SAN JACINTO – San Jacinto Unified School District promoted computer programming at all school sites Dec. 5-9 during Computer Science Education Week. Hour of Code is a global initiative to introduce coding to students across the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, there will be 9.2 million jobs in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Half of those jobs, 4.6 million, will be in computing or information technology. Hour of Code is an activity that introduces students to coding in a fun and engaging way and aims to build confidence and spark student interest in the field.
“Students need to be more than just consumers of information,” Gabrielle Henderson said. Henderson is one of SJUSD’s education technology teachers on special assignment. “They need to be creators. Hour of Code is an excellent way to introduce computer programming to every student, at every grade,” Henderson said.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, the Mountain View High School campus was a center for coding. “All our Mountain View High students will be engaged with the topic of computer science beginning at 10 a.m.,” Denise Leonard said. “And the integration of coding in our MakerSpace has increased the interest of computer science tremendously.” Leonard is a teacher on special assignment at Mountain View High and at Mountain Heights Academy.
Also on dec. 7, 5th grade students from De Anza Elementary participated in coding activities at the Mountain View High campus. Fourteen MVHS students monitored stations for elementary students to code Sphero robots to complete a variety of tasks and activities. The Spheros bowled, played capture the flag, and navigated through mazes. Nicole Rossi, the library media technician at MVHS, designed many of the activities for the students. “By combining our Makerspace with Hour of Code,” Rossi said. “We are taking students away from the screen where they can interact with physical environments and see their coding skills come to life.”
SJUSD’s Twitter account @SanJacintoUSD is available for updates and photos of students engaged in computer coding during the event, which will also be posted to hashtag #SJUSDHourofCode.
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