NWTC Service-Learning and Civic Engagement 2018-2019 | Page 24

TECHNOLOGY
HOUR OF CODE
Ensuring computer science is fun,
creative, and accessible at all.
Computer science drives growth and
innovation throughout the economy and
society, but according to Code.org, only
40% of high schools nationwide teach
computer science. That has educators
working to prepare students and adults
for careers in the in-demand profession,
sometimes one hour at a time.
“When you look at Wisconsin, we have
almost 8,000 computing jobs that are
open. So how do we fill that pipeline?” said
Michelle Schuler, who manages Microsoft’s
TechSpark program in Wisconsin. “We
can look at upskilling our existing talent,
look at upskilling displaced workers, and
we look at developing our youth.”
The Hour of Code started as a one-
hour introduction to computer science,
designed to demystify “code,” to show
that anybody can learn the basics and
to broaden participation in the field of
computer science. The goal of the Hour of
Code is not to teach anybody to become
an expert computer scientist in one hour.
However, one hour is enough to learn
that computer science is fun and creative,
that it is accessible at all ages, for all
students, regardless of background.
“Our goal is to get the general public to
understand what software development
is, what coding is, and what great
opportunities there are in that workforce,”
LESS THAN 2%
OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
G R A D U AT E W I T H A D E G R E E
IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
A N D T H E N U M B E R S H AV E D R O P P E D
SINCE LAST DECADE.
CO D E .O R G
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