Students all over the world, including New Hampshire, are participating in celebration of Computer Science Education Week.
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Goodknight and Costello are hoping the Day of Code sparks interest and some students are encouraged to keep learning about Computer Science in high school and beyond. Through the Code.org website, students practiced basic coding through Minecraft, Star Wars or Frozen-themed games meant to be fun and challenging.
She excited about the hour of code, “except for the part where you have one thing to do and you can’t get it done”, Allison said. Only four high schools in the district offer Advanced Placement (AP) computer science, and all except one are magnet schools serving a more select group of students.
Students at Flemington Primary School in Melbourne’s inner west went one step further – doing an hour of code every day this week.
Tuttle is one of two town schools to participate in Hour of Code. Schools in the surrounding area include: Fremont Middle School, Genoa Elementary, Oak Harbor Middle School and Port Clinton Middle School. Joan Phegley chose to start teaching Hour of Code to her students three years ago. “If we’re headed into a world run by technology, then we need to know it”, Espinosa said.
Computer science teacher Carol Carmichael told me there are about 50 students in the club and about 200 students are taking computer science courses. “I can see why these kids love it”. “Just because we might not be familiar with something, like coding, we wouldn’t want to withhold the opportunity for our students to try it. It’s an awesome experience to learn and grow right along with your students”. Her students had already been using Chromebooks and a suite of Google for Education apps to enhance and supplement learning.
“I’d like to see if Obama can do it as fast as I can”, Otter said while walking up to accept his certificate for completing the challenge.
The excitement for coding has caught on to the young students. “I feel like what he did with them today made them realize not only that there’s different options for them to move forward with a computer science degree, but also that computer science isn’t just about computers, it’s not just about the screen, the device, the top product, but it’s about solving problems”.
“I learned so much from it”, Julia said.
Despite my shortcomings as a game designer, I learned a lot about computer coding and got to meet some really smart kids who are on the path to success.
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The fact that students in Philadelphia schools are missing out on computer science is also particularly troubling from an equity standpoint. Ensuring that students have access to computer science – whether online or in person – is as critical as providing other basic skills and services. For the older students, they discovered technology doesn’t always work out the way they want.
