Hour of Code
For the second year, kindergarten through eighth-grade students participated in Hour of Code, a global movement that celebrates computer science. The goal is to have students (and adults) of all ages complete activities that relate to the growing field of computer science to prepare them for our increasingly computer-driven world.
Additionally, the Hour of Code exposes students who might not think of themselves as programmers to the various ways computer science impacts our lives, whether it be through graphic design and animation, healthcare software, music creation or fashion.
Upper and Middle School Design and Innovation students collaborated on an activity with Lower School Innovation classes and discussed how they use computer science in their classes. As a part of their math classes, students in Grades 7 and 8 completed Hour of Code activities demanding a knowledge of angles to create specific geometric patterns.
Last year, the Middle School received a personalized video message from the Code.org director of outreach, and they video chatted with a computer science Ph.D. student from Carnegie Mellon University. Code.org is a nonprofit that organizes the Hour of Code campaign across the world. This year, the students were asked to be code ambassadors and have their parents get involved. To enter a raffle, students were asked to complete an Hour of Code at home with a parent—allowing them to take on a teaching role and share their expertise. Check out the photos on Instagram with #ljcdshourofcode.
These Hour of Code activities challenge students to expand their programming skills and prepare them for advanced Middle School electives such as Wearables and Human-Computer Interaction, as well as Upper School courses such as Arch and Technology, Innovation Technology Studio, Exploring and Developing VR Worlds, AP Computer Science and Robotics.
