What is Hour of Code?
Hour of code is a worldwide movement that encourages all students to code. It takes place during the Computer Science Education Week. Hour of Code is made for kids and adults alike. Plus, it’s available in over 30 languages, so everyone can participate. You don’t even need previous experience in coding, all you have to do is jump into the website, and start coding at your own pace and skill level. This is great news for students because a number of jobs that require computer science skills are on the rise. The number of students pursuing the field is not as high as the number of jobs available; therefore, there are much more computer science jobs that need to be filled.
How to Get Started
1. Planning: Hour of Code doesn’t have to just be during the Computer Science Education Week. All you have to do is plan where you want to host the hour of code either online or offline. If you don’t have a device that’s alright because coding can be done “unplugged” which means that you can use paper or other items to code. Coding doesn’t even have to be done inside. If you choose to code online, that’s great too. The coding lessons are compatible with phones, tablets, laptops, and PCs.
2. Choosing: The next step is choosing a tutorial. Just go to https://code.org/learn then pick out a lesson. There are three types of coding offered: Javascript, Blocks, and other. Blocks are the easiest and the best way to ease into coding. Javascript involves typing in the code, as opposed to stacking blocks on top of each other like in the block option. You can filter by grade, skill level, duration, and even by the type of technology in the classroom. Hour of Code integrates all different subject areas into coding such as art and history. The website has over 20 tutorials that include iconic characters from Frozen, Star Wars, and Ice Age.
3. The final step is to start coding!
For more information visit: https://hourofcode.com/us