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Computer Code Learning Sweeping Schools

December16

photoJust sharing an article that appeared in the Altoona Mirror on December 12 regarding my school district’s participation in the Hour of Code, a world-wide event held last week in an effort to introduce computer programming to students around the globe.

A shout out to Staff Writer Russ O’Reilly for not only writing this timely (and awesome) article but for allowing me to share it on my space!

It goes something like this…

At first glimpse, fourth-grader Ava Miller and her classmates at Bellwood-Antis School District’s Myers Elementary School appear to be playing a computer game, but it’s much more than that.

They are participating in a global learning event, The Hour of Code, a one-hour online tutorial in computer science.

Miller related a statistic that she was taught in preparation for the computer science tutorial: In about five years, there will be 1 million computer programming job vacancies.

“(The tutorial) will help us with that because we know how to use the codes,” she said.

Asked whether she wants to be a computer programmer when she grows up, she said: “Yeah, I want to.”

When did she decide that? “Today,” she said with a wide smile.

The online tutorials are designed by the nonprofit code.org to make programming opportunities more available in schools and increase participation by women and underrepresented minority students.

Bellwood-Antis, Altoona Area and Hollidaysburg Area are among the districts in Pennsylvania that are giving children an hour this week to see if their ravenous consumption of computer apps and games might translate into potential programming career paths.

President Barack Obama kicked off the Hour of Code this week by doing the tutorial with some students. More than 100 partners including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and College Board support the movement.

A photo of Obama is taped to an Altoona Area Junior High School Door with a quote: “Don’t just play on your phone, program it.”

Computer programming jobs are growing at a rate of two times the national average, with the expectation that there will be 1 million more jobs than students by 2020. However, nine out of 10 schools do not teach computer science classes.

Hour of Code tutorials allow students to write code to animate actions of cartoon characters on their computer screen.

“(The tutorial) is a chance for students to see what’s going on behind the scenes of what they are using every day,” said Lori Brown, algebra facilitator for the Altoona Area freshmen academy.

Her students followed the tutorials on iPads.

“It’s making coding concrete to them. If we inspire students, who knows what these kids can create,” she said. “A line of code can change the world.”

Bellwood-Antis instructional technology coach Jamie Forshey said she is surprised the Pennsylvania Department of Education hasn’t identified computer programming as an area for schools to emphasize in curriculum.

“There’s no better way to incorporate literacy, math and science into problem solving than computer programming,” she said.

Computer programmer and Saint Francis University computer science professor Mike Shanafelt said Hollidaysburg Area’s Frankstown Elementary students enjoyed the introduction to programming this week.

Shanafelt is also organizer of the district’s Lego League, a competitive club that uses programming for Lego robotics.

“One of the challenges facing the country is to drive interest in science, technology, engineering and math programs,” he said. “I think programs like (code.org) drive that curriculum change.”

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Hey, edu-tech gurus!

Looking for some technology integration ideas to enhance your classroom lessons? Then be sure to check out my "Tech Tips" for the latest and greatest Web 2.0 tools, applications and web sites that can be incorporated into activities and/or projects. Although some posts may not be applicable to your content area or grade level, be sure to check back often as I will be varying ideas in order to provide resources across the K-12 curriculum.

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