The Hour of Code aims to get millions of students around the world to try just one hour of coding during the annual US Computer Science Education Week. The simplest of ideas has snowballed into a runaway success, reaching tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries. The Hour of Code has quickly become about everyone getting involved to move the dial on learning the basics of computer science and boosting participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.
Microsoft announced that this year’s Hour of Code worldwide campaign last month, saw even more countries in the Asia Pacific region participating, including Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Microsoft and its nonprofit partner Code.org, are operating this global initative.
The initative encourages parents, teachers and mentors to spend an hour coaching young people in the fundamentals of software coding, which is made fun and interesting through a series of simple activities posted on Code.org. One such activity allows learners to traverse the colourful world of Minecraft, one of the world’s most popular video games, through the Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial.
Malaysia was the first country to kick off “Hour of Code,” in Asia Pacific featuring a Minecraft tutorial aimed at introducing youth to the creativity of computer science. More than 25,000 youngsters participated in the sessions themed “Code4Good” and held at 247 locations across the country. The tutorial introduces students and educators to basic coding within the fun and popular Minecraft environment.
The Hour of Code in Malaysia continues Microsoft Malaysia’s emphasis on inclusiveness by bringing 21st century skills to students. The Hour of Code campaign this year also saw the participation of youngsters of all ages from Federal Territory and Selangor schools.
Source: Microsoft
