Lincoln students have the opportunity to join a worldwide event and participate in one hour of computer programming Dec. 8-14 as part of Computer Science Education Week.

The international program, called “Hour of Code,” has attracted more than 47 million students since it was founded last year, and this year the organization hopes to introduce computer programming to more than 100 million students.

Technology teacher Meredith Addy has brought the program to Lincoln with the help of the Coding Club, parent volunteers, and students. “Hour of Code” has already received backing from major technology companies such as Microsoft and has the support of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, video game developer Gabe Newell, and President Barack Obama

“Hour of Code” at Lincoln will likely take place outside of class time and will feature booths and stations set up for students to learn about different aspects of computer science.  It will also provide opportunities for students to learn how to code, from the beginner level, using tutorials and templates to create fun mini-games, to the advanced level, where professionals will help students hone their skills.  The goal will be to have at least 50 percent of Lincoln students try one hour of coding.

“I think that if we show students what code can do, they will want to do it,” said Tommy Andersen, Coding Club president. “It will really expand your opportunities for the future,” freshman club member Armand Yazdani said. The club also has a branch organization at West Sylvan Middle School.

While Lincoln offers a variety of computer classes, many schools around the globe lack such opportunities.  This could be what has led to the tech industry being heavily dominated by males, Caucasians and Asians.  Out of 22,000 U.S. students who took the advanced-placement computer science test in 2012, about 4,200 were girls and fewer than 3,000 were African-American or Hispanic.

The “Hour of Code” program, run by code.org, a Seattle-based non-profit, hopes to change this by opening the doors for students all over the world.  In a video on the “Hour of Code” website, Newell, founder of video game development company Valve said, “The programmers of tomorrow are the wizards of the future.”  Additional information is available by visiting www.code.org or by contacting Addy at [email protected].

Click here for more information about “Hour of Code.” http://youtu.be/FC5FbmsH4fw