The number of computer science jobs keeps increasing at a rate much faster than the national average for job growth. According to U.S. Department of Labor projections, by 2020, the U.S. will have 1.4 million new jobs in computer science—but only about 400,000 computer science students.
Growing that number of computer science students and introducing more children to the world of coding is the focus of the Hour of Code taking place in classrooms across the country this week. Sponsored by Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, the initiative aims to give every student in every school the opportunity to learn computer science.
An Hour (or more) of Code doesn’t have to happen this week. There are resources online to aid educators in teaching coding whenever the schedule allows.
Resources to Help You Run an Hour of Code Event
- How to Run an Hour of Code (Video, 3:05)
- Hour of Code Participation Guide (PDF)
- Hour of Code Tutorials
- Best Practices From Successful Educators (Slideshow)
Try the Hour of Code
- Participants age six and above can use blocks of code to take characters Steve or Alex on an adventure through a Minecraft world.
- Other tutorials let students maneuver old and new Star Wars characters like R2-D2, C3PO, Princess Leia, Rey, and BB-8 through various game actions and events.
