NEWS RELEASE
SAULT STE MARIE INNOVATION CENTRE
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Take part in a global movement during Computer Science Education Week
Did you know that in today’s economy, computing jobs outnumber students graduating in the field by 3-to-1?
The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) is working to change that.
The organization today announced that it is promoting a city-wide Hour of Code during the week of December 8-14, Computer Science Education Week.
"The Hour of Code is designed to demystify code and show that computer science is not rocket-science, anybody can learn the basics," said Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org. "In one week last year, 15 million students tried an Hour of Code. Now we're aiming for 100 million worldwide to prove that the demand for relevant 21st century computer science education crosses all borders and knows no boundaries."
Together we can teach our students critical 21st century skills, and to ensure that our students are at the forefront of creating technology for the future--not just consuming it.
“New jobs and opportunities continue to arise in the ICT sector and we need to increase the number of young people with awareness of this promising career path,” said Tom Vair, executive director, SSMIC. “The jobs are quite diverse and offer opportunity for people with a diverse skill sets.”
What is Hour of Code and How to Get Started?
Hour of Code is an opportunity for every student to try computer science for one hour (or less).
Hour of Code couldn’t be simpler:
- Let the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre know that you, or your class, are participating! You will be one of many local classes taking part in the global movement.
- Choose a tutorial from code.org for your students. They’re easy and fun, and link in themes from programs like Angry Birds and the movie Frozen.
- Run Hour of Code on an internet connection in the classroom as a group, in pairs, individually, or offline (going unplugged is a great option too).
Both school boards are in support of the Hour of Code event and encourage area teachers to register their classes.
“The ‘Hour of Code’ initiative is a wonderful way to engage our students in an aspect of technology that they might not realize is explorative, exciting and even a possible career choice,” said Lucia Reece, Director of Education, Algoma District School Board. “The widespread, global participation in this event is also a great way to remind our students of the power of technology to connect them to the world. We hope to have students from across our district participating.”
“The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB) is excited to be included in the Innovation Centre’s Hour of Code initiative. As the Board enhances student access to technology in our schools, this initiative will give students an opportunity to learn what goes on in creating the various programs and applications they regularly use and perhaps inspire them to pursue a career in technology,” said HSCDSB Director of Education, John Stadnyk. “I anticipate that many of our teachers will also learn much from this initiative which will in turn allow them to better integrate technology into the classroom.”
Why is Hour of Code Important?
In China, every student takes computer science to graduate high school.
Hour of Code even provides prizes to some participating classes, including:
- Select classrooms will win video chats with very special guests
- One school in each province and territory will receive $2000 for a Brilliant Project
- 15 schools across Canada will receive 2 hands-on STEM workshops by one of Actua's members
- 100 classrooms will win a set of programmable robots
Excited about Hour of Code? Register your class by contacting Diana Medaglia, Marketing and Communications Manager, at [email protected] or 705.942.7927 x. 3138.
Have you registered for Hour of Code? Let us know by tweeting to #HourOfCode @SSMICnews.
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