The Hour of Code is not about learning a brand new skill in just one hour. One hour isn’t enough to learn how to code. It's about increasing access to computer science by breaking stereotypes and opening doors. Somebody may learn programming concepts like loops, conditionals, or basic debugging through the Hour of Code. But a much more important goal is for students and teachers to learn that computer science is fun — you can start at any age, in any classroom, even if you don’t have a computer.
The Hour of Code also ties in nicely with the STEAM program that we have here at NAIS Pudong. Our partnership with Massachusetts University of Technology (MIT) this year will lead to a number of different opportunities where computing can be used together with the STEAM program. The skills that students learn whilst coding can be translated to the problem solving skills necessary to complete some of the STEAM challenges that will be happening throughout the year.
Overall, the Hour of Code was enjoyed by all students in Primary. Here are some of the comments from our students who participated:
“We liked working together to solve complex problems. It taught us how to work together to solve a big problem!” – Dagna, Bethany & Jia Hui YR 6
“It was awesome because you got to see how popular games like Minecraft were made!” – Renee YR 5
“I really enjoyed playing the games, I didn’t know coding was so much fun!” – Riccardo YR 4
“I really enjoyed putting the programming blocks together to make the girl move.” – Demah YR 3
“I am using Scratch at home to show my parents my coding.” - Marlijne - YR 2
Despite the Hour of Code being officially over, there are still many opportunities for your children to engage with Coding. Please feel free the visit some of the following websites where the Hour of Code activities are still available.
Christopher Kalff