User:Vipul/Code.org
Code.org is a non-profit organization (and eponymous website) led by brothers Hadi Partovi and Ali Partovi that aims to encourage people, particularly school students in the United States, to learn to code. The website includes free coding lessons, and the initiative also targets schools in an attempt to encourage them to include more computer science classes in the curriculum.[1]
Goals
[edit]According to its website, Code.org has the following goals:[1]
- Bringing Computer Science classes to every K-12 school in the United States, especially in urban and rural neighborhoods.
- Demonstrating the successful use of online curriculum in public school classrooms
- Changing policies in all 50 states to categorize C.S. as part of the math/science "core" curriculum
- Harnessing the collective power of the tech community to celebrate and grow C.S. education worldwide
- Increasing the representation of women and students of color in the field of Computer Science.
History
[edit]Launch and first video release
[edit]Code.org was launched in January 2013 by Hadi and Ali Partovi, with the goal of making programming accessible to everyone. Their initial focus was on creating a database of all computer science classrooms in the United States.[2] The launch was covered in a number of technology publications online, including TechCrunch,and Geekosystem.[2][3] In late February 2013, a month after launch, they released a video featuring Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey and other programmers and entrepreneurs on the importance of learning to code. This video was covered in a number of news sources.[4][5][6][7] Two weeks after the launch, TechCrunch reported that the video had been a "blockbuster hit".[8]
Hour of Code challenge
[edit]On December 9, 2013, Code.org launched the "Hour of Code Challenge" on its website. The challenge involved getting people to write short snippets of code to achieve pre-specified goals using Blockly, a visual programming language of a similar flavor as Logo. The initiative had been announced about two months in advance.[9] At the time of launch, the initiate was supported by then United States President Barack Obama as well as leaders of many technology companies such as Microsoft and Apple Inc..[10] About two weeks later, it was announced that over 20 million people had participated and over 600 million lines of code had been written as part of the challenge.[11][12][13]
Reception
[edit]Writing for San Jose Mercury News, Mike Cassidy praised Code.org and the Hour of Code, writing: "A publicity stunt is what we need."[14]
John Dvorak was critical of the Hour of Code in an articlefor PC Magazine. Dvorak wrote: " I see it as a ploy to sell more computers in schools."[15]
Earlier, Dave Winer had responded to Code.org's first video launch by writing: "I don't like the way people at code.org are pitching it. And I don't like who is doing the pitching, and who isn't. Out of the 83 people they quote, I doubt if many of them have written code recently, and most of them have never done it, and have no idea what they're talking about."[7]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "About Us". Code.org. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Olanoff, Drew (January 22, 2013). "Code.org Launches To Help Make Computer Programming Accessible To Everyone". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Tickle, Glen (January 22, 2013). "Code.org Says "Hello, World" to Get Everybody Coding". Geekosystem. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Taylor, Colleen (February 26, 2013). "Watch Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, & Others In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Nieva, Richard (February 26, 2013). "Code.org has launched a meaningful attempt at education reform. Let's hope the star-power helps". PandoDaily. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Is Code.org Too Soulless To Make an Impact?". SlashDot. February 28, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Winer, Dave (February 27, 2013). "Why you should learn to code". Retrieved January 8, 2014.
- ^ Taylor, Colleen (March 13, 2013). "How Code.org's 'Learn To Code' Video Starring Zuck And Gates Surpassed 12M Views In 2 Weeks". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Yeung, Ken (October 14, 2013). "Code.org unveils 'Hour of Code' campaign encouraging K-12 students to pick up computer programming". The Next Web. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Empson, Rip (December 8, 2013). "Obama, Celebrities, Politicians And Tech Co's Come Together To Launch Coding Education Push". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Empson, Rip (December 26, 2013). "Code.org: 2 Weeks And 600M+ Lines Of Code Later, 20M Students Have Learned An "Hour Of Code"". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jennifer Fenn Lefferts (December 29, 2013). "Preview of writing code for future". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Morrison, Nick (December 27, 2013). "Teach Kids How To Code And You Give Them A Skill For Life". Forbes. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Cassidy, Mike (December 12, 2013). "Hour of Code builds a deeper understanding of the power of computing". Retrieved January 8, 2014.
- ^ Dvorak, John C. (December 18, 2013). "The Hidden Agenda of Code.org". Retrieved January 8, 2014.