<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8159 lazyload" src="http://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/hour-of-code.jpg" alt="hour-of-code" width="700" height="467" srcset="https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/hour-of-code.jpg 700w, https://www.bishopodowd.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/hour-of-code-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />
O’Dowd students were among tens of millions of students in 180-plus countries who participated in Hour of Code, organized by Code.org. Close to 100 students voluntarily participated in the event during MP on Dec. 1. This was the second year that O’Dowd has joined in the experience.
The students were able to choose from dozens of tutorials, including Star Wars and Minecraft, geared to boost their skills in computer programming like Blocks and JavaScript.
“Learning to program can really open up opportunities for jobs, due to new technological advances in our world. I chose the Star Wars tutorial where I learned to write lines of code to have drones move in a game. At the end, I was able to create my own game by writing many different lines of instructions for the drone. It was very fun and I am excited to continue learning to code in the future,” Ellie Desler ’19 said.
Computer science is foundational for every industry today. According to Code.org, there are more than 500,000 computing jobs open nationwide, but last year only 42,969 computer science students graduated into the work force. And, a computer science major can earn 40 percent more than the college average. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify “code”, to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts.
“I’m delighted to have participated again in this year’s Hour of Code,” Chief Information Officer Romeo Baldeviso said. “Computing occupations are the #1 source of all new wages in the U.S. and make up two-thirds of all projected new jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. We need to improve access for all students, including groups who have traditionally been underrepresented and events like an Hour of Code allow us to reach these students.”