"The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. Check out the tutorials and activities." - https://hourofcode.com
No. It does not literally need to be an hour, you can spend 30 minutes of your class time, 1 hour, or 2 hours if you want! Code.org created activities on hourofcode.com that are easy to complete within an hour but the more hours the merrier!
"The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2024 Computer Science Education Week will be December 9-15, but you can host an Hour of Code event all year-round. Computer Science Education Week is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906)." - https://hourofcode.com
While you can host an hour of code any time of the year, at ASU Prep we kicked off a new tradition in 2023 to celebrate December as an "Hour of Code Month," extending the CS Education Week to the entire month of December. Each year, we aim to involve as many students as possible to try out at least one hour of code to create an awareness of computer science education.
"Computer Science is foundational and impactful for students' futures. A recent study showed that participating in computer science education causes an earnings increase for all students, with even more significant impacts for historically underrepresented groups. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path." - https://hourofcode.com
In addition to the career benefits, computer science education teaches computational thinking, algorithmic thinking, and systemic thinking which empowers problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Students learn to break down complex problems, persevere through the "debugging" process, and develop solutions iteratively.
Any teacher, any student, or any ASU Prep family can host an "Hour of Code" without any background in coding! All ASU Prep students, teachers, and families may also participate as learners. While it can be done any time of the year, we encourage trying to get an hour of code in during December so we can count the entire network hours of code. There are also awards, prizes, and swag!
ASU Prep has many talented coders, programmers, and engineers with varying experiences in coding! Go to the Invite Speakers page on this site to see a few volunteers and reach out to any of them directly.
You can host an hour of code (a) in a physical class, (b) online via Zoom or other platforms, (c) or you might be a student who is participating from any location. ASU Prep Digital offers Zoom coding sessions open to all! Check out the Events page.
While there is an actual website called hourofcode.com developed by code.org that tends to be the simplest way to participate if you do not already have coding activities in your class, ANY hour of code counts towards the overall count. This could be coding with lego or VEX robotics, on Osmo's coding app, Scratch or Scratch Jr, spheros, ozobots, dash and dot robots, micro:bits, and we even count unplugged coding activities such as board games like Robot Turtles.
Yes, that's a great idea and quite relevant after the advent of Generative AI! Code.org has fantastic AI coding activities for all ages, just select the filter on the left hand side under "Topics" as "Artificial Intelligence" and then select the grades you want: https://hourofcode.com/us/learn
Log your hours here: ASU Prep Hour of Code 2024 Hours. We would greatly appreciate that you log each session on this form to help us accurately track hours and if you need any help please contact us!
Prizes and raffles are available for ASU Prep staff only. In January, we will announce two categories of winners: the top 3 teachers who log the most number of hours, and 3 randomly drawn raffle winners! Prize amounts and items are TBD.
Code.org has created a great digital or printable certificate here: https://studio.code.org/congrats