Computer Science Education Week - December 9-15, 2013

 One Hour, 10 Million Students, A Foundation for Success  “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer... because it teaches you how to think.” -Steve Jobs   Code.org is organizing a massive campaign to get 10 million students of all ages to participate in the Hour of Code in December. Help make history. Learn more at http://csedweek.org. What is the Hour of Code? The Hour of Code is a self-guided activity anyone can do, to introduce them to the basics of computer science. Several hour-long tutorials will be available.  Bring it to your community ● No experience needed: We will provide activities for all students from kindergarten and up. ● No prep needed: Self-guided tutorials any adult can host with minimal prep. ● Computers are optional: Students can participate a computer, tablet, smartphone, or even unplugged. Every option is supported.  Did you know: ● Software jobs outnumber students 3-to-1. The gap is 1 million jobs over 10 years. ● 90% of schools in the US do not teach computer science. ● In many countries, it’s required (China, Vietnam, Estonia. Soon UK, Australia). ● All students can learn the basics, starting in elementary school, but fewer than 10% of students (and just 4% of female students, 3% of students of color) take computer science classes.  Computer Science Education Week: Dec 9 - 15, 2013 This year, Code.org is launching the Hour of Code as part of the annual Computer Science Education Week. CS Education Week celebrates the birthday of Admiral Grace Hopper, a founder of modern computer science. But more importantly, it aims to raise awareness and generate interest in the field.  We're surrounded by technology. Information, commerce, communication, and entertainment all rely on computers, and yet, few people are learning how computers actually work. Computer science provides a foundation for success in virtually any career -- everybody can benefit from learning the basics.   Engage your community to participate This guide includes guidelines to organize an event and recruit participants. Register your Hour of Code event and start planning at http://csedweek.org/community.   Hour of Code Participation Guide — December 9-15, 2013 1. Who can participate? All groups, all ages 2. Details on Hour of Code tutorials and activities 3. Plan your hardware needs 4. Engage your community to participate 5. Spread the movement  1) Who can participate? All groups, all ages Any organization or community can participate in the Hour of Code. Examples include:  ● An afterschool club ● A church ● A local university ● A library ● A YMCA, Boy Scouts, or Girl Scouts ● A veterans association ● A labor union ● A state penitentiary (or recidivism prevention group) ● A “block party” at somebody’s house  2) Details on Hour of Code tutorials and activities We’ll host several hour-long tutorials on http://csedweek.org/ for anybody to try. Participants can complete the activities on a computer, tablet, smartphone ... or no device at all.  All tutorials will share these factors in common: ● Self-guided: requiring no prior experience and minimal prep ● Web-based: no installation needed ● Can be completed in one hour or less  3) Plan your hardware needs - computers are optional  The best experience will be through Internet-connected computers. But you don’t need a computer for everyone to participate.  Here are a few options:  ● Work in pairs: Have students do the Hour of Code in pairs. This is more fun for students, easier on teachers, and studies have shown people even learn more this way.  ● Use smartphones: If you don’t have enough computers or Internet access, many of the activities will also work on smart phones. Anybody without smartphones can pair up.  ● On a projected screen: If you have a projector and screen for a Web-connected computer, then an entire classroom of participants can do an Hour of Code together on the shared screen. You can watch video portions together, and take turns to answer questions or solve puzzles.  ● Local libraries or community centers or universities If you don’t have enough computers or WiFi at your physical location, you can find space at a local library or community center  ● Ask volunteers for loaner computers or tablets Volunteers can provide loaner computers or tablets, as long as you have a physical location that has WiFi Internet access.  ● Go “unplugged”: We will offer world-class “unplugged” tutorials that teach introductory principles of computer science, without an electronic device.  4) Engage your community to participate  Send an email to your network Here’s a sample email to send your community members. It’s also online at http://hourofcode.org/community:  Subject: Join us for The Hour of Code  Our world is surrounded by technology. Information, commerce, communication, and entertainment all rely on computers. But only a tiny fraction of us learn computer science, the basics of how computers work, or how to create software, apps, or websites.  This year, to celebrate Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 9-15), we’re joining a massive campaign to jumpstart a new future for education.  The Hour of Code campaign has an ambitious goal: to introduce 10 million students to one hour of computer science. I encourage all of you to participate, in two ways:  1) We want every member touched by our organization to participate as students in December - we should all spend one hour to learn the basics of computer science. 2) If you’re a parent, recruit your school to participate - ask your teachers or principal to sign up every grade.  See http://csedweek.org/ for details. Sign up to participate!     Share promotional materials Show your community a video we’ve prepared — it features people like Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Black Eyed Peas founder will.i.am talking about the importance of computer programming. We also have posters you can print and post. Find them online at http://csedweek.org/community.  5) Spread the movement  ● Promote the Hour of Code campaign online Post about the Hour of Code on your Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels.  ● Recruit other groups in your community Any group can host an Hour of Code, whether it is a church, Boy Scouts group, local university, library, YMCA, veterans association, or labor union. If you have connections to any such organizations, reach out to them, encourage them visit http://csedweek.org/ and participate.  ● Your organization can author an op-ed in the local paper See a draft op-ed among the resources at http://csedweek.org/community.  ● Issue a press release to announce your support of Hour of Code See a sample press release at http://csedweek.org/community.   Join the movement! With your help, the Hour of Code can be a record-breaking event, and a springboard for lasting change in education. Start planning now at http://csedweek.org.            Code.org is a non-profit dedicated to growing computer science education. Our vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer programming. Since February, 800,000 people and 9,500 schools have signed our petition to bring computer science into core K-12 curriculum.