Cape Cod Academy Participates In The Hour Of Code

Students and staff at Cape Cod Academy logged 200 hours of computer programming last week, as part of a global movement called the Hour of Code, part of Computer Science Education Week. Many of those students opted to use code to create Star Wars-themed games in anticipation of this week’s movie release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Did you know that in today’s economy, computing jobs outnumber students graduating into the field by 3-to-1? Computer science is foundational for every industry today- yet most schools don’t teach it. At Cape Cod Academy, we are working to change that.

That’s why the entire school participated in the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 7-13). This event is sponsored by Code.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding access to computer science[MBB1] education.

At Cape Cod Academy , every student in grades Pre-K through 12, as well as all faculty and staff members, had the opportunity to try an Hour of Code. Younger students worked together using the Hour of Code “Classic Maze” puzzles to drag and drop blocks to make characters move and accomplish pre-set goals while avoiding dangers. Older elementary school students created drawings in JavaScript using Khan Academy’s tutorials.

Knowing that fans around the world are expectantly awaiting the release of the latest Star Wars film The Force Awakens, Code.org cleverly partnered with Disney to use Star Wars themed games to create excitement about coding. Middle school students at Cape Cod Academy used these tutorials to learn how to solve puzzles with blocks, then advanced to writing JavaScript to create their own Star Wars games. (You can try these tutorials at home by going to this website. May the force be with you as you learn the fun and power of coding!)

High school Graphic Arts students took their coding to the next level by creating a more sophisticated drawing using Khan Academy’s JavaScript tutorials and coding for more than an hour. Faculty and staff even joined in the educational fun at lunch time or after school, personalizing their own snowman drawings using JavaScript.

Mary Beth Bergh, Director of Technology at Cape Cod Academy, said “It’s so exciting to see the sense of accomplishment reflected in the face of someone who has just successfully written her first line of code – whether a preschooler, a twelve-year-old, a high school student, or a teacher who thinks he could never write a program. I’m proud to say that Cape Cod Academy contributed over 200 hours of code during Computer Science Education Week 2015!”