An Hour of Code

An Hour of Code

In the spirit of Computer Science Education Week (December 9 - December 15, 2013), code.org has sponsored a program called an Hour of Code. This is an opportunity for people with no programming background to learn the basic idea behind coding. This is even great for people who do have experience programming. I personally have taken a couple classes that included programming and I still found this activity challenging my skills. The activities all seem like a game, and then you realize that you're actually writing lines of code, and you see that it's actually fairly simple to pick up. Along the way you earn trophies for executing different steps in your codes. You can earn up to 27 trophies, and when that is complete, you earn a prize. I chose an iTunes gift card worth $10, but they also offer things like Skype credits, Dropbox space and other great prizes.

This week was put on by code.org, but they had many sponsors including celebrities, some well known companies and several other people and corporations. Some of the well known donors include Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).

After participating in this program, I think that it is a great way to open people up to the world of programming. I believe that this program should definitely be advertised more, so that students who may not take computer classes can hear about it and have the opportunity to experience coding. I hope code.org sponsors this week again in years to come, and it would be great to see it get more popular throughout the entire world.

by Jessica Razza-Lindsey '14