Tuesday's Tech Tip!

The Hour of Code is an opportunity for every student to try computer science for one hour. During Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 9-15), we're making history and recruiting 10 million to join in and do the Hour of Code.

Choose a tutorial for your students

• Check out the tutorials and pick one for your class. Note: more international/multilingual support is on its way.
• Go through the tutorial yourself so you can help students during the Hour of Code.
• Test tutorials on student computers or devices. Make sure they work properly (with sound and video).
• Preview the congrats page to see what students will see when they finish.
• If the tutorial you choose works best with sound, provide headphones for your class, or ask students to bring their own.

Plan ahead based on your technology available

• Don't have enough devices? Use pair programming. When students partner up, they help each other and rely less on the teacher. They’ll also see that computer science is social and collaborative.
• Have low bandwidth? Plan to show videos at the front of the class, so each student isn't downloading their own videos.

Direct students to the activity

• Write the tutorial link on a whiteboard. Find the link listed on the information for your selected tutorial under the number of participants. (Example: hourofcode.com/co)
• Tell students to visit the URL and start the tutorial.

When your students come across difficulties

• Tell students, “Ask 3 then me.” Ask 3 classmates, and if they don’t have the answer, then ask the teacher.
• Encourage students and offer positive reinforcement: “You’re doing great, so keep trying.”
• It’s okay to respond to respond: “I don’t know. Let’s figure this out together.” If you can’t figure out a problem, use it as a good learning lesson for the class: “Technology doesn’t always work out the way we want. Together, we’re a community of learners.” And: “Learning to program is like learning a new language; you won’t be fluent right away.“
• Check the Hour of Code forum to ask questions and see FAQs.

What to do if a student finishes early?

• Students can see all tutorials and try another Hour of Code activity at code.org/learn.
• Or, ask students who finish early to help classmates who are having trouble with the activity.

The Hour of Code is just the first step on a journey to learn more about how technology works and how to create software applications. To continue this journey, find additional resources for educators here.