Every class, sprint, and belt we teach ends with a success for the student. They may have written some
code, designed a web page or built a self-guiding robot. In our view, this feeling of achievement is far more important than memorizing language syntax or HTML tags. In a world where you can look up anything with a click, the key skill is knowing what to apply and when.

Children are constantly bombarded with content. It’s easy to spend hours clicking links or playing immersive games. But that time is a lost opportunity: an opportunity to develop new interests, learn new skills, and express yourself by creating something new.
Every iCode sprint starts with a challenge: students will create something. And as they work through the projects, they discover that you don’t have to be an artist or an athlete to be able to express your gifts and vision.

No field of human endeavor changes as quickly as software development. Languages, frameworks, hardware: if you spent your time chasing the latest-and-greatest, you’d never get anything else done. Languages that are hot today may not have existed five years ago and may be sliding into oblivion two years from now.

We teach students a variety of different languages: Scratch, Alice, JavaScript, PHP, Java, and so on. But our objective is not to make them language experts. Instead, we emphasize that these things are just tools you use to get something done. What’s important is not the brand of tool but knowing how to use it. That’s why we teach the fundamentals: how things work, why things are done a certain way – techniques that are universal. Once mastered, students can apply them to whatever technology becomes fashionable in the future.

Software is complex and takes teamwork to build. We teach students how to work in teams. We guide them as they work on joint projects, and mentor them on the tools and attitudes that make teams fun to work in. We model respect, communication, and the Golden Rule in every class.

In later belts we teach industry-standard practices for organizing and running teams, and students experience being a key part of an even greater whole.

We don’t grade students—there are no tests. Instead our tech leads, lab mentors, keep an eye on their students and assist with problems. We offer students additional lab time and assistance if needed.

Each belt level ends with a month-long project. Successfully completing this means a student has absorbed the material for that belt and can move on. The tech lead is there to guide them through this process and providing a safety net for when things go wrong. Just as in the real world, the important thing is what a student can do, and not what they know on a test.