“Teaching kids to code is just as important as teaching them any other language. And the younger they start learning it, the better,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at a Dec. 9 technology forum for the Rumson School District.

His sentiment was echoed by staff in the district. Both educational technology teachers, Mark Panas of Deane-Porter (K-3) and Chris Macioch of Forrestdale (4-8), and their students have joined in on what has been labeled the largest education event in history: The Hour of Code.

To participate in Computer Science Education Week, during the month of December, Rumson School District’s K-5, as well as select 6-8th grade students, were amongst the more than 2 million worldwide learning the importance of code and the basics of computer programming skills.

The Deane-Porter and Forrestdale schools are registered through https://studio.code.org.

The site contains a wide variety of coding lessons that are appropriate to learners of all skill levels including Kindergarteners. It contains over 200 hours of online course and tutorials that walk students through the coding process. The lessons use characters and settings from Star Wars, Angry Birds, Frozen, Minecraft, Disney Infinity and Flappy Birds.

Students were introduced to the lessons during their scheduled computer classes and will continue to learn programming throughout the course of the school year. Each student accesses the lessons through a link specific to their class.

In addition, each individual student has a unique access code which allows them to also explore and complete the courses at home while allowing their computer teachers to monitor their progress. The differentiated activities provided on the site allow each student will work at their own pace and skill level.

“To code means to problem solve. Students analyze the task, visualize the steps to complete it and then use try and check strategies to program and find solutions,” said Mark Panas, Deane-Porter educational technology teacher.

Computers are everywhere, but fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago. The good news is that Rumson is changing this. The Hour of Code is gateway toward providing all students with access to high-quality computer science education.

— Rumson School District press release