Free Hour of Code at All Apple Stores Dec. 5 Through 11

hour

Kids enjoying a Free Hour of Code workshop. Photo courtesy of Business Wire.

Apple is offering free Hour of Code workshops at all of its 487 retail stores worldwide from Dec. 5-11, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week. Registration opened today.

The Hour of Code workshops teach the basics of computer science with Code.org’s programming tutorials. Apple and Code.org share the goal of giving every student the opportunity to learn computer science, according to a news release.

“Hour of Code embodies our vision for Apple stores as a place for the community to gather, learn and be entertained,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail, in a statement.

This year, Hour of Code programs at many Apple locations will include an introduction to Swift Playgrounds, the free new app for iPad that intends to bring coding to life. The interactive interface of Swift Playgrounds encourages beginners to explore working with Swift, the easy-to-learn programming language from Apple, used by professional developers to create real-world apps.

“Coding is just like any language — the earlier you’re exposed, the more successful you’ll be,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, in a statement. “Swift Playgrounds brings real coding concepts to life and empowers the next generation with the skills they need to express their creativity.”

A new Hour of Code challenge in Swift Playgrounds makes it easy for anyone to set up their own one-hour coding event, and for those continuing to build their coding skills on iPad, Swift Playgrounds adds a new “Learn to Code 3” set of lessons and a companion teacher guide.

In addition to in-store workshops, Apple has developed a series of tools to extend Hour of Code into schools and community centers, including a free facilitator guide offering lesson ideas, group activities and more. Apple Teacher, a free, professional, self-paced learning program supporting and celebrating teachers in the United States, has added resources, badging and recognition for learning and teaching code with Swift Playgrounds on iPad.

Staying true to its $100 million commitment and ongoing partnership to provide 114 underserved schools with technology, services and support, Apple will provide materials and resources to assist ConnectED schools around the country to host their own Hour of Code workshops, according to the news release.

For more information about the Hour of Code, visit Apple’s website.

About the Author

Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

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