Hour of Code 2015: Teaching Orlando Middle School Students the Fundamentals of Programming

by Cassandra Wilcox

We were excited to participate in an Hour of Code event at Howard Middle School last Monday December 7th, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week (December 7-13). We joined several other tech volunteers, organized by the Orlando Tech Association in partnership with the City of Orlando, to share our knowledge and experience with 6th, 7th and 8th graders interested in learning how to code.

The kids used a site called code.org to explore the basics of programming through a series of exercises based on Star Wars, Frozen, and Minecraft. As they advanced through each level they learned about fundamental programming techniques, such as for loops and if statements, to program their characters to solve the given tasks. It was so awesome to see the students having so much fun and getting excited as they figured it out.











Imagine the impact that programs like this can have on students! When kids learn to program, not only do they learn how to use technology to build amazing things, more importantly, they learn valuable skills that help them break down and solve complex problems in life. Hopefully, we will see more schools providing more opportunities for students to learn to code. I wish my school had offered a program like this when I was young!

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