Another Computer Science Education Week has come and gone, with dozens of Hawaii public schools participating in an Hour of Code for their students. The goal of the annual global event is to show students of all ages that the first step in computer coding is quite easy — and fun! That first step will ideally inspire students to continue learning computer science, a field which is projected to have far more jobs than applicants over the next several years.
Congratulations to all the students who wrote code for the first time (including President Obama!... see what he wrote here), and the teachers and tech coordinators who wrangled the time and resources to make it happen.
Iao Intermediate teacher Steve Qunell with students from Iao Intermediate and a few "code celebrities" with the school's check for $10,000.
Highlights: Hawaii's Hour of Code & Computer Science Education Week
- Hale Kula Elementary won the Faces of Computing Video Contest (Elementary Division) from the Computer Science Teachers Association. (See video, above.) The goal of the contest is to showcase many different kinds of students participating in a variety of computing activities. CSTA said this years' entrees were quite strong, with girls and boys from many different walks of life and backgrounds participating in computing.
- Check out Hale Kula's Google Hangout where they shared what kids in different classes did throughout the week.
- Iao Intermediate celebrated their big win of $10,000 from Code.org for pledging to do an Hour of Code for every student with a special assembly. Iao Data Specialist Steve Qunell, who is a STEMWorks teacher, put together a schoolwide activities plan for CSED Week that included training for teachers, and coding opportunities for the public during two Parent/Community Nights at the school.
- Students are spending time this week on the computer — but they're not playing games, they're learning to write them. Great report from Hawaii Public Radio, which visited Momilani Elementary during CSED Week. You can hear the students work through the challenges they faced getting characters on the screen to respond to their commands. Photo, above right: The Grade 3 class at Momilani El tackles a coding exercise.
Beyond the Hour of Code
Now that Computer Science Education Week is over, don't stop there! View these resources from csedweek.org to keep the effort going.
