What is Hour of Code?

On December 7, 2017, Mr. Thomas Pasko held his annual Hour of Code at Colonia High School (CHS). Hour of Code is a “global movement reaching tens of millions of student in 180+ countries.”

As the world is advancing, the most important thing people should know is how to code. Although computers have been with us for a long time, most of us have worked with Excel or Word, but not all of us have actually coded. It is of the utmost importance to know some basic rules and techniques of coding. We are in the year 2017 and almost everyone works with a computer or laptop.

This movement teaches kids and adults the basics of coding by using games as a way to help critically think.

Similarly, this website offers not only the simpler version of using blocks to help understand what coding is and how to do it, but also provides the JavaScript (a language used for programming) version of it as well.

Girls Who Code 

Mr. Pasko’s Girls Who Code club welcomes girls to understand and learn coding.

The club was originally founded by 2016 CHS graduate Rajvi Kapadia. Mr. Pasko believes that having a club like this will hopefully “increase female participation in the world of programming.” He wants to expose more females to the digital aspect of the real world.

Any girl who is going into STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) can join Girls Who Code. As of right now the club is creating their very own Impact Project. The Impact Project “is intended to drive home the idea that computer science is a tool that can be used to tackle problems girls may face.” In fact, many girls around the world have created unique projects through the use of coding.

Girls Who Code is in the process of creating a website in which it will allow any student who has trouble figuring what they want to do after graduating from high school.

In an interview with current member, Nada Aly, said it is her first year attending this club and enjoys it very much. She believes that it is allowing her to do something she likes, which is Computer Science.

Ms. Aly sparked an interest for coding when she was in the eighth grade playing video games. She was very curious as to how these creators made the video games she played. After this club, she wants to pursue a career in becoming a software developer. Her love for video games has aspired her to love coding.

Nada Aly uses Khan Academy, Coding Bat, and Code Academy to help learn and better understand coding outside of school. She has learned XTML and CSS so far. She also encourages people to have basic understanding of coding, especially since we’re surrounded by so much technology.

Even though coding can get more tedious and complex, having some knowledge of it won’t hurt.