Hour of Code

by guest blogger, Amy Stasak, middle school instructional technology coach at Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, @abstasak

What is the Hour of Code?

The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to 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.

Geisler Middle School Student Coding Experience

This year I had the opportunity to bring a local company, AccelerateKid, to Geisler Middle School for a one-day Hour of Code event. 70+ students voluntarily signed up to attend an hour session in the Media Center, led by the owner and several of his instructors. They began by introducing the students to coding and where/why they might use it in their lives. Then, they connected the kids to a “broken” version of a Star Wars Jedi game on Scratch, a site where users program their own interactive stories, animations, and games. The AccelerateKid instructors walked participants through adding/editing/adjusting various coding steps, to essentially “fix” the game. They discussed important programming vocabulary and the various components to be used in the Scratch website. They posed challenges that students had to figure out how to complete successfully.

My Reflections

Several details struck me this morning as I observed the two sessions unfold. First, I was amazed by the diverse group of students that attended. Not only did this attract the stereotypical “computer geeks,” but we had almost half girls, over a quarter African Americans, quite a few English Language Learners and several Special Ed students. An interest in computer science is obviously growing to all populations. It was super cool to see the excitement on so many different faces. Second, it was refreshing to see young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Their brains were spinning and when they solved each challenge, the light bulb smiles spread throughout the room. Participants were all so willing to assist one another, applaud the successes, and even jokingly commiserate when their game spit out the “Game Over” sound bite. When asked at the end of each session who learned something new and who enjoyed themselves, the room erupted in “me, me me!” Overall, I would say this was a huge success and I am thrilled to have been a part of offering this experience to my students.