Last year around this time, I posted about Computer Science Education Week. In the post, I mentioned the goal was for 10 million individuals to participate in the hour of code. That goal was easily surpassed, and I see now on the Computer Science Education Week website that nearly 50 million individuals have participated! This year, the founder of the project hopes to reach 100 million, which you can be a part of even if you don’t have any experience with computer programming.

Just about anyone can easily use one of the free interactive resources that allow you to drag and drop blocks to make a character move. You can do this with a series of Angry Birds puzzles (ages 4+), or with a series of Frozen puzzles (ages 8+). Via the puzzles, you learn logic skills required in computer programming. And, if you want, you can see the code (written in Javascript) for the commands you’re providing with the blocks.

Last year, I participated in the hour of code with my high school students who have special needs. We interacted with the Angry Birds puzzles on computers and iPads. My students were all easily amused to see how their commands could enable the red bird to capture the pigs. Throughout the interactions, they verbalized their commands, took turns, and they discussed how to play the game. They had a great time as they practiced speech-language skills.

Computer programming is a wonderful skill for students to acquire. The late Steve Jobs once said, “Everyone should learn to program a computer because it teaches you to think.” After about 2 years of learning to code (aka program), I strongly agree with this statement. Although students may not have a desire to be a computer programmer, the logic skills learned in the process are largely beneficial to problem solving, a skill needed in just about every career.

To learn more about Computer Science Education Week, and to see how you can get involved, check out the following video: