Friday, November 13, 2015

The Hour of Code is Coming December 7th - 13th !!

Software is the language of the world! Coding activities are not specifically geared to creating software engineers, but to teach Computational Thinking.  Computational Thinking teaches how to tackle a large problem by breaking it down into a sequence of smaller, more manageable problems. 

There are so many opportunities for students to participate at various levels.  In this edition I will be sharing several resources.  I would encourage you to find some time to get you and your students involved in this event.

The official Hour of Code website gives you an opportunity to register your event and receive free posters for your school site.  Every teacher who organizes an event receives $10 to Amazon, Itunes, or Windows store as a thank you.  

One public school in every state will also win $10,000 worth of technology!  To register, click here.  


Beginning Level Activities:

The Official Code.org website has several beginning tutorials including their latest Star Wars Themed tutorial which looks super cool.  There is also an Anna and Elsa tutorial along with several others

Khan Academy also does a great Hour of Code for ages 8+ and SQL Databases for 12+



Intermediate / Advanced Level Activities:

Google offers some great programs for students of ALL levels. 
Check out their Computer Science Learning site.  Start at the beginning level of Blocky all the way to CS for High School courses and activities.  CS for High School also offers grant and scholarship opportunities.


Are you involved in C-STEM projects?

Christina Morace recommends  http://roboblockly.ucdavis.edu/ It has a lot of block based coding activities for students 4th grade an up. It also allows teachers who are involved in the C-STEM project to be able to change the block based code into actual Ch code and use it to run real life robots in their classrooms, moving from the virtual to the actual without writing any code from scratch. 


Competitions:

Google Code in is a competition for ages 13-17 and introduces students to the world of open source.  Participants range from no experience to the advanced level.  Mentor organizations sponsor and provide feedback with real projects.  The competition runs from December 7th - January 25th.




Teacher Courses:

Would you like to learn how to incorporate Computational Thinking into your students' curriculum?  Google also offers a free online course geared toward educators.   Discover how Computational Thinking is different from Computer Science and how it can be incorporated into your lessons in various subjects.
















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