Twenty students from the Msida Primary School participated in the #HourOfCode, an easy and fun event that that introduces computer coding with children and helps them strengthen their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

This event was supported and animated by Microsoft Malta. Microsoft is an official partner of the global #HourOfCode event. As such, the chosen activity featured a Minecraft exercise - Minecraft being a game platform recently acquired by Microsoft. Hon. Evarist Bartolo, Minster for Education and Employment ayyended the event.

#HourOfCode is the largest educational event in the world with more than 100,000,000 students taking part in one week. This year the computing team within the Department of Curriculum Management within the Education Ministry decided to grow this event to a national event where every classroom in every school from kindergarten to Form 5 will have the opportunity to experience the #HourOfCode event throughout the whole week.

Christopher Demicoli, Microsoft in Education Manager at Microsoft Malta said "Microsoft's mission is to empower every student to achieve more. We are also committed to providing teachers with the tools and training needed to redefine learning. Microsoft believes every young person should have the opportunity to learn computer science and this is why through events such as this #HourOfCode, we are giving them the power to create with technology."

James Catania, Education Officer for Computing at the Ministry for Education added "every 21st-century student should have the opportunity to take part in creating technology that is changing our world. Problem-solving skills from an early age are a must for today's digital citizens. Our students are living in a digital world, a world they have a right to understand and control. We are aiming to create effective digital citizens with 21st century skills - skills which will be of extreme importance in today's dynamic world and crucial for success. The basics in this event in fact, help nurture creativity and problem-solving skills, and prepare students for any future career."

The #HourOfCode can also be carried out without the use of computers, what we call "unplugged" this is especially crucial for Primary schools since their access to computing devices is limited. The computing team has created a set of resources covering from Kindergarten to Year 6 (early and primary years) which were disseminated to all primary teachers so that they can still carry out the #HourOfCode and make it possible for their students to experience computer coding.