Today I was able to attend the 2024 CSTA New England conference. There were 14 exhibits at the conference and I spent some time with several of them. One of the images below shows the list of conference sponsors. It was great to see so much support for CS education.
GradeThan was one of the firsts booths I visited. They have an online development environment that incorporates Visual Studio Code. I was impressed with the demo I saw. It's worth a look if you are looking for an online IDE. Especially if you are limited to Chrome books. It's not free BTW.
imagi was another interesting exhibit. Also not free but they have these cute imagi charms (pictured below) that I think a lot of younger students will like. They have curriculum of course.
Lego Education was there showing their curriculum and device options. I have to say that LEGO Education seems to be very interested in supporting CS education. And selling product as well of course but they show up!
Pickcode is another online IDE based product. PickCode was originally developed by a CS teacher. There is a limited free version for individuals but for full teacher/class support there is a cost. Also web based BTW.
Sphero was there with two booths. They have some very cool robots. One or two I have thought about buying for my own use or for teaching my grandson.
KinderLabs was there showing of Kibo which is screen-free coding for PK through grade 5. Programming is done with actual physical blocks.
The Lifelong Kindergarten from MIT was also there with a display. They were highlighting octostudio Something for FREE! It is a coding app that runs on phones. It lets one
“Create interactive animations and games on your phone. Shake, jump, and tilt to interact with your projects. Share with family and friends.”
I didn't get a picture but Kira Learning was there showing their “AI-powered” teaching solutions.
Well, that’s a snapshot of what I saw. I hope it gives you some things to look into. And maybe an incentive to attend next year’s conference. Rhode Island next year.
