Schools throughout Lee County recently participated in Computer Science Education Week through The Hour of Code initiative, which gives people of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to learn and practice computer coding.
Two notable participants were Tramway Elementary and B.T. Bullock Elementary schools. Their students learned coding first-hand and observed it’s impact on every aspect of our lives, with the help of SAS Computer Software Writer Jamie Laudate and 2 Lee County Academy of Engineering students, Jordan Gonzaga from Southern Lee, and Lee County High’s Jairo Diaz.
For Diaz, this event was an opportunity to pay forward on experiences he had in a similar circumstance. “Back when I was in middle school, I was inspired by students who came into our class and did the same thing I am doing now,” he said. “Since that time, I knew I wanted to pursue the fields of coding, engineering and technology.”
Lee County Schools Instructional Technology Facilitator Joy Thompson knows that coding skills will provide today’s students with significant career advantages tomorrow. She notes, “As educators we need to expose students to all sorts of skills, and computer science and coding are just one area. It is very important to our economy that we introduce our students to coding. That’s where the jobs are and we need to prepare them for jobs now and jobs that don’t exist at this time.”
LCHS Academy of Engineering Director Quinlan Henry adds, “Coding is quickly becoming the universal language of our world and is a part of nearly everything around us. People are often quoted saying that coding is the future, but coding, in reality, is the now. In order for our students to truly take advantage of the opportunities for success in today’s world, I believe they must have a basic understanding of the skill set of coding.”
