Students from around the world including across the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) are learning to write computer code during Computer Science Education Week, celebrated through December 11.
Code instruction happens during the Hour of Code, designation this as part of a movement to encourage millions of students to experience one hour of computer coding.
Code is the language you type into a computer to tell it what to do. CVESD’s goal is to have over 200 classrooms and 5,000 students participate in activities throughout Computer Science Week.
“This event connects our campuses to our goal of ensuring that all students engage in relevant, motivating, personalized learning experiences that integrate the use of technology,” said Antwon Lincoln, CVESD Instructional Technology and Media Coordinator. “Hour of Code is a fun and exciting way to connect students to what are known in education circles as the Four C’s: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity.”
Technology is transforming every industry. In 2015, 7 million job openings in the U.S. were in occupations—including art and design—that value coding skills. But 75 percent of schools in the U.S. don’t teach computer science. Hour of Code organizers note that regardless of what our students do when they grow up, whether they go into medicine, business, politics, or the arts—knowing how to build technology will give them confidence and a competitive edge.
“Computers are everywhere, changing every industry on the planet, this is a great way to introduce computer science to South Bay students,” Lincoln said. “Girls and minorities are severely underrepresented in computer science classes, and in the tech industry.”
CVESD serves nearly 30,000 students at 45 schools. And 68 percent of the CVESD students are Latino descent.
Code.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding participation in computer science and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Code.org’s vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer programming. After launching in 2013, Code.org organized the Hour of Code campaign – which has introduced over 100 million students to computer science to date – and partnered with 70 public school districts nationwide to expand computer science programs.
“Computer science is really where we work as a society, and that’s why the students need to learn it,” said Olympic View Elementary fourth grade teacher Victoria Wiseman. “We live in a digital society. It is critical that students know where all their video games come from, where they can go with their future, and their professional career.”