In the year 2020, there will be over 1.4 million computer jobs in the US with only 400,000 computer students to fill those jobs. How can we help prepare our students for these jobs while also enhancing those valuable skills of critical thinking and problem solving? Introducing the Hour of Code in your classroom is one way to better prepare your students for the constantly changing future.
The Hour of Code is a one hour introduction to computer science that was launched by Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to expanding computer science access worldwide. Yearly, the Hour of Code reaches tens of millions of students, ages 4-104, in over 40 languages. Anyone can host an Hour of Code event from public schools to The White House. This year, host Hour of Code in your classroom during the National Computer Science Week, December 7-13.
There are no rules with the Hour of Code! You can code for more than an hour with your students. You can use an app, a code.org tutorial, or a paperless activity. You can code before or after National Computer Science Week. Do what works best for you and your students!
Learn about what you can do for Hour of Code with your students from Caroline Doughty, Technology Integration Specialist at William Ramsay Elementary School. Tune in on Thursday, November 12th from 4-5pm EST (click here to find out when in your time zone). Link will be available 30 minutes before the presentation. We are looking forward to it!
I cannot believe how much my kids enjoy the coding site. I played it for myself, just to see what the hype was and it did prove to be somewhat challenging. When I think about the fact that they are learning reading strategies like cause/effect and sequencing, I let them do it a couple of times a week.
I agree that coding is very important. I teach at the high school level and am always puzzled by the lack of insight teenagers have about their life choices. Teaching kids to code at an early age helps kids to understand cause and effect which could lead to better life choices rather than continuing to make bad decisions.
My students also love coding! We did two activities this year using ScratchJr. The first was making a how-to booklet that told the reader the steps to make the character do a particular movement, such as a cartwheel. The second was with my beginner ELs. We started offline (inspired by activities on code.org) and learned directions. Then, we set up ‘obstacles’ on a paper and partners gave each other directions to get from a starting point to an ending point. The students had to record their obstacles and route. Then, they switched to the ScratchJr. app and had to figure out how to accomplish certain actions and then record them. They have been asking to do ‘Kitty Kat” (the app’s logo is an orange cat) ever since.