Over half of DSBN schools participated. Students of EVERY age participated. Educators from EVERY discipline participated. Principals and administration staff were SO engaged. Working together we achieved over 750,000 minutes of students learning code. How much exactly, you may ask? 759,574 minutes!
During Hour of Code week, December 7-13, ihub hosted a series of in-house Hour of Code session alongside industry partners and entrepreneurs, and local post-secondary students from both Brock University and Niagara College.
We kicked off Hour of Code Week on Monday, December 7 with Lightbot, an Hour of Code featured activity created by 2015 Forbes 30-Under-30 education award winner, Danny Yaroslavski. Danny mentored groups of elementary and secondary students alongside DSBN educators, and Dr. Camille Rutherford, Brock University Faculty of Education and Peter Wilson, Brock University Computer Science Club.
“I was twelve when I started coding,” shared Lightbot creator, Danny with Grade 6 students. This was followed by a host of curious questions, each met with patience and enthusiasm by our inspiring entrepreneurial host.
One student asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” to which Danny responded (with a huge smile), “Where do you get yours? A day in any life can inspire an idea, if we only pay attention to that part of our brains.”
Following this first day, student and educator enthusiasm for Lightbot and other coding activities spread through DSBN Academy.
A sincere thank you to Danny for spending the first day of Hour of Code Week with us at ihub! You had a real impact here, and we intend to continue this ripple of innovation. This Grade 8 teacher spoke to the impact this activity was having on her students, even just through this short exposure. “It’s something that reaches kids; that they can interact with and connect with.” – Grade 8 DSBN educator One student, usually content to follow her peers through group work, could be seen confidently leading her team through a Sphero activity. Another student, typically disengaged and opposed to writing critical thinking and reflection pieces, approached this teacher with a completed piece and requested another activity. This learning is having a real impact. As Hour of Code Week continued, local news attended DSBN Academy Spherosessions, interviewing Grade 10 and Grade 11 students about this initiative and their outlook on coding as an in-demand skill.
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