Hour of Code This Week Set To Engage Students in Computer Science
More than 15 million people all over the world are
expected to
participate in an Hour of
Code this week, December 8-14, as part of Computer
Science
Education Week. An initiative of Code.org, a number of companies,
nonprofits, schools and other entities in more than 100 countries will
put on
76,000 events this week, all intended to get students interested in
computer
science.
The goal is for students to spend at
least one hour on
computer science activities in hopes of demystifying computer code and
helping
them learn that they have control over not only their electronic
devices, but
the content that they use on it.
Among the many companies involved is Tynker, a computing
platform that has prepared a number of activities for students of all
ages and
experience levels.
Younger students can focus on solving some simple
coding
puzzles created by the company that will allow them to create
interactive
holiday cards, cartoons, simple games and stories. Older students can
work on
coding projects that will help them create drawing tools, math, art and
more
complicated games.
"By learning problem-solving and critical thinking
skills at
an early age, kids will be prepared to develop solutions that will
change the
world they live in," said Tynker CEO Krisha Vedati.
Code.org's goal is to teach anyone of any age the basics of writing a computer program in
just one hour by having them code a game. There are many free tutorials
in
several coding languages, and they're compatible with smartphones,
tablets and
computers. The one-hour tutorials are available in more than 30
languages.
More than 20,000 teachers in the United States used Hour of
Code within a few months of this event last year. Code.org estimates
there will
be more than 1 million new computer science jobs by 2020. However, fewer
than
2.4 percent of students now graduate from college with degrees in the
field.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.