Microsoft, through its YouthSpark programme, recently hosted Hour of Code, an event aimed at encouraging young students to try coding by encouraging them to not only be users of technology but also creators of it.
The event, held at the Microsoft Innovation Center during Computer Science Education Week involved a presentation to about 100 students, 24 of which actively participated in the Hour of Code session. Another group of sixth form students attended a Kodu Hour of Code session and following these sessions, the Microsoft Malta team went to visit a school to deliver an Hour of Code session to a class of 10 year olds. Hour of Code participants had the opportunity to get guidance on the use of Microsoft Imagine coding programs such as Kodu, TouchDevelop, Win App Studio.
"Microsoft is committed to developing computer science education and we believe that there is no better way than doing this with practical sessions where students get a hands-on experience of the technology within a setting that reflects today's working environment. We were delighted to see an active participation from students and this confirms how such events show how accessible, relevant and fun IT can be," said Edward Portelli, Business Development Manager at the Microsoft Innovation Center.
Elaborating on the benefits of such events, Edward Portelli added "we wanted to host this event to show that anybody can learn coding and that everyone starts from somewhere. Coding gives you the power to create with technology, not just use it.Microsoft believes every young person should have the opportunity to learn codingand is proud to be a founding partner of Code.org."
Microsoft's partnership with Code.org is part of Microsoft YouthSpark, a global programme that empowers young people to do more and achieve more - which includes expanding access to computer science education.