{"id":107,"date":"2015-12-09T20:48:17","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T20:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/?p=107"},"modified":"2015-12-09T23:00:17","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T23:00:17","slug":"week-of-code-hillbrook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/2015\/12\/week-of-code-hillbrook\/","title":{"rendered":"Week Of Code @ Hillbrook"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DSC_0718\"<\/a>
LS students code and draw with robots on the amphitheater stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Contributed by Director of Technology Bill Selak<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How many computers are in your pocket or purse right now? Take a quick look. I have two car keys, a FitBit, and an iPhone in my pockets. I carry four small computers with me every single day. We are quickly approaching an Internet of Things<\/a>: a \u201cnetwork of physical objects or \u2018things\u2019 embedded with electronics\u2026 and network connectivity which enables these objects to collect and exchange data.\u201d In other words, computers that need to be programmed will soon exist in most things we use.<\/p>\n

This week, every Hillbrook student participated in one hour of code. “The Hour of Code<\/a>\u00a0is [a global movement] designed to demystify code and show that computer science is not rocket-science, anybody can learn the basics,” said Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org<\/a>, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science. The\u00a0Hillbrook community joined students worldwide\u00a0as they spent\u00a0time coding this week.<\/p>\n

Coding isn\u2019t just a fad, and it\u2019s not just a fun activity to add to the end of school day. The Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> projects one million job openings in computing jobs is from 2010-2020. Coding brings computational thinking to the forefront of the classroom. It creates an environment where students develop 21st Century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. Adding coding to classrooms also helps address the gender inequality in professional coding–only 12% of computer science degrees are earned by women.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0took this initiative a step further when we kicked off our first Week Of Code @ Hillbook<\/strong>, offering students workshops and immersions where\u00a0they could experience engaging, fun, and real-world coding with their teachers as well as representatives from tech-minded companies within Silicon Valley. <\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn’t have put it better than Head Of School Mark Silver. \u201cHillbrook aims to inspire students to reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world.\u00a0Week Of Code places an emphasis on the emergence of code as a new language in the 21st Century and the power of coding to make a positive impact today and in the future. We are excited to be introducing students to this language, opening doors to ways in which they can use technology to change the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Students in 1st to 8th grades\u00a0spent two hours coding at two of 11\u00a0different\u00a0workshops, with activities that ranged from creating music with robots to navigating drones through an obstacle course. Here are some of the moments captured throughout the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"LSHOC\"<\/a>
All students were\u00a0immersed in a fun and challenging hour of coding. Here students take on a Minecraft-themed challenge during Hour Of Code.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"MS<\/a>
MS students code and create original splatter paint masterpieces with Sphero – a great fusion of technology and art!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"LS<\/a>
LS students use “Scratch,” and the world of coding comes to life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"DSC_0733\"<\/a>
LS students use the Tickle App to code a Sphero to navigate through an obstacle course.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"IMG_4341\"<\/a>
A\u00a0representative\u00a0from Sphero\u00a0discusses angles and helps students code in MS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Sphero team is all smiles. They helped in the\u00a0art as well as obstacle course activities, featuring their educational robots, in MS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"DSC_0718\"
LS students program and draw with robots int the Robot Buffet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"MS<\/a>
MS students celebrate a paper coding victory, where they also gained a deeper understanding of how they manipulate coding language.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"DSC_0701<\/a>
MS students use the Tickle app to code Hillbrook’s selection of robots to spin and interact in the MPR.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"DSC_0729\"<\/a>
LS students create tech-infused cards during paper circuitry.\u00a0Tinkering with\u00a0LED lights, copper, and paper, this was a wonderful making session for our learners.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"MS<\/a>
MS students code and create original splatter paint masterpieces with Sphero – a great fusion of technology and art!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"MS<\/a>
MS & LS students learned about drone safety and took turns navigating them with the help of the team from Enjoy, a Menlo Park-based e-commerce company.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JK and kindergarten students will have opportunities on Thursday and Friday during exploration time to learn how to code using BeeBots–standalone, programmable robots that accept and execute directional commands. For example: forward, right, forward, right, forward, right, forward tells the BeeBot to roll in a square.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"GoogleX\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A highlight of the week was the eighth grade field trip to Google X. Engineers talked with Hillbrook students and challenged them to think about the future. For instance,\u00a0\u201cwhat can you create with code in a world where <\/span>every<\/span><\/i> car is self-driving?\u201d The possibilities are endless.<\/span><\/p>\n

We look forward to seeing how students continue to incorporate computer science\u00a0into their educational experiences here at Hillbrook, from lower school students coding during ICE Time to middle school students taking robotics electives. Coding not only combines computational thinking, logic, and sequencing, but also requires collaboration. As Head Of Lower School Colleen Schilly noted, \u201cWhat struck me during and stayed with me afterwards was how much JOY there was in the creativity, curiosity, and collaboration that this event inspired.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: A very special thank you to Bill and Lower School Instructional Technology Coach Kelly Scholten for creating such a great experience for our students, and to all the staff, faculty, and parent volunteers who helped execute a wonderful first Week Of Code @ Hillbrook!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contributed by Director of Technology Bill Selak How many computers are in your pocket or purse right now? Take a quick look. I have two …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","content-type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,62,76,22,20,92],"tags":[101,65,99,102,100],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-extraordinary-educational-experience","category-hands-on-learning","category-inspiring-education","category-joyful-community","category-lower-school","category-middle-school","tag-coding","tag-hands-on-learning","tag-hour-of-code","tag-programming","tag-week-of-code"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130,"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions\/130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hillbrook.us\/voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}