The Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative recently introduced students in grades K-8 to coding activities through a partnership with Code.org, Executive Director Catherine Cooper announced.

There are four SMEC programs located in Dartmouth, including one at Quinn Elementary and another at the high school. The two other programs are in standalone buildings. The SMEC administrative offices are also in Dartmouth.

Code.org is an education innovation nonprofit that’s dedicated to the vision that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science and artificial intelligence.

SMEC students have been participating in several hands-on activities to learn about and apply concepts in computer science and coding.

Students have explored coding through interactive activities, games and puzzles.

These activities help students develop foundational coding skills through problem-solving, according to SMEC.

Students follow prompts, such as guiding a character to a destination while avoiding obstacles or collecting coins.

“Coding is important because it engages students in learning, communication and problem-solving skills,” said teacher Melissa Scannell. “It also sparks creativity.”

As students progress into later grades, they build on the basic concepts and work on more advanced projects, including designing their own game, creating digital art or composing music through coding.

The curriculum is focused on developing coding concepts through exploration, discovery and creativity, according to SMEC.

Students work in cooperative groups throughout the weekly activities, using their creative and problem-solving skills to develop solutions, SMEC said. They have also learned to break down complex problems into pieces, solving each piece one at a time and then putting the solved pieces together to form a complete solution.

“This new program will be a crucial part of our students’ education going forward,” Cooper said.