Computer Science Education Week started off with great energy at Putnam Ave. During the
week of Dec. 8 - 12th students from around the globe were challenged to participate in an Hour
of Code.
What exactly is the Hour of Code?
It is a movement to inspire teachers and students
to spend one hour learning how to code. Sounds difficult? Well, it’s not.
The coders have
developed drag and drop web-based applications that are easy to do with minimal instruction.
Children love the user-friendly characters such as Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, and Disney’s
Frozen characters. Once you start the process of coding, it’s hard to stop!
Students engage
in problem-solving activities such as how to move a character from one space on the screen to
another. The difference is that they have to give the computer the commands in order for the
character to move. Teachers at Putnam used the code.org site in various ways and integrated
the learning into their specific curriculum. For instance, all PAUS math teachers devoted at
least one class period to using the
code.org site to expose students to these new learning
experiences. Additionally in Spanish class, Senor Cozzi instructed seventh grade students to
design an animation (using a Spanish verb) which reflects the word’s meaning. High levels of
engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration were seen in many classes here. It has been an
exciting week of learning!