Sunday, November 15, 2015

Hour Of Code from Code.org Is Right Around The Corner....Sign Up & Check Out All Of The Awesome Resources Today!

One of my favorite events of the year will be here in a few weeks.  It is called Hour of Code and there is something exciting for everyone!
As the Hour of Code website states...

The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in over 180 countries each year.  Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event.  One-hour tutorials are available in over 40 languages.  

I want to show you how fun and easy it is for you and your school community to participate in Hour of Code this year too.
To start, watch this video on how to participate in Hour of Code.
After you sign up to participate, there are several awesome resources available to help you and your school or library promote Hour of Code.
Check out all of the How-To Guides on this page.  This is where you will find how to hold a Hour of Code event for different reasons.
Next, look at how Code.org provides all of the resources and materials that you need.  
 I love the posters that can be printed out for your library, classroom or to share with students.
The videos they have included inspire students to learn about code and tell the importance of computer science in our world.
The Hour of Code handouts are helpful to share with all of your teachers and parents too.
There are different sizes and formats you can choose from too.
 I like putting a banner on your library and school website or classroom blog.
One of my favorite resources to share with students during the Hour of Code are these fun stickers.  

You can also print off certificates of participation to give your students after the Hour of Code activities are complete.  
A few other resources for educators including best practices, lesson plans and Hour of Code webinars to attend.

Next comes the really fun part!
The students activities are located under Tutorials and there are a ton of them for different ages, coding level, and interests.
Every year Code.org features a tutorial based on popular media.  Last year it was a special Frozen tutorial....and this year it is Star Wars with the movie coming up right before the holidays.
Students can build a galaxy from Star Wars with Blocks and Javascript which are geared towards different age levels.
There is a wonderful video paired with each tutorial.  These are so engaging .....  Students love watching them and so do adults.  I learned so much that was helpful to me as I introduced and supported coding with my school library.
Other tutorials include....
Code.org has also included activities with there are not devices or internet available.  These are great.
 I like starting with these activities as coding is introduced to students.
From the Code.org website, you can go to the Computer Science website that gives instructions and lesson plans for these activities. 
There are nice video tutorials for these activites too. 
You can get the lesson plan here
There are tutorials for phones and tablets...
 Tutorials in other programming languages...
 and a place to make your own apps or games.
I am very excited about all of the Teacher Led Hour of Code Lesson Plans that are available for Elementary, Middle and High School students and teachers.   This area is being added to all of the time.

The Hour of Code resources are available all throughout the year, along with lots of other resources for students, educators, parents and communities.  You can find these from the Code.org homepage here.

One last place I want to point out is the Code Studio Showcase
 Your students can check out what students have created in Play Lab....
 and with the Artist. 
They can also make their own in the Play Lab and with the Artist too. 

The week we celebrate Hour of Code will be here before we know it but don't forget to celebrate coding, computer science, engineering, and creativity all year long within libraries, schools, home and communities.

These activities and events can make a difference for our children now and in their future.

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