information and Communcations Technology, says coding is an essential skill and praises Club Tangaza for spearheading the initiative at the grassroots level.
“Coding Skills cut across all career fields. No matter a child’s future ambitions, learning how to code will give them an edge and keep them ahead in whatever they do, whether at school or work,” he says.
“Coding is said to build cognitive abilities, especially among children. Because of the mentally engaging nature of coding, new connections are made in different parts of the brain. When these connections are exercised regularly, the brain’s cognitive functions are heightened. This, in turn, improves logical thinking and creativity. So, it is a good initiative that needs support to spread in all education institutions, if possible.”
For now, Club Tangaza still has some way to go before having a footprint on society but there is no doubt it is helping many learners improve skills while coping with the absence of formal schooling.
