Hawthorne High School Library Media Specialist Theresa DiGeronimo coordinated a school-wide Hour of Code with the help of William Paterson University Professor in Residence for Technology Denise Post on Dec. 8. A group of 60 students were privileged to attend the in-school educational field trip in the Library Media Center or Room 110; Principal Daniel LaGrone and Superintendent Richard Spirito participated in Room 110.

Before the commencement of Hour of Code, Nadia Barouk and Raiya Isaac were interviewed by The Clarion about why they chose to sign up for the nationwide event. Barouk explained how she was recommended by Mrs. DiGeronimo because of her curiosity about the academic event. Isaac indicated she had a prior interest in computer science, and Barouk encouraged her to participate.

Dec. 7 to Dec. 13 was Computer Science Education Week. Computer Science Education Week is a scholastic effort to introduce the general populace to the field of computer science. The Hour of Code is an example of one initiative organized by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org to introduce the youth of America to one hour of computer science in order to demystify code and demonstrate how anybody, regardless of background, is able to practice.

People of every grade and skill-level partook in the Hour of Code. For the Dec. 8 introductory event, Mrs. DiGeronimo first instructed the group to either sign onto Code.org or to sign onto a Khan Academy webpage. Both can be accessed at https://code.org/learn and https://khanacademy.org/hourofcode, respectively. Those who were new to the exercise chose a tutorial on Code.org, such as the Classic Maze and Flappy Code. Nadia Barouk and Raiya Isaac tested their ability on Code.org with Minecraft Hour of Code and Code with Elsa and Anna. Both were a drag-and-drop type of game, which Barouk and Isaac both noted was a nice introduction to code. Those who possessed an intermediate or advanced background in computer science chose to write their own code on Khan Academy.

Irrespective of skill-level, each tutorial on Khan Academy was composed of an introductory video and a challenge webpage to where the participant could apply what he or she had learned. Many of those who participated in the tutorial felt as if they learned a lot about the language of code; the majority of the group enjoyed the in-school experience.

After the introductory hour concluded, The Clarion asked around to get a grasp on what the group of 60 learned, and if they may consider a career in the field. “I really did [enjoy the Hour of Code.]” Victoria Jungermann expressed. “I was able to create my own game.” Phillip Rodrigues agreed with Jungermann; the two revealed they would consider computer science as an option for the future.

The Hour of Code at Hawthorne High School was deemed a success; each participant earned a certificate of completion from Code.org for their time. Principal LaGrone and Superintendent Spirito were impressed by how smoothly the high school field trip proceeded. To quote Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, “Computer programming is the single best professional opportunity in the world. We need more Americans in the field. Let’s go!”