The Hour of Code, running during Computer Science Week, December 5th-11th, is the largest learning event in history, having already reached more than 100 million young people globally through a network of over 400 international partners.
This year the EXCITED Digital Learning Movement are working as the national partner with Code.org to promote the Hour of Code in Ireland.
The initiative, which is delivered largely through schools and coding clubs, sees students engaging in 60-minute coding lessons, designed to demystify ‘code’ and show that everyone can learn the basics.
Hour of Code presents a great opportunity for students and young people to enter the world of coding and there are dozens of events taking place all over Donegal during the week including Coderdojo clubs in Letterkenny, Donegal Town and Árainn Mhór as well as Crana College Buncrana, Glentogher NS, Carndonagh, Gortahork NS and many more.
Over 200 tutorials and exercises are available on the Hour of Code website ranging from maths and science to design, graphics and games.
This year Hour of Code has teamed up with Star Wars, Frozen, Minecraft, Pokémon and the Amazing World of Gumball to deliver a whole suite of new coding sessions designed for all levels from beginner to advanced.
Irish coders can also enjoy over 20 hours of coding lessons which were recently localized in to the Irish language by Prof. Kevin Scannell of St Louis University and they are available by clicking here.
With technology impacting on all aspects of our lives it is more important than ever that young people are equipped with the skills they will need for their future.
Today in Ireland there are thousands of vacancies in the software and IT industries, yet computer science is not yet available in all schools.
Girls continue to be underrepresented in coding classes and the tech industry generally, but the good news is that this is starting to change.
There’s still plenty of time to get involved so check out the details of all Hour of Code events at https://hourofcode.com/ie.
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