Hour of Code: Local students join national effort to master skills in computer science

Ceylon Grissom, 10, Amari Shaw, 10, and Lilly Corbin, 9, participate in Hour of Code on Wednesday at Fairview Elementary School. The Hour of Code is a one-hour introductory class to computer science designed to get children involved with learning how to code.
Ceylon Grissom, 10, Amari Shaw, 10, and Lilly Corbin, 9, participate in Hour of Code on Wednesday at Fairview Elementary School. The Hour of Code is a one-hour introductory class to computer science designed to get children involved with learning how to code.

Students at Texarkana, Ark., School District and St. James Day School joined others across the country last week to learn more about computer science in Hour of Code events. Through Hour of Code, students got the opportunity to learn several methods of programming and become more familiar with what will be required of them in years to come.

"It's about exposure," said Diana Lowe, TASD director of math and science for kindergarten through 12th grade. "We want to make sure they have that experience and introduction to computer science. That way they'll have the self esteem and confidence that they can do it."

Hour of Code is sponsored through Code.org, a nonprofit organization that works to increase exposure to computer science and coding curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade.

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Submitted photo WINNING DUO: Samuel Scott, right, and Peyton Qualls were the winning team at Saturday's fishing tournament.

While certain schools in TASD have participated in Hour of Code before, this year, Lowe said ervery classroom had a coding session.

"One hundred percent of our students participated," she said. "We didn't select just a few. Districtwide, we touched every student."

Some of the coding courses were taught in computer science classes, with others held in regular classes, she said.

"It ties in with the statewide curriculum. Arkansas is the only state in the nation with K-12 computer science standards. They are required to be taught," Lowe said.

"Some of our students-for example, at Fairview-have been working on a coding computer science unit for about five weeks. It's very serious in Arkansas. Game on."

That scientific drive was also represented at St. James Day school, where students in Shannon Kirkland's class also were invited to Southern Arkansas University last week to present what they'd learned in their robotics classes.

"The things presented were very diverse," St. James' director of innovation and academic technology said. "We had drones, robotics, coding-all of those things. We presented at the showcase to help other districts with their program."

Their robots included programming from WeDo 2.0 Lego, EV3, NXT Lego and VEX IQ.

"We have the only VEX IQ program in the area," Kirkland said. It includes snap-together pieces that make it easier for students to build the robots they program.

"All of those things are something I brought this year," she said. Previously, she worked with robotics and coding at Texarkana Independent School District for several years and was in charge of the annual coding camps held each summer.

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"We wanted to start drones this year, and we wanted to get (students) from kindergarten up doing robotics," she said. "We also wanted to just work on the coding as well."

Kirkland said St. James has offered coding classes since 1985, and now, children as young as 5 are learning how to program the robots.

"The difference is most people don't start robotics until sixth grade," she said, adding that she doesn't adhere to the recommended age levels printed on the side of the robotics equipment.

"They didn't know they couldn't," she said of the younger children putting the robots together and coding them. "I asked them to, and I taught them how to do it. Even kindergarten can. I was so excited."

Those kindergartners will also learn from the students who presented at the showcase, who will now show other St. James students what they learned while attending.

"I've got five boys in sixth grade who like to mentor students and will teach them how to do it," she said. "I basically picked a mentoring team and we stayed after school to learn what they needed to participate and showcase."

Both Kirkland and Lowe said the events were expanding students' thirst for knowledge of programming.

"I think events like this tell our community, tell the parents, tell the students that anyone can learn how to code, and it sparks interest," Lowe said. "We saw that."

North Heights Junior High School offers a high school-level computer science course in partnership with the Arkansas School of Mathematics and Science in Hot Springs, Lowe said.

"We're using the same curriculum as the gifted students there are, and this is the same course at North Heights and also at Arkansas High."

She said she was impressed at how much computer science affects so many industries and that districts are very aware of how important it is in curriculum.

"Not just manufacturing. Not just health care. It affects every industry," Lowe said. "Coding is the new literacy expectation. For our young students especially, it is going to be an expectation for them to be successful."

Free coding courses are also available at Code.org.

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