ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Achan Wol, a seventh grade student at Sacred Heart School in Lynn, uses her iPad during computer science week.
By MICHELE DURGIN
LYNN — Call it “How to Demystify Computer Codes.” And credit Elizabeth Griffin, a math and science middle school teacher at Sacred Heart School, for coming up with the idea.
The event is National Computer Science Education Week, which began Monday, and, says Griffin, “kids all over the country are being introduced to computer programming this week and that’s wonderful.”
To observe the educational week, Griffin has arranged for all of Sacred Heart’s middle school students to participate in an activity called “Hour of Code,” which is designed to not only demystify computing code but to show that anyone can learn the basics of computer programming. The objective is for the students to write a code to design a computer game.
All students will receive prizes for participation. Students in grades 6-8 is given a school-owned ipad with which to work for the year, and the students are happy to use them.
“Its great to have this because its easier to do homework,” said seventh-grader Achan Wol. “Most of our textbooks are downloaded on the ipad and that’s so much easier to carry home (than the books themselves).”
Frandu Taylor, 11, is grateful for the ipad for a more personal reason.
“This is my second year here,” he said. “I moved here from Africa, and I live with my grandmother. My mother and most of my family are still in Africa, so I use the ipad to stay in touch with them. My grandmother is proud of what I can do.”
Sacred Heart has also added a weekly Robotics Club to its list of after-school programs, and student member Kevin Parada, 12, is thriving, he says.
“The technology here is great,” he said. “I am always learning new things in the club. I am making my own game right now.
“The ipad is also useful for writing reports on the go,” he said.
Principal Joanne Eagan said that last year the Robotics Club programmed 20 miniature robots to perform the “Wave,” a fan activity often seen at sporting events. The younger students at the school are also introduced to the benefits of computer technology. The Pre-K-through-5 children share two rolling carts that hold a total of 60 ipads.
“Each teacher is provided with an ipad and a laptop computer in the fall, thanks to the generosity of dedicated benefactors,” Eagan said. “And every classroom boasts a computer driven smartboard, which is a 21st-century version of the old fashioned blackboard.”
Computer Science Education Week is organized by the Computing in the Core Coalition and Code.org. This year , the Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education (CAITE) and the Mass Technology Leadership Council Education Foundation have provided buttons and posters to encourage schools and organizations in Massachusetts to participate and engage as many students as possible in computer science and coding activities.
