Over the past few years the Hour of Code has gained increased prominence and visibility.  While I applaud the fact that both teachers and students see the importance of programming in today’s world, one thing I’ve noticed is that this week is often treated as a single entity.  The problem with this is students only program for a given week and then it seems to fizzle out.  The Hour of Code is meant to “hook” and empower students.  Students are able for the first time to be content creators.  They increase both computational thinking and problem solving skills while adhering to a vastly untapped job market.  I’ve been blown away by some of the work my students have been able to create this year.  Both their creativity and their level of complexity are increasing each day.  The best part about this is that they are coming into school the next day eager to show their newest creation.  They find solutions to problems which is a critical skill set within today’s job market.

Most recently, we wanted to share what we are doing within our class.  We took the liberty to invite our families into our room for the afternoon showing them how to create interactive narratives/graphs/posters, navigate Sphero mazes in a second language, and debug shapes via Scratch.  There were a plethora of activities that the students were showing their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters how to complete.  One of our goals is to ensure learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door and this day embodied that mentality.  Our class is attempting to create a community of makers and creators.  This day was meant to show that anyone can create something and be a “maker”.  It doesn’t matter your age or skill level, you simply need to try it.  It was truly one of the most successful endeavours I’ve been a part of.  I would encourage other educators to try it out and see how powerful this day can be.  Keep coding everyone!

Coding Sphero