While Squash on Track is out of session due to the Corona Virus, I would like to take some time to look back on an amazing Hour of Code event that Rachel Yun organized for us! Rachel Yun, 12, and a member of the club, volunteered to teach a programming lesson, at which the kids dipped their feet into an invaluable tool for their later life.
Coding is extremely important because it gives children confidence, problem-solving abilities, opportunities for later careers, and lets them understand the way the world around them works, giving them a unique awareness about the machines surrounding them. Programming is embedded and utilized in our everyday lives, in that nearly all of the resources humans depend on rely on programming to function. Some examples are computers, iPhones, robots, and alas, as the kids enthusiastically pointed out - TV and video games.
Because coding is so important, millions of kids around the world are learning to program through a resource called Code.org’s Hour of Code. This one-hour programming tutorial takes them through an interactive, fun, and impactful series of problems. These problems cover the basic logic and thinking required to do advanced code - loops, variables, and more.
Rachel invited a team of squash students, parents, and friends to help out at the event. The lesson started with a couple of inspirational videos, followed by a talk from guest speaker Michelle Grau, the head programming teacher from Rachel’s school.
Afterward, the kids started coding. They were eager about the tutorial. Kids were encouraged to work at their own pace while helpers circled the room to give tips to those who needed assistance. At the end of the lesson, most of the kids had finished all thirty problems in the tutorial! Some had even moved on to Javascript and recursive coding.
An hour of coding later, the kids were introduced to their own class gift - a tiny Ozobot bit. This gadget enabled kids to code easily and gave them a way to code a real robot.
Following the Ozobot demonstration, volunteers held an ice cream party to commend the kids for their focus during the event.
Overall, the event was fun and the way the kids were connecting with technology was amazing to see. Hope the kids code again!