Are you ready for the Hour Of Code??

I am very excited about the upcoming Hour of Code (December 8-December 14, 2014) sponsored by Code.org!  Last year, my students LOVED every minute of it -- and I know they are looking forward to it just as much as I am.

I recently attended a full day workshop held in Lincoln, Nebraska on the Code.org lessons.  The workshop was led by Dr. Kent Steen and had a great blend of online and "unplugged" activities.  To be honest -- some of my favorite parts were the team activities spent working on the unplugged lessons.  These activities really solidify the learning process of coding and teach the concepts in a very fun and engaging way.

One of the fun activities was the Getting Loopy Dance.  It teaches the concept of Loops using easy-to-learn dance moves.  (If I can do it -- so can you!)  I think it will be a great "brain break" for my kids.  Check out the Code.org video highlighting this activity.

The online lessons have taken on a great new look too!  There are the Hour of Code lessons that were available last year -- but they also have a Course 1 for beginning readers and new to coding in grades K-1, Course 2 for students that are readers and in grades 2-5, and Course 3 is a follow-up for those who have completed Course 2 and are in Grades 4-5.

The original Hour Of Code Lessons are still available, too.  There is also a quick set of lessons that teach you how to make your own flappy bird game!

The lessons in all the courses are amazing!  The instructions are easy to follow -- there are video tutorials in between lessons that introduce a new concept -- and there are suggestions for improving codes that are written, but need some tweaking.  If you haven't taken a look -- visit http://code.org today!!

Check out some of my finished projects!  I know that my game is cool.  Don't be jealous!  :-)

http://learn.code.org/sh/46448523  - Sweet Design

http://studio.code.org/sh/46450243  - Arrow Control Game

http://learn.code.org/sh/46565744 - Flappy Bird