"Hour of Code" Promotes Computer Knowledge

Written by Kyle Slagley

This week marks the first annual Computer Science Education Week, or CSEdWeek for short. Sponsored by Code.org, the week is intended to inspire K-12 students to learn the basics, and hopefully more, of computer science. The week also serves a double-purpose in that it recognizes the December 9th birthday of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, who is widely considered to be a pioneer in computing.

The big push during this year’s CSEdWeek is the “Hour of Code” initiative. Big names like Ashton Kutcher, President Obama, and (unsurprisingly) Mark Zuckerberg have been encouraging people to take part in hour-long seminars where participants are taught the basics of computer code.

Beginning Monday morning, I was very happy to see dozens of tweets by libraries in all corners of the U.S. and Canada advocating for “Hour of Code” and CSEdWeek. Loads of libraries are offering their own Hour of Code seminars this week, or at the very least are directing patrons to other local organizations who are hosting.

In case your patrons want some additional material regarding either code or computer science in general, I’ve pulled together a couple of titles you can order from Midwest Tape that might help.

Learn HTML - Explains what HTML is, web pages, scanners, servers, web page design issues, and more. Learn how to create a page or simply be up-to-date with today's technology. Everything viewers need to learn is at their fingertips.

Mastering Java Programming – Vol. 1 & Vol. 2: Learn how to program in Java with step-by-step video lessons. Presuming viewers know nothing about programming at all, viewers will be walked through each concept necessary to write Java programs quickly and effectively. Then continue the Mastering Java series with step-by-step video lessons and example code. The student will learn about keyboard input, for loop, if statements, while loops, math libraries, and much more.

If your patrons have questions regarding a specific type of computing, SmartBrowse “Information Technology” for a complete list of our available titles.