Prepare for the “Hour of Code” in Alabama

Teachers and districts are encouraged to host an “Hour of Code” (HoC) during Computer Science Education Week, December 7 – 13. HoC is “propelled by teachers,” said Laura Kline, Product and Marketing Manager for CODE.org in a recent phone interview.

“The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries,” said Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in a news release from Code.org. “Learning to write programs stretches your mind and creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains. We encourage all schools and teachers to take the first step and do an #hourofcode … no experience required.”

More than 600 Alabama HoC-related events have been planned statewide, according to the Alabama State Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education staff.

What began as an awareness campaign to get teachers interested, and possibly excited about teaching Computer Science, has now “taken on a life of its own” according to Kline. In its third year, Kline reports that the “Hour of Code” surpassed its national 2015 goal of 75,000 teacher registrations in the first week.

Teachers and education leaders can visit CODE.org/learn to view and share the 2015 tutorial videos, and to find more resources for HoC.

“We are proud to be a part of this partnership to positively impact the lives of students,” said State Superintendent of Education Tommy Bice. “Computer science education provides a real opportunity for students to prepare for successful futures. Research indicates that computer-related careers are some of the most in-demand and fastest-growing areas in America. This year’s Hour of Code celebration should energize Alabama’s computer-savvy students and teach them about the many great opportunities that exist through the study of computer science.”

In October, Kline was a guest on a webinar hosted by Dr. Jeff Gray, Computer Science Professor at the University of Alabama, where she provided many suggestions and strategies for planning and implementing an HoC activity for teachers who may have never done such an event before. The webinar is available for online viewing at YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RvX_Mri7bE

The 2015 HoC campaign kicked off Nov. 9th with the international release of the first of two tutorial videos (Link to CODE.org/learn), which are based on two very popular themes; Minecraft and Star Wars.

“A lot of work goes into building the tutorials for HoC,” said Kline. “Last year, we partnered with Disney, which created a tutorial video using the popular characters from the movie, Frozen.

“It makes me so proud to see Alabama diving head first into teaching and expanding Computer Science in that state,” said Kline, who also has a state connection as a 2009 University of Alabama graduate. “Southern states like Alabama have really made Computer Science a high priority.”

Dr. Gray is one of 10 members of the Education Advisory Board at Code.org and has been serving as a K-5 Code.org workshop trainer over the past year.

Dr. Gray collaborates with the A+ College Ready program, a division of A+ Education Partnership, to help raise awareness and bring CS training opportunities to Alabama teachers. A+ College Ready and the University of Alabama are in the final year of a National Science Foundation project that is training 50 high school teachers on a new College Board AP exam in computer science. Dr. Gray also taught over 1,100 teachers nationally by offering the Alabama training online, which was supported by Google in both 2014 and 2015. (Click here for more on training in Alabama.)

A+ College Ready has a “long-standing commitment to promoting Computer Science professional development and implementation across the state of Alabama,” according its president, Mary Boehm.

In addition to Dr. Gray, K-5 teachers can also receive training from Lisa Molyneux (Mobile County Public Schools), who covers the southern part of Alabama and Mississippi.

Visit:  HourOfCode.com