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Apple Announces 2015 'Hour of Code' Workshops for Students

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Apple has announced that it will once again be participating in "Hour of Code" this Computer Science Education Week on December 7-13, hosting free workshops and special events for kids ages six and up at Apple Retail Stores throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Apple will be hosting an "Hour of Code" free one-hour introduction to the basics of computer programming on December 10, supporting Code.org's initiative for the third consecutive year. Additional "Hour of Code" partners include Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and many others.

Apple has also featured six global special events to be hosted by Code.org co-founder Hadi Partovi, and other developers and organizations, in Brussels, Chicago, New York City, Tokyo, San Francisco and Sydney. Each will have a focus on app development or computer science education.

Hadi Partovi, Code.org
Apple Store, SoHo, New York
Monday, December 7, 6:00 p.m.

Join Hadi Partovi, cofounder and CEO of Code.org, as he discusses the need for computer science education across the world. Learn about the journey of Code.org and how it’s helped over 100 million students through initiatives like the Hour of Code campaign.

Koji Sugiyama, LoiLo Inc.
Apple Store, Ginza, Tokyo
Monday, December 7, 7:00 p.m.

Koji Sugiyama is CEO of LoiLo Inc., a company that creates intuitive educational apps for kids. Hear him share his passion for developing apps that enable children to express themselves, and learn how LoiLo is innovating in the world of education.

Grant Hosford, codeSpark
Apple Store, San Francisco
Tuesday, December 8, 4:00 p.m.

Cofounder and CEO Grant Hosford shares how his young daughters inspired codeSpark’s award-winning game, The Foos. Kids and parents will get involved as well by solving coding puzzles, making their own games, and learning the “ABCs of computer science.”

Andy Sum, Crossy Road
Apple Store, Sydney
Wednesday, December 9, 5:00 p.m.

Why did the chicken cross the road? Find out the answer to this and other secrets as developer Andy Sum walks through the universe of Crossy Road. Join a multiplayer station to compete with friends, unlock your favorite characters, and even challenge Andy himself.

Jacqueline Rossi, J’s Flashcards
Apple Store, Brussels
Wednesday, December 9, 5:00 p.m.

Teenage entrepreneur Jacqueline Rossi created J’s Flashcards to help her fellow students build and master their vocabulary. Join her as she discusses the development of this educational app and how it can prepare you for standardized testing.

Danny Yaroslavski, Lightbot
Apple Store, Lincoln Park, Chicago
Saturday, December 12, 11:00 a.m.

Join Danny Yaroslavski, founder and CEO of Lightbot, as he shares how kids of all ages can learn the fundamentals of coding. He’ll discuss what got him started in the world of programming and showcase Lightbot’s puzzle games, which you can try out for yourself.
"Hour of Code" is an initiative sponsored by non-profit website Code.org, which hosts a variety of tools for learning and teaching programming. Each year, the site hosts a global movement aimed at reaching millions of students through a free workshop that teaches basic programming techniques.

Registration is now open for the workshops and special events on Apple's website.

Article Link: Apple Announces 2015 'Hour of Code' Workshops for Students
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/12/02/apple-hour-of-code-workshops-2015/
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Cool beans.
Getting them working on Wi-Fi, security certificate expiration, cloud crashing and iGizmo charging.
 
I went last year with my 16 year old. I was not the oldest in the workshop.
Sign everyone up though... last year they gave out earpods to everyone and if you weren't signed up, you didn't get them.
 
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Reactions: ronntaylor
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
 
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philosopherdog said:
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
Click to expand...

Well, they're only excluding children under six years of age ("for kids ages six and up"), so your beef seems misplaced.
 
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philosopherdog said:
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
Click to expand...

What? Show some specifics that support your view.

"This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions"

Can you point to even one piece of evidence that suggests any of the above groups are not welcome? Since you can't, why would you say such a thing? No excuses, answer the question.
 
philosopherdog said:
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
Click to expand...

I knew somebody would find a way to hate on Apple, even in this story. bravo!
 
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I signed up my 7-year old son for the workshop. I've only recently started teaching him how to code. He's mostly learning OS X and learning to type currently, but I have developed Swift lesson plans.

I am hoping the workshop will provide an outlet to express some of the shortcomings of Apple's development tools for young kids (Xcode Playground is a great start, but it is missing a ton of essential features and Xcode is overwhelming for younger kids).
 
philosopherdog said:
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
Click to expand...

Apple is very careful with its imagery and wording. So I am disappointed that they aren't more inclusive for this campaign. It's clearly for young people as they refer to "kids," "students," and show only young children at the link -- notice the diversity among the kiddies too. Considering it's a week-long event, they should have been more inclusive.

In the past year I've attended several coding meetups and was encouraged by the diversity. Even groups targeted at specific demographics encouraged anyone to attend. I was rarely the oldest participant, often seeing attendees in their 50s and once someone nearly 70 years old. I remember teaching seniors computer basics several years ago. Many of them felt that they were ignored and quite enjoyed being included in technological discussions and activities. I couldn't believe how thrilled a 70-something retiree was to play bridge against someone in London from his Stuyvesant Town condo.
 
philosopherdog said:
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
Click to expand...

Bottom line is this, if you want to go, you can go! No one is going to stop you from attending. There is no maximum age.
Apple has placed emphasis on kids in the marketing because coding is like learning a new language and the younger you start, the better.

No good deed goes unpunished.
 
I'd really like to get my 7-year-old into coding, but I'm still trying to understand how someone that young (who can't yet spell reliably) can create working code. She'd be thrilled to create anything. And I'm trying to get my kids to conceptualize computers for content creation and not just consumption. Any tools for starting?
 
Dave00 said:
I'd really like to get my 7-year-old into coding, but I'm still trying to understand how someone that young (who can't yet spell reliably) can create working code. She'd be thrilled to create anything. And I'm trying to get my kids to conceptualize computers for content creation and not just consumption. Any tools for starting?
Click to expand...

Checkout meetup.com for coding/computer groups in your area. Many of them put coding exercises and resources online for the public or those that simply join (there's usually no obligation to attend).
 
Meh, last year it was Scratch and some boring character moving activity...
 
philosopherdog said:
Apple doing its bit to promote ageism in the coding space. What's next? White people only coding workshops? Ageism is not acceptable and has nothing to do with coding at all. Period. This should be an event that welcomes everyone, all ages, all genders, races and religions. No excuses. It's 2015.
Click to expand...

WTF? The invite is for everyone age 6 and up, no restrictions. They may cater toward kids because it's easier for adults to pick it up elsewhere, and with limited slots there's a marginal urgency of "start 'em early". (I started at age 10.) It DOES welcome everyone, all ages (under 6 excluded for obvious language & maturity issues), all genders, all races, all religions, no excuses. Why are you so uptight as to impute such evil where it plainly doesn't exist?
 
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