Bijou students participate in Global Hour of Code

Earlier this month, close to 150 students at Bijou Community School participated in hands-on computer coding activities with millions of other students around the world as part of Computer Science Education Week’s Hour of Code.

The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week in recognition of the birthday (December 9, 1906) of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper. This year it took place during the week of December 4th with a primary theme of expanding knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Enthusiastic members of the afterschool Bijou Coding Enrichment Club shared what they’ve learned over the past few months about computer science with their fellow students in their 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes. The Bijou Coding Club students, with the help of parent volunteer & coding club leader Dr. Jamie Orr, led the lessons themselves by introducing the Hour of Code and helping students with a number of fun hands-on activities. The activities students worked on included writing code to create an AI Dance Party, a T-Rex video game, and even a Musical Solar System with NASA.

When asked at the start of each session how many students had ever written computer code before, more than 80% of students responded that they never had and this was their first time trying it.

“It is so important for students today to learn computer science. It not only can open the doors to many exciting career opportunities in adulthood, but also fosters creativity, literacy, and problem-solving skills all at once in a way that supports success for our students throughout their educational journey, ” said Dr. Orr of the importance of the Hour of Code. “The event was a huge success. Students were engaged, having fun, and will hopefully continue coding beyond just this one hour.”

Hour of Code can happen anytime! There are great resources for students, parents, and teachers, as well as more information about computer science education at: https://hourofcode.com/us.

This event was also supported by the LTCC HSI STEM outreach team as part of their efforts to create a strong community of support for students to become engaged in STEM. Lake Tahoe Community College is proud to be designated a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) by the United States Department of Education. The mission of HSIs is to assist with strengthening institutional programs, facilities, and services to expand educational opportunities for Hispanic Americans and other underrepresented populations. The goals of the HSI STEM systems of support are to enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education  and to increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of Latino/a/x and other underrepresented student groups pursuing associate or baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields. 

https://www.ltcc.edu/campusresources/hsi_stem/index.php