SOMA Students Learn Computer Programming

All South Orange and Maplewood students participated in a computer programming lesson as part of Computer Science Education Week.

The Hour of Code is a movement across the world to introduce over 10 million students to computer programing, The South Orange and Maplewood School District said on its website.

“Individuals as prominent as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have come together to sponsor this program in an effort to raise awareness about the rapidly expanding and increasingly important field of coding,” school officials said.

During one of their science classes , students learned basic coding through video tutorials by accomplished computer programmers and celebrities. Students engaged in activities that challenged them to apply the skills.

“We hosted our Hour of Code events in the library on Wednesday and Thursday and several of our students contributed to this global effort to learn the basics of computer science,” said Maplewood Middle School Librarian, Sara Reichel. “Students from all grade and skill levels worked together to create and program games and other web based activities.”

“Students were so excited to get a taste of coding and many are looking forward to joining the MMS Technology Club, starting in January,” she added.

After seeing the excitement and engagement of the students, MMS Principal Jeffrey Truppo challenged students to design an app that can be used to deliver real-time news and information to the school community.

“We are looking forward to the student proposals in the coming weeks,” said Reichel.