Free Computer Science, Coding Classes For Youth Offered At Gilroy Library

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – Free coding program classes are being offered throughout the Santa Clara County Library District starting Dec. 3 for area youth.

“The earlier a girl or boy can learn to code, the more ingrained and helpful these skills will be,” said County of Santa Clara Supervisor Mike Wasserman, the champion behind leveraging County libraries availability to make coding classes free and accessible to Santa Clara County children.

Computer coding, a system of signals representing letters or numbers which are then transmitted electronically to a computer to complete a task, is becoming increasingly important in today’s electronic world as well as the skills and knowledge needed to write and create these codes.

The Santa Clara County Library District is partnering with “The Hour of Code,” a global movement that has introduced tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries to computer science and computer programming through a one-hour introduction course.

“Although we live in the heart of Silicon Valley, with high tech companies in every city, not all students living here are exposed to computers and computer programming in their own homes,” said Gail Mason, SCCLD Library Services Manager, Adult and Teen Services.

During the week of Dec. 5-11, all SCCLD libraries will be hosting at least one Hour of Code event. In addition, SCCLD libraries offer these ongoing Computer Science and Coding Classes:

Coding Classes and Hour of Code Scheduled Events at SCCLD:

Campbell Library:

• Hour of Code: Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 5-6 p. m. During a coding class on artificial intelligence and game mechanics, participants will design their own version of the classic game Pong. There will also be an Atari Home Pong unit from 1975 for display and use for participants to play and compare their design with that of the original.

Cupertino Library:

• CodeF1rst: Saturday, Dec. 17 from 10 a.m.—1p.m. Teen Program
• Girls Who Code: meets weekly. Requires pre-registration. Every Thursday evening through February 2017
• Introduction to Arduinos: Presented by the Cupertinker Space on Feb. 5, 2017 and Feb. 12, 2017 in the Library Story Room from 2-5 p.m.
• Teen Hackathon/CU Hacks (once a year): Cupertino Library’s FREE hack-a-thon event for teenagers ages 14 – 19. A collaborative community event fostering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) learning skills while providing teen coders first-hand experience in joining together in an engaging, interactive environment as they create beneficial applications. Coming Summer 2017.
• Hour of Code: Cupertino’s Girls Who Code group will participate in the 2016 Hour of Code.

Gilroy Library:

• Hour of Code: Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 4p.m., Grades 3-6 join in on the fun! Use blocks of code to complete a fun challenge. Learn coding basics in just one hour. Sign up at the upstairs information desk (held annually).
• Middle School Intro to Programming using Javascript: 6 week class, beginning January 11th at 4 p.m. Kids develop their own games, apps and website, learning coding experientially.
• Miss CEO: Learn essential skills like networking, effective communication, negotiation and much more! The Miss CEO Gilroy Club is affiliated with Miss CEO, an international organization dedicated to empowering young women with the ultimate leadership toolkit, mentorship, and career exploration opportunities.
• Steam Robotics classes: check Gilroy Library Events Calendar for dates.

Los Altos Library:

• Los Altos Hour of Code: Monday Dec. 5 at 3:30 p.m.
• SCRATCH class: Dec. 19, 21, 22 and 27, 28, 29 at 3:30 p.m. (Scratch is a free programming language and online community where one can create interactive stories, games, and animations.
• PYTHON in Jan. 2017: Jan. 14, 21, 28 at 4 p.m.: (Python, an open-source general-purpose interpreted programming language available for a broad range of operating systems.)
• JAVA in March 2017: (a general-purpose computer programming language): – March 4, 11, 18, and 25 at 4 p.m.

Milpitas Library:

• Hour of Code: Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. in the Milpitas Computer Lab. (Middle School level)
• Java Coding Class: Dec. 3 from 1:30-3 pm in the Milpitas Computer Lab. (taught by Math and Coding.)

Morgan Hill Library:

• Hour of Code: Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. Grades 3-6 join in on the fun! Use blocks of code to complete a fun challenge. Learn coding basics in just one hour.

Saratoga Library:

• Hour of Code: Wednesday, Dec. 7 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
• CoderDojo Coding Club: an open learning environment featuring a different coding language at each table: Teens collaborate with others interested in the coding language they are interested in. They bring a project or start something new and help each other with projects. Adult mentors are available for assistance. Students 11 - 17 years of age/Teens bring their own laptop or borrow one from the library. Seating is limited, registration is required. Meets monthly on the third Sunday, but is currently on break for the holidays and will resume in January 2017.
• Teen Hackathon - High school students sign up in groups of 3-5 on the library website. They put their programming skills to the test in an all-day hacking event and present their work to a panel of judges in the afternoon: The three best teams win a prize! This is a semi-annual event, planned again for March 2017.

For additional information on SCCLD Coding Classes or Computer Science related events, visit http://bit.ly/SCCLDcomputerprograms

Visit the Library District website for more information about Library services at www.sccl.org.

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Also coming up in the area:

• Raggedy Ann and Andy come to the Los Altos History Museum
• Exhibit: A Visible Journey in Time: Los Gatos History Project
• Mountain View Community Tree Lighting Celebration
• Carol of Lights Celebration: Campbell
• Downtown Gilroy Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting
• 60th Annual Los Gatos Children's Christmas & Holidays Parade
• AAII-Silicon Valley: December Computerized Investing Meeting

--Information courtesy of SCCLD/ Image via Morguefile