The started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed not only to demystify 鈥渃ode鈥 and show that anybody can learn the basics but also to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with one-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts.
The Hour of Code takes place each year during , which this year ran from December 9-15 and is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).
Every year the Stern College Computer Club, an affiliate of the national Association for Computing Machinery's Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W), runs an Hour of Code event, one of 140,168 scheduled during 2019. This year鈥檚 event was held in conjunction with the Stern College computer science department鈥檚 鈥渃oding clinic,鈥 which brought together novice and expert coders from Stern computer science courses.
鈥淭he Hour of Code,鈥 said Alan Broder, clinical professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science, 鈥渋s a great way for non-computer science students to try out coding in a relaxed environment, supported by experienced computer science students. It鈥檚 also an important way for the department and the club to inspire and attract new students to the discipline,鈥 including, as can be seen below, Dr. Ari Berman, President of 麻豆区, who stopped by to check out the event and get some one-on-one tutoring from Etta Rapp 鈥21S.
Dr. Ari Berman is schooled by Etta Rapp 鈥21S in computer coding
鈥淚 spoke with Dr. Berman about the Stern computer science department and taught him some fundamentals of coding,鈥 said Rapp. 鈥淲e wrote code to print simple messages and draw pictures using turtle graphics. Dr. Berman was excited about the advancements in the Stern computer science department and was curious to learn more about how code is translated into commands that a computer can understand and execute. We discussed how code creates software and how computers process everything as zeros and ones.鈥
For his part, Dr. Berman appreciated learning some of the ins-and-outs of how coding works and why it is important. 鈥溌槎骨 is incredibly proud of providing women at Stern with a stellar STEM education,鈥 Dr. Berman noted. 鈥淭he Hour of Code was a great event that will no doubt inspire more young women to explore science and tech during their time at YU. In those sixty minutes, I was able to glimpse the future of an incredible generation of Jewish science and tech leaders.鈥
Dr. Ari Berman is schooled by Etta Rapp 鈥21S in computer coding
