What is the Hour of Code?

The Hour of Code was started by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org 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.

When is the Hour of Code?

The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2019 Computer Science Education Week will be December 9-15. 

— Quick summary of what it is and why your class should be involved

— Tips for getting started

— Code.org activities for your classroom

— Khan Academy HOC activities

— NASA Jet Propulsion Labs activities

— International Society for Technology Education HOC and extended resources

You could use the sites below for students who work well on their own or have the entire class try them out. 

— How the Grinch Stole Christmas

— Star Wars

— Frozen

— Hacky Grace

— Learn to draw using code (Khan Academy)

— Code Monkey Coding Challenges

— Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Ocean

History Heroes offers the best of entertainment and education (edutainment) by bringing you animations about your favorite historical heroes and events. Learn and laugh with History Heroes as Jefferson, Adams, Washington, and more bring you fun videos that are from 1-4 minutes in length. 

Who doesn't love fruitcake around the holidays?

Just like every month, I'm giving away a treat for people that reply to the newsletter email with an answer to my question... and this month's treat may or may not be fruitcake (yes, it's probably still a coffee card). 

Which of the following is NOT a career for which coding would be useful?

Web developer

Computer systems engineer

Computer programmer

App Developer

Video Game Creator

Elvis Impersonator

Graphic Designer

MobyMax just released a new tool called Quick Test module. It's the fastest way for you to create tests, quizzes, exit tickets, and more - and they're giving it away for free. 

With this tool you can build assessments QUICKLY!  Simply create a test, add from MobyMax’s library of hundreds of thousands of pre-made problems, assign it to your students, and you’re done. You can easily add questions from different grades and subjects, too. 

Best of all, Quick Test grades everything for you automatically! 

Click here to login and then scroll to the bottom of the page to get started.