Blackbird

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CertifiedEducation quality
02/2021
Blackbird

Blackbird

Blackbird
Programming
Blackbird Code is a text-based programming platform with a comprehensive curriculum for coding.

Blackbird Code's project-based curriculum teaches JavaScript to beginners in an approachable way. Students are introduced to new concepts and techniques in the lessons until they have the skills to create their own programs from scratch in a sandbox environment. Helpful error messages make learning to program in a text-based language easier than ever. Built-in features like the Docs, Show me, and Step Tasks ensure students are successful in learning to code.

The platform includes a full-featured learning management system (LMS) so teachers can monitor progress and interact with students in the classroom or virtually. Teachers can message students, leave code reviews on student projects, organize "warmup" projects, and make class announcements. The teachers don't need prior coding experience.

Age groups 
Middle school
High School
Tertiary Education
Professional education
Languages 
English
Platform 
Browser-based
Registration 
Required
Offline play 
Internet required
Pictures
Pedagogy
Educational Quality
Learning Goals

The pedagogical analysis covers how the product supports learning of the identified skills. The student’s role is assessed by four contrary pair parameters, which are selected to cover the most essential aspects on the use of the product.

Passive
Active
Blackbird offers excellent pre-curated material for learning to code, both for the teacher and for the students. The guidance is supportive and scaffolded, and students in different skill levels can utilize it as much or as little as they need. The feedback on tasks is timely, interactive and encouraging. The program doesn't punish mistakes but guides towards correct answers with many clever features and uses motivating gamification elements.
Rehearse
Construct
The learning path in Blackbird is divided to small parts, where users the user are clearly told, what they are learning next. The lessons are structured so that the learner will need to remember and repeat the commands they have learned several times until they know how to use them. Before moving to the next level, the learner is tested. However, the key to learning coding happens through creative tasks. There a plenty of opportunities to engage in open-ended problem solving.
Linear
Non-linear/Creative
The Units follows linear, predetermined user progression, and learning progress is directly comparable between users.The teacher has extensive tools for monitoring progress and understanding the students' level of learning. The students can progress through the lessons very independently, so it is easy for the teacher to eg. schedule some milestones or give Unit lessons as homework, and still allow the students to spend as much time with them as is needed. The project library is very extensive.
Individual
Collaborative
Communication and collaboration features in Blackbird Code are executed excellently! The students can co-write code and very easily share projects to others. Chat allows direct communication with the teacher. The sharing options are executed in a way that makes them safe and requires consent from all parties.

The Finnish Educational Quality Certificate

Our Quality Evaluation Method is an academically sound approach to evaluating a product’s pedagogical design from the viewpoint of educational psychology.

The method has been developed with university researchers and all evaluators are carefully selected Finnish teachers with a master's degree in education.

More about the evaluation