My favorite week in December is Hour of Code week. Hour of Code is really supposed to be an hour of coding. However, in the library I extend it to an entire week, so all of my classes can experience coding.
Hour of Code is a week-long introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. Check out the tutorials and activities.
This grassroots campaign is supported by over 400 partners and 200,000 educators worldwide, including our school! We are one of those teeny dots on the world map. All of our K-5 classes participated this year. In primary we focused on the Moana tutorial.
According to the website, since 2014, The Walt Disney Company has worked with Code.org to build Hour of Code tutorials featuring Disney characters that inspire kids of all ages to try coding. “The new Disney Hour of Code tutorial uses a visual programming language using blocks where students simply drag and drop visual blocks to write code.
Visual programming is a fun and easily understood way to teach the logic of coding. Exposure to visual programming lays the foundation for text-based programming, a more complex activity. The tutorial is targeted for kids ages 8+ and those trying coding for the first time.
We have a significant number of students whose first language is not English. One of the significant strength of the Hour of Code tutorials is that they are available in 23 different languages. On Friday afternoon, we had students coding in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. Seeing the smiles on their faces when they could read their own language was priceless.
All week long I repeatedly heard students cheering “I did it!” as they successfully figured out a command sequence. Remember, it’s not limited to school. Try coding at home too! Visit the Hour of Code website and try any of the tutorials at home.
The intermediate classes tried something completely different. I know the majority of these students have some coding experience, so I took their computer science exposure to a different level. With the Windows 10 app, Lifeliqe, we entered the world of virtual reality! Lifeliqe has over 1,000 3D interactive models of K-12 aligned with common core curriculum. Lifeliqe makes deep-learning fun!
In January, we will be combining the Lifeliqe models with database research to create an interactive, research project! I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Lifeliqe this year and experiment with how elementary aged students can benefit from learning with virtual reality 3D models.
During Hour of Code week it was fun to see students throughout the school participating. In music the students learned that a musical score, is much like computer coding.
The kindies learned that you don’t have to have a computer to learn coding basics. They did some unplugged learning with a parent volunteer!
Some FAQs about computer science:
Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path. See more stats here.
Launched in 2013, Code.org® is a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Code.org’s vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. Code.org believes computer science should be part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such as biology, chemistry or algebra.
*All background facts are from the Hour of Code website.
In less than two weeks time I will be headed to South Africa for a month to volunteer teach in Cape Town and then visit schools we support in our reading partnership project. I will be posting updates on my Books to Africa website http://bookstoafrica.weebly.com. Look on the blog page for photos and news of what’s happening while I’m there. I am sincerely grateful to my family, friends and school supporters whose generosity with my GoFundMe campaign made this dream come true! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
The power of a QR code has become crystal clear in the past few weeks. I’ve been working closely with a teacher who works with significantly learning disabled students. Each student has highly specialized individual education plans. The demands on this teacher to ensure that her students have different activities which support their IEPs every single day is overwhelming at times.
How do you celebrate the fact that 35 Books to Africa club members came together, created posters, screamed loudly, and inspired students from kindergarten to grade to dig deep into their coin jars and piggy banks and donate to their project?
Iain and Ms. Grigg had fun trying to find the special places in the book that are customized!
