Hour of Code may make a lifetime of difference for elementary students

Elementary students spent an hour last week learning a skill that may make a lifetime of difference.

Students across Utica Community Schools took part in the international Hour of Code program to promote computer science.

The goal, according to Beacon Tree Elementary School media center teacher Jacqueline Zawierucha, is to create excitement for a career that is projected to have 1.4 million jobs available in 2020.

“At Beacon Tree, I am trying to get our students to learn the basics of coding and get excited about it,” Zawierucha said. “They are loving it!”

In addition, since only 12 percent of computer science degrees are being awarded to women, program sponsors Code.org introduced Frozen’s Elsa and Anna characters to get girls more even more excited about this initiative, Zawierucha said.

The Hour of Code is an hour-long introduction to computer science designed to demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics. It is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries.

Students use simple code language to create on-line games involving popular characters.

Olivia Leone, a sixth-grader at Beacon Tree, said she enjoyed learning the code that helps run some of her favorite games.

“It’s fun to see how you program,” she said.

“I am hearing students exclaim with excitement things like ‘we did it!,’ ‘this was awesome, can we do it again?’ and ‘can we try this at home?,’ Zawierucha said. “This gets me really excited for the future of our students at Beacon Tree.”

Learn more at http://code.org/.