60 Minutes of Coding
HANCOCK — Video games, websites, and phone apps – one thing they all have in common is they start with coding.
Most teenagers already know how to play video games and surf the web but do they know how those activities are made possible?
Hancock Middle school students took part in Hour of Code, a program in observance of Computer Science Education Week.
MTU Associate Professor of Computer Science Charles Wallace said, “Students of this age have a certain fearlessness to them and I think that’s a great advantage. They are willing to explore and try things out. That, along with a sense of creativity
and a spirit of exploration, is really what you need to get started.”
The students get hands-on experience writing basic code…many for the first time.
14-year-old Ben Galetto said, “I was coding a game. I had to change the score, what the cat did, and what it said while it was flying.” This is the third year that Michigan Tech has participated in the event…which encourages students that they, too, can pursue a career in Computer Science.
13-year-old Sophie Heinonen said, “We did Hour of Code last year for one of my classes. It was easier than I thought it would be. It was already laid out. You just had to put the pieces together.”
And with average starting salaries topping $60,000, it’s not a bad job to get.