CPS CS4All and The Office of Leadership and Learning has partnered with Digital Youth Network (DYN) and Chicago City of Learning (CCOL) to launch Code60+, an Hour of Code initiative taken to the next level. This 5-week coding challenge brings Computer Science education to life for students, parents and teachers all across the district. The official launch is today (December 5th), coordinated with CS Education Week, where the entire nation participates in The Hour of Code.
Using a free, web-based platform designed to build the participant’s ability CS, participants will learn basic-to-advanced computer science skills through a variety of “plugged: (on on a computer) and “unplugged” (offline or not on a computer) activities. Code60+ will provide students access to computer science content via a virtual platform that can be used in and outside the classroom. As our district moves towards integrating technology in all of our classrooms, one of the key components in doing so is building students’ capacity to drive their own learning. By affording students an opportunity to interact with curriculum independently, they can foster their own learning environments to meet their individual needs.
Our goal is to have students, parents and teachers complete over 10,000 hours of code during the campaign. We will use the CCOL platform for the Code60+ Initiative and participants will earn digital badges for each hour (or 60 minutes) of coding they complete. Incentives will be awarded to the students, parents and teachers through a weekly raffle.
Participants who claim the CODE60+ badge will be eligible. (the more badges an individual earns, the more opportunities an individual has to win. We are sharing a detailed toolkit with schools on how Code60+ works and how participants can earn badges, be entered in drawings and win prizes. The most basic requirement for each participant is claiming the Code60+/CCOL Account is simple:
- Visit http://www.chicagocodes.org
- Enter student name, email address, birth date
- Gain access to the Hour of Code Challenges
Below are the flyer describing the Code60+ Initiative, as well as a one-pager describing the incentive structure.
Good luck to all of you as we strive for 10,000 participants.
Best,
Dr. Shawn Jackson
Chief Officer, Office of Leadership and Learning
