In a world where our daily lives are simplified by apps, it’s easy to wonder about what will come next and who will be paving the way for design and development. After participating in the Hour of Code, we are confident that Paul Cuffee students will be among the future computer scientists, programmers, and engineers!
During the week of December 7th, in celebration of Computer Science Education week, Cuffee students benefited from industry experts from a number of businesses including: IGT, Precision Design Studios, Care New England, BEO Studios, Dassault Systemes Simulia, Achievery.com, Citizens Bank, Intracity Geeks, and other community volunteers as they tried their hands at coding.
Each grade level was able to learn the basics of computer science, from easy problems such as moving lego-men on adventures in Minecraft for our youngest learners to more difficult tasks like Star Wars Galaxy games for our older students. Organizers of the Hour of Code, a global phenomenon, believe that the Hour of Code improves problem solving skills and logic and nurtures creativity.
A middle school math teacher shared an anecdote with us about a student who had been struggling with math. After participating in the Hour of Code, the student came to her at recess to work through an issue and shared that even being present in math class was difficult because the subject was so hard for him. Before the student was going to return to recess, he asked if it would be possible to stay inside and sign out a laptop to continue working on the coding that he had started that morning. A switch had flipped because no longer was math just math; it had real world applications. As the student was leaving the room for his next class, he quickly turned back and gave his teacher a hug. The Hour of Code may very well be an experience that changes a student’s path.