This post originally appeared on the Digital Education blog.
Let it code?
Seemingly every child (and parent) in the world is still obsessed with (or unable to shake) Frozen, Disney’s animated smash hit from 2013.
So it’s probably no surprise that Seattle-based nonprofit Code.org has called on the movie’s sister-princess stars, Elsa and Anna, to help launch its second annual ‘Hour of Code.’ The campaign aims to introduce children—especially girls—to computer science.
A new computer science tutorial from the organization, unveiled today by Code.org and Disney Interactive, will allow students to write code that enables animated versions of the princesses to draw snowflakes and snowmen and perform “ice craft,” according to a release from the organization. The goal is to teach math, logic, creativity, and introductory computer programming.
“As a parent, I know firsthand how excited kids are over Disney’s ‘Frozen,’” said Hadi Partovi, co-founder of Code.org, in the statement. “Our entire team is grateful for Disney Interactive’s tireless support of the Hour of Code, which provides students an entry point into the world of creativity that opens up when they build technology for the first time.”
This year’s Hour of Code takes place December 8-14, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week. The campaign will include other online tutorials and video Q&A’s with the likes of Bill Gates and Sheryl Sandberg for 100 selected classrooms.
Last year’s event, the organization’s first, included more than 40,000 events around the world, introducing tens of millions of students to computer science, according to the Code.org website.
And just in case you’re still feeling shy about knowing every word to ‘Let it Go,’ the signature song from Frozen, here’s a clip of U.S. Marines singing along with the same gusto as my preschool daughters:
Screenshot from Code.org and Disney Interactive.
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