This is really cool!

  In observance of National Computer Science Week December 8-14, many K-12 students in the Newark Central School District participated in one-hour, age-appropriate “Hour of Code” exercises using various types of computer technology.

The intent was to better acquaint them with the technology and the vast field of computer science in which the number of jobs are rising three times faster than the number of computer science graduates.      At this rate, it is estimated that by 2020, there will be one million computer science-related jobs unfilled. Learn more here: hourofcode.org/us      During the Hour of Code sessions in the NCSD, students, working on Ipads, smart boards and PCs participated in various activities including, for example, elementary students creating an interactive card or being taught basic computer science principles by solving a series of puzzles. At Lincoln School, Principal Jeff Hamelinck reports students enjoyed working with computer code and creating their own “Flappy Bird” game on iPads to work with computer code as they created their own game. 

“They used an inquisitive approach using trial and error to figure out how to make the program do what they wanted,” he said.   Students worked in pairs and often you could hear them share their findings or “tricks,”as they called them, with other pairs.  At the end of his session one student said, referencing to the code he tried, that ‘Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t . . . I liked it better when it worked.’ “

Hamelinck noted after their child had participated in the “Hour of Code” at the school, some parents mentioned their child is working on the code at home.

“Teachers have said that students really enjoyed the experience,” he said.  At Perkins School, Principal Sue Achille noted students there also experimented with the same program as Lincoln School students.

Some worked on Ipads and others, working in groups with their teachers, on smart boards.

“I had the opportunity to see the students working and they were learning together while having fun,“ she said. “They seemed to be excited to have the opportunity to design their own computer game, but found out how challenging it really is.  “All in all the teachers said the “Hour of Code” activity was engaging and that the kids loved building a video game and especially the sound effects,” she said. “I think it was a valuable experience for our students, even though it was difficult at times. They need to have experiences that sometimes combine challenge with fun and know that not everything worth learning is going to be easy.

Achille reported Cheryl Robbins, a first grade teacher, said her students “absolutely LOVED Hour of Code.”

“We did it as a whole group and the students were engaged the entire time!’” Robbins said. “Some of the kids were asking if they could become computer programmers and loved knowing that it could be a job one day! I loved to hear them talking about college and wanting to make money.”    Kindergarten teacher Beth James said after the “Hour of Code” activity her students “understood that video games and web sites don’t just magically appear and that people have to create them.” “We talked about how people go to college to learn how to do this as a career just like I went to school to learn how to teach,” James said “It was a nice lesson and overall I think they enjoyed it.”  Michele Burke, teacher on special assignment doing her administrative internship at Kelley School this year, noted that Kelley School students also enjoyed working with the “Hour of Code” activities.  “They used an angry bird tutorial in order to problem solve what steps they would have to accomplish to get the angry bird to eat the pig,” she said. “Along the way, they watched videos from Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg that explained how to write the code. Our kids were able to participate during their keyboarding class and thoroughly enjoyed it. Many asked when we can do it again. We will definitely look into participating again.”