Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/498229
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N collective big toe into the world of computer program- ming via the Hour of Code, a few teachers have jumped in with both feet to transform the profession. For those unfamiliar with Hour of Code, tens of mil- lions of students of all ages participated in the event as part of Computer Science Education Week in Decem- ber. Hour of Code is designed to demystify computer science and show that anybody can learn the basics. The nationwide campaign, sponsored by code.org and csedweek.org, included free tutorials by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft mogul Bill Gates. Equity in access While Los Altos School District has the resources to teach coding to children during instructional time, that's not the case in many low socioeconomic communities, writes Dan Lewis, author of the article "Computer sci- ence: It's where the jobs are, but schools don't teach it," San Jose Mercury News. "In part, it's an issue of equity and access," writes Lewis, a founding member of the Alliance for Califor- nia Computing Education for Students and School (ACCESS). "When computer science is offered, it's usually in the more affluent suburban schools where Latino and African American students are underrepresented." At Brentwood Academy, just 15 minutes from Los Altos in the low-income community of East Palo Alto, Allison Smith attempts to level the playing field with a before-school "Techie Club" that meets in the computer lab daily. Students became interested after the Hour of Code online lesson. Recently, students created their own version of a Flappy Birds game with ScratchJr. Some students are English learners, but they understand the visual language of computer programming, says Smith, R avenswood Teach- ers Association. "I have a lot of students who struggle in school, and you'd think they wouldn't want to spend more time in here, but they show up early to be in the programming club. Soon they will be creating their own programs and apps. Often these kids don't have computers at home. But they will attend high school with students from wealthier communities, so it's important they can compete." Fifth-grader Mark Pacheco is wired about the coding club. "It's cool to learn these things. We make our own games or programs. And you can get a job from it, too." Students in Maria Mack's seventh-grade computer basics class at Millswood Middle School in Lodi look forward to "Code Fridays," Angie Hoffman went from working at Zynga to teaching at Balboa High School's new Game Design Academy. Michelle Soto, standing, helps Andrea Gonzalez with coding during the "Techie Club" at Brentwood Academy in East Palo Alto Maria Mack teaches computer basics at Millswood Middle School in Stockton. 17 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 8