Exploring Computer Science With an "Hour of Code"!

As part of an effort to introduce more STEM learning into the elementary curriculum, Ashaway Elementary School participated in the Nation Wide Hour of Code. 

 

Hour of Code events are one-hour tutorial sessions that give students the opportunity to write their first few lines of computer code.  The tutorials are game like and self-directed, enabling students to work at their own pace and skill level.  These activities provide children the opportunity to be exposed to the basic foundational skills of math, science, engineering, and computer science.   You can access them by visiting http://code.org.

Principal Scanapieco designated today as our school's official day of coding (although the teachers have also been integrating activities into their daily teaching all week).  Both fourth grade classes scheduled an hour in the library to give their students lots of hands-on interaction time.  The students loved it.  Not only were they super engaged, but they worked tremendously well together.  I was really impressed with the problem solving and cooperation I witnessed!

By chance I caught this moment when a student figured out the solution to a problem he had been grappling with!

These fourth graders proudly show off their computer-generated "Certificates of Completion"

I strongly encourage everyone to visit http://code.org to explore, play and learn!