Who would have thought Elsa and Anna would bring a whole community together?  Although the “Frozen” stars were the number one Christmas list item this year, they saved some of their holiday magic for local elementary students and it came in the form of code.  That’s right, code.  Computer code to be specific.

 

Students at Simpson and Johnson Elementary Schools took part in an initiative to introduce 100 million students to computer science.  The Hour of Code movement began last year in an effort to teach computer science to those underrepresented in the field, namely girls and minorities. Initially, the movement included movie stars, political leaders and even the President of the United States.  This year, it spread to the local community and included a visit from the mayor and the inclusion of parent volunteers in the classroom.

 

“This is the second year we were involved in the program,” said Simpson Elementary Computer teacher Terri Morrison.  “All the students were included and the students used online programs to code Anna and Elsa to make snowflakes, among other projects.”  Kristie Galindo, Johnson Elementary’s Computer teacher, echoed the benefits of the program.  “The Hour of Code encouraged students to understand that computer science is the art of blending human ideas and digital tools to solve problems.”

 

Ironically, although computers are everywhere, fewer schools are teaching computer science than 10 years ago.  Local schools are excited to be a part of the movement to change that.  By introducing code early in schools, students learn the possibilities of computer science that can grow into a career someday.  “I am so proud of the students for participating in this program,” said Galindo.  “They were all so excited to have the opportunity to experience programming using things relevant to them.”