Program teaches Kinnelon students computer coding skills
Source: DEBORAH WALSH
Dr. Benjamin Fine, an assistant professor of computer science at Ramapo College, speaks to Kinnelon students about the importance of computer skills and the many opportunities available for those who acquire those skills.Kinnelon students participate in an "Hour of Code" event at Stonybrook School.
Cognizant of the opportunities available and the success that can be achieved by amassing computer science skills, the district not only participated in the global movement known as "The Hour of Code," but extended it to a week of computer code activities, which dovetails with the district's focus on STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) problem-solving skills.
Madelaine Travaille, the district's new K-12 supervisor of science, coordinated the district's Hour of Code, which was held in more than 180 countries worldwide in conjunction with Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 7 through Dec. 13, 2015).
Dr. Benjamin Fine, an assistant professor of computer science at Ramapo College, speaks to Kinnelon students about the importance of computer skills and the many opportunities available for those who acquire those skills.Kinnelon students participate in an "Hour of Code" event at Stonybrook School.
"Basically, Hour of Code is a worldwide initiative to expose students at a young age to computer science rather than just using a program. The whole district participated, and we are getting the students excited about how the computer functions rather than just playing games or using it as a research tool."
The Hour of Code kicked off on Dec. 7 with a presentation by Dr. Benjamin Fine, assistant professor of computer science at the School of Theoretical and Applied Science at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Nancy Bosch, media specialist at Stonybrook School, helped arrange for Dr. Fine to be a guest speaker. Her daughter, Kaitlyn, attends Ramapo and has taken classes taught by Fine. Bosch had led also an Hour of Code at Stonybrook School in 2014.
Fine asked the K-12 students questions and attempted to demystify computer coding for the younger students. He also offered practical reasons why students should become involved in computer coding. After asking students what they thought of when they heard the words computer science, Fine shared his favorite definitions.
"My favorite definition is, computer science is a media for problem solving and self-expression. Another definition is �C it's a tool that can be used to reason, build things, and interact," said Fine.
After asking the students if they thought computers were smart, Fine told them the computers can only do what programmers and operators tell them to do. Fine also asked the students what computers were used for and reviewed the seemingly endless uses for computers and computer employment opportunities.
With all the computer science jobs available and many of these jobs coming with excellent salaries, Fine said you would think many students would be studying computer science, yet this is not the case. Fine said 60 percent of the science and math jobs available today are in the computer science field.
According to Code.org, there are 604,689 open computer jobs nationwide, yet only 38,179 computer science students graduated and entered the workforce.
During Hour of Code, kindergartners used Lightbot, which requires students to use programming logic to solve puzzles and teaches players basic coding concepts.
Travaille said she worked with first and second graders, who initially thought they were just playing a computer game, but by the end of the exercise realized that they were coding and actually writing a computer program.
Students utilized Tynker, which allows them to play fun coding games and to use programming to complete a scavenger hunt, program a Hot Wheels car, and learn several other programming concepts as they play. The students learned to think like programmers think and could identify a line of code, she said.
Travaille said during the week of code in Kinnelon, Kiel School and Stonybrook students participated in coding activities at their scheduled library times. At Pearl R. Miller School (PRM), science teachers supervised students in coding work at lab time. At PRM, a code classroom was created through code.org where teachers can track students' coding progress. At PRM students used CodeCombat, which is a programming game that allows them to learn JavaScript or Python programming languages.
Travaille said Kinnelon High School math and science teachers were asked to hold classes in the computer lab or use laptops for computer coding activities. Careers in computer science were also discussed, which motivated students to explore their options. Computer programming skills are invaluable in many career fields, she said.
"Many students do not get exposed to computer coding skills at a young age and if they are exposed early, they might look at computer opportunities differently in the future," said Travaille. "During the week of code, each of our 1,900 students participated."
| }
|