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Ellis Elementary School Participates in Nationwide Hour of Code

Hour of Code Students (1)

This past December, students at Ellis Elementary School participated in the first nationwide Hour of Code, in which students all over the nation learned computer coding. The Hour of Code was held December 9-13 as a part of National Computer Science Education Week (http://csedweek.org), an annual program dedicated to inspiring K-12 students to take interest in computer science.

Ellis was the only school in Sunnyvale School District that participated in the Hour of Code. The tutorials (http://csedweek.org/learn) and videos (http://youtube.com/codeorg) taught lessons on JavaScript, “unplugged” computer science, tutorial applications (apps) for any device, make your own apps, and many other learning options. Computer science is the art of blending human ideas and digital tools to increase our knowledge. When students understand concepts they get excited about the many different areas of opportunity for their futures such as; writing apps for phones, curing diseases, creating animated movies, working on social media, building robots that explore other planets and so much more!

Lacy&Balch& Students (2)

A handful of students got a head start on coding earlier this year. About 25 students in grades 4-5 at Ellis were chosen by their teachers based on their academic performance and leadership skills to participate in a new after-school program focused in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics called STEM. All of Ellis’ students, K-5, were able to participate in the Hour of Code during National Computer Science Week. Computer science is social and collaborative. When students partner up, they help each other and rely less on the teacher. The students at Ellis were so inspired about what they learned that they will be participating again next year in the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is just the first step on a journey for the students at Ellis Elementary School to learn more about how technology works and how to create software applications through coding.

Hour of Code Students (1)

To read the original San Jose Mercury article from December 18, 2013 please visit: http://www.mercurynews.com/cupertino/ci_24753279/ellis-elementary-participates-nationwide-hour-code

Article by Deborah Dodge

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