It almost looked like spring as blue shirts bloomed across the KVEC region December 4-10th for the Hour of Code. Teachers who signed up their class to participate were awarded a blue KVEC Hour of Code shirt to wear as they did coding activities with their students. The region ended up with 180 teachers participating, which meant that at least 2,000 students enjoyed at least an hour of coding activities during the week.
Doing an hour of coding might not sound like much, but it gives students from pre-school to high school an opportunity to learn how the devices that we use every day are created and helps them begin to build the understanding that they can control and develop how those devices work rather than simply reacting to them. Coding also teaches students important skills such as creative and computational thinking, collaboration, and promotes a growth mindset. Teachers are always amazed at how students figure out the coding puzzles and activities and at how they assist one another. Students are highly engaged in the activities and enjoy the challenge and the fun of creating something and then seeing it play out on the screen.
Students and teachers don’t have to stop at the hour! There are many free opportunities for learning to code available year-round. Students can participate on their own or teachers can work with their classes. Code.org is a great place to start, but there are many others as well. Anytime students are looking for something to do, coding is a great choice. They will be learning and have fun at the same time. That’s a combination that’s hard to beat!
