Hour of Code at Highland Elementary
December 8, 2017
Students in grades three through five at Highland Elementary are practicing taking their computer skills to a new level. During the first week in December, students all over the world participate in a movement called Hour of Code. Hour of Code is a global movement promoted by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org. It reaches tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming. At Highland students are using the popular game Minecraft in order to complete puzzles. This opportunity to code provides students with a chance to learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. These are skills future employers will be looking for in our youth today.
Learning coding language skills with the help of tools like Blockly, as these Highland Elementary students are using, are a step in the right direction for a nation that hopes to thrive in the 21st Century. How do these students feel about this? One student said, “It feels like we are playing a game, but it was challenging.”
