Google for Educators Group Kenya :Introducing The CS First Hour of Code Activity 2019

"Every student deserves the chance to explore,advance,and succeed in computer science. "
Parents and teachers want students to develop  problem-solving alongside  digital skills ,so they will be better prepared for  future jobs .
Every child in every classroom ,every teacher in every school, and every person in every community is affected by technology ,and ,and the roots of technology were founded upon the work of innovative computer scientists, it develops skills including  logical thinking ,  creativity and  resilience .
Practical  computer science skills can help students learn and create ,and bring more relevancy to nearly any subject from history to  literature  to current events.

Image Credit: Tabaka Boys' High School Google CS First Club: 
A Beneficially of The Google Sponsored Africa Code Week 2017 

Coding
Coding isn't just for computer science students  only.Coding is at the heart of today's digital world.Hence it is essential that kids are introduced to the logic and  programming languages at an early age!
Computers are very powerful tools ,but unfortunately they can't think for themselves .Need to be told  what to do...Coding gives beyond websites and software . It's  an essential component in finding solutions to everyday problems.

Hour of Code
 A one-hour  introduction to computer science,while it's fun and creative .It nurtures problem-solving skills,logic and creativity .It helps students see how they can impact the world by impacting technology.The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science,designed to demystify "code" to show that anybody can learn the basics ,and to broaden participation in the field of
computer science.It has become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science ,starting with 1-hour coding activities  but expanding to all sorts of community efforts!Over the past years since it's inception in 2014,the Hour of Code has reached tens of millions of students in 180+ countries.

Google CS First
Google CS First   is one of many  Google initiatives focused on  Computer science education and is introducing the  Hour of Code 2019 .

Computer Science
The most important role of computer science is in  problem-solving ,an essential skill for life.
Computer science  is vital for  future readiness  and that  coding is a skill that should be taught at the same time kids are learning to read and write.

STEM
Computer science is a quintessential  STEM discipline, sharing attributes with engineering , mathematics , science and technology.Every student deserves the opportunity to express their creativity with computer science.

 Competency - Based Curriculum
The new envisaged  Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in Kenya.A provision to  make computer science part of the STEM subject alongside : physics, biology and chemistry education in high school.Coding is now projected to be taught in the elementary grade 4 as a unit in Technology subject in the new curriculum. That was after a spirited fight made and championed by the ED10  during the Submission of Memoranda for Needs assessment for curriculum reform to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development ( KICD ) year 2016,research articulations like Case for ICT,Computer Science and Chess in Early Childhood Education:Redesigning the Kenyan Curriculum. Amongst other stakeholders.

Scratch
 Scratch is the perfect starting point for any beginner coder.As a block-based  coding language, you don't need to know how to write code to get started.Just put a different code blocks together, and within a few
minutes ,you can create your own games , animations and interactive projects.

 Computer Science for ALL
 Computer science for all ,in  education give teachers the skills they need to teach computer science and prepare students for the workforce of the future.

Computational Thinking
There is an increasing sense of urgency that everyone should be able to participate as writers of computational culture. This need has been expressed by a variety of source ,including computer science education researchers ( e.g Guzdial & Forte ,2005,literary theorists (e.g Hayles,2005 ) and government agencies ( e.g,Chopra ,2012 ) ,and steams ,in part ,from a concern that unless we understand how to actively participate in computational culture we risk being controlled by it.
 Computational thinking is an approach to solving problems ,designing systems ,and understanding human behaviour by drawing on concepts fundamental to computer science (Wing,2006)
 Computational thinking influences fields such as biology ,chemistry , linguistic , psychology , economics and statics It allows us to solve problems, design systems and understand the power and limits of human and machine intelligence.
 As much as reading ,writing and arithmetic the 3Rs.It represents a universally applicable attitude and skill set everyone ,not just computer scientists, would be eager to learn and use.

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