Key points:
As each year passes, it becomes clearer that the skills students develop through STEM activities, such as coding, can contribute to their career success, even if they do not enter a STEM field.
Every year, Computer Education Week (this year, December 9-15) aims to inspire K-12 students and teachers to learn about computing, promote equity and access to computing education, and raise awareness in the field.
As part of Computer Science Education Week, the hour of code serves as a perfect opportunity to introduce students and educators to coding through hour-long activities. The event, which can be held any time during Computer Science Education Week, aims to “demystify coding and show that anyone can learn the basics, inspiring future interest in computer science,” according to HourOfCode.com.
Here are 5 Hour of Code resources to try (and here There is a complete list for all grades and abilities):
1. Music Lab: Jam Session (amazon): Make music and learn to code with Music Lab: Jam Session! In this one-hour self-guided activity, students remix tracks from artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, and Shakira while mastering coding basics such as sequencing, functions, and exploring ai-powered beat creation. This hands-on interactive experience sparks creativity and boosts confidence, leaving students proud of their personalized track and the coding skills they've acquired.
2. Hello World (Code.org): Learn the basics of computer science by programming in Sprite Lab. You will create and animate sprites and create your own interactive scenes.
3. The show must go on (Minecraft Education): Welcome to The Show Must Go On, where your creativity and coding skills take center stage! The big show is in chaos: the Agent has disappeared! Use problem solving and computational thinking to code fun challenges, unlock surprises, and bring the program to life. Compose a song, choreograph a dance, create a costume, and save the show, all while learning key block coding or Python skills.
4. Code Farm: plant a garden (CoderZ) – Program a robot to plant a garden and learn how robots help farmers in the real world.
5. Spreading kindness with Scratch and Gitanjali Rao (Scratch Foundation): Remix our initial project to develop and share a message of kindness, inspired by Gitanjali's innovative approach to anti-bullying efforts for youth around the world.
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