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Ossining Marks 'Hour of Code' With Special Programming Activities

OSSINING, N.Y. — Programming, 3D printing and robotics were part of a recent coding event at Ossining High School.

Ossining High School students participated in the worldwide "Hour of Code."

Ossining High School students participated in the worldwide "Hour of Code."

Photo Credit: Submitted

Students in the Game, App Design and Coding course helped out peers who were trying their hand at computer coding for the first time. The budding computer programmers were participating in the annual “Hour of Code” event at Ossining High School, whose goal is to get more students interested in computer science and technology careers.

The students watched a video tutorial about the programming that went into the making of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” They solved a number of coding challenges, including how to use block code to get BB-8, a spherical droid, to pick up scraps of metal.

“I’m taking coding class the next quarter, so I figured I’d get a head start,” said 10th-grader Christopher Love.

OHS has held Hour of Code activities for several years. It started very small in the computer lab, said Glenn Goldberg, a mathematics teacher who helped organize the Hour of Code at OHS.

This year the activities spanned two days – Dec. 9 and Dec. 11 -- and included a screening of the movie “Code Girl,” 3D printing, robotics demonstrations and other activities.

Schools around the world celebrate the Hour of Code each year as part of Computer Science Education Week. It is organized by Code.org, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science and increasing the number of women and minorities in the field. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2022, there will be more than one million job openings in computing. This is the first year OHS has offered a Game, App Design and Coding course, and 80 students signed up for it.

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