Hour of Code: Raising student awareness of computer science
MFL MarMac seniors JP Murphy (left) and Shane Hexom participate in Hour of Code. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Tyler Trappe (center), dressed in an Angry Birds costume, helps Emme Schroeder and Blake Lamborn during Hour of Code.
By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor
Last week, MFL MarMac students in grades K-12 joined millions of other students around the world to participate in a technology learning event called Hour of Code.
Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science that takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. Organized by the non-profit organization Code.org, which works to expand student access to computer science, it began as a way to demystify coding and show students that anyone can learn the basics.
“It’s also meant to build awareness for computer science, because so many schools don’t teach it,” explained MFL MarMac’s teacher librarian, Melissa Haberichter, who helped organize the district’s Hour of Code event.
2016 marks MFL MarMac’s first time participating in Hour of Code, said Haberichter, who shared that her interest in the event was sparked when she attended a coding class last fall. Last spring, eight other district staff members—Becky Holt, Pam Havlicek, David Corlett, Ryan Martindale, Scott Boylen, Eva Swatek, Natalie Heiring and Emily Welper—attended the same class. Together, they brought Hour of Code to every student in the district.
High school students all took part in the event during their study halls last Wednesday, while students at the McGregor Center did so during their Thursday study halls. Elementary students participated at different times throughout the week.
During the Hour of Code, students wrote computer code (the directions that tell a computer what to do) through fun, interactive activities and games suitable for a variety of age levels.
Angry Birds, Minecraft, Star Wars and the Disney movies Frozen and Moana were featured in some of the activities, helping students learn through familiar pop culture references. For example, at the elementary level, students were challenged to use the Angry Birds activity to write code that would get the angry bird to the pig.
“Hour of Code uses popular themes to get [students] hooked,” Haberichter said. “Sure, some will think it’s boring, but others will go ‘whoa.’ It’s an avenue for some kids with an interest in gaming and how things work.”
Elementary principal Kathy Koether said she also found Hour of Code beneficial for that reason: “A lot of kids have different skills in different areas. This really brings out the strengths in kids. It’s good.”
Haberichter said coding helps advance students’ problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, while also teaching perseverance.
These skills will help students move forward in a 21st Century world with ever-increasing technology.
“Computers are not going away,” she said. “Now, it’s not just about using a computer; it’s about making a computer work for you.”
Coding, she added, “is expected to be in every industry,” whether it’s design, retail, agriculture, health care or engineering. “It’s in everything students will want to do.”
