There are plenty of school sponsored events that bring together parents, teachers, and students. None, however, is quite like Hour of Code. We kicked off our 2015 all school Hour of Code this year by hosting a Parent Hour of Code. Students and teachers shouldn't have all the fun, right? One of my favorite moments was as I was giving a brief overview of what it means to participate in Hour of Code, one of the parents said, "I thought this was going to involve problem-solving skills". I replied, "It certainly will. You just wait and see". Sure enough, he happened to be the first parent to surpass level 6 in Anna and Elsa's drag and drop programming. Level 6 is not so easy. Everyone needed his help. For a few minutes, he became the center of our problem-solving efforts as he reworked what he had done two levels earlier to pass level 6. It was an aha moment in which we all recognized that problem-solving, persistence, and patience are key. Not to mention teamwork and the thoughtful energy as we shared information to benefit one another was the essence of our success too. If the amount of fun that I had is any indication of how much fun the others had, then I feel confident that it was a successful hour.
As the day progressed, we saw our littlest learners from mechina to kindergarten dabble in their own coding adventure. They had fun with the Foos and the Kodable apps. We weren't ready to go when the bell rang. Luckily, they were reminded that with parent supervision, they can do this at home too. Code.org is open for business all year long.
While there were many highlights of the day, another favorite moment was when one hour of code participant was frustrated when their hour was over. About four hours later, I received a tweet with the certificate of completion from that participant. They went home and finished what they had started. Completion certainly adds to the feeling of accomplishment.
Hour of Code incorporates so many useful skills in addition to those listed above. There is critical thinking, math, logic, but just as important, there is pride in feeling accomplished as new levels are mastered. A community that codes together, learns together.
