SVSU hosting 6th annual ‘Hour of Code’ computer science event for 4th graders – MLive.com
"Hour of code 2016: An elementary school student works on code with the help of SVSU students." Image provided by SVSU.
KOCHVILLE TWP, MI– Saginaw Valley State University has announced it will be helping to introduce eighty-two 4th graders to computer science concepts.
In a release shared by the university, the “Hour of Code” program has been set to return from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18.
Done as a partnership between SVSU’s STEM Center and the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, the program aims to provide a full day of activities for students from All Saints Elementary and McAlear-Sawden Elementary in Bay City, Carrollton Elementary in Carrollton Township, Trinity Lutheran in Reese and Skeels Christian School in Gladwin.
Hour of Code is a global movement that looks to reach students in over 180 countries to increase diversity in computer science as well as to introduce coding to students at a young age.
According to the release, the Hour of Code program consists of students participating in 60 minutes of coding, the process of writing a computer program using a programming language.
George Corser, SVSU assistant professor of computer science and information systems, and several SVSU computer science students will provide instruction.
Corser and his students will use materials from the global Hour of Code program and show students and teachers how to access these lessons at home and at their schools.
In addition to writing code, participants will be led on a tour of the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum by Curator of Education Andrea Ondish. Students will also be led by Ondish during a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) activity before an on-campus lunch.
Adrianne Cole director of STEM@SVSU said that the program has grown immensely in importance because of how heavily modern society relies on technology.
“STEM@SVSU is excited to be part of the Hour of Code global movement,” said Cole. “It’s critical to introduce computer science concepts at an early age.”
She adds that programs like STEM@SVSU allow the university to increase its interaction with K-12 schools and allow young students to experience a college setting while increasing their passion for the STEM fields.
According to Cole, SVSU began offering an Hour of Code program annually in 2016, with the exception of 2020.
Including this year’s participants, SVSU said it has worked with a total of 515 students and 24 teachers.
The release said that students who already have experience with simple block coding presented in other Hour of Code lessons will be provided Java script instruction to advance them to the next level.
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