Hour of Code a good start, but far short of the IT finish line for kids
This Searchlight: Hour of Code initiative is a good idea that doesn't go far enough. Plus: video games going off-screen, the NSA meets WOW and more.

Back in the early 80s, a select group of students in my elementary school class were given the chance to participate in an extracurricular computer class. We played around with LOGO and a bit of BASIC. It was fun, and we were a lucky few, but it pretty much ended there. None of us became the next Bill Gates -- but it wasn't for lack of interest in programming. If we had been provided consistent opportunities to work with computers as 8-year-olds, well, who knows.
In schools across the U.S. this week, more than 10 million children were encouraged to spend time playing around with Angry Birds by their teachers, their principals, heck, even by President Obama. They weren't trying to master the piggy-punishing game -- they were learning how to make it themselves. It was all part of a Computer Science Education Week initiative called Hour of Code, which sought to increase interest in computer programming among kids in grades K-12.
As the name suggests, teachers were prompted to expose students to at least an hour of computer programming with the help of online instruction. The colorful, well-paced online tutorials and "celebrity" endorsements -- ranging from the POTUS to Mark Zuckerberg to Shakira -- gave off a fun vibe. Frankly, the whole thing, sponsored by non-profit group Code.org, sounded great.
But as Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser bluntly opined in The Boston Globe -- which is this week's top Searchlight item -- an hour of code is not enough; not even close. Awareness-raising moments like Hour of Code are a good thing, but without a real plan behind them, they will be just that -- moments.
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Some schools already offer coding courses, but they tend to be in districts of certain means. If teaching kids to code is to be the leg up in the future workforce that its proponents believe it can be, instruction needs to be available everywhere, to everyone, Glaeser insisted.
How? Well that's where IT professionals can play a role. Aside from simply not having the time, most teachers lack the training to teach the subject. Besides, changes of this gravity happen at a "glacial pace" in the public education system, Glaeser said. So instead of relying on teachers, Glaeser suggested putting the instructor jobs out to bid so the right people -- IT experts -- will get them. Or maybe it will be you. These are your potential future employees; the makers of what will come next. Can you spare a few hours of your time?
- The BASIC idea behind Hour of Code is good, but we need to run with it.
- Screens? Where we're going video games don't need screens.
- I realize there's an app for that, but I don't want it. Here's how not to get off on the wrong digital foot with potential customers.
- This explanation of the new messaging service Instagram Direct makes it seem like Facebook's shoddy "Who in their right mind would refuse $2 billion?" Snapchat acquisition fallback plan.
- Eight major tech companies, including Apple, Google and Microsoft, are joining forces to take on the NSA because it undermines the freedom of us all … and their ability to continue profiting off our data.
- And because infiltrating your real-life isn't enough, the NSA has also been tracking your level 90 Pandaren Mage.
Let us know what you think about the story; email Karen Goulart, senior features writer.
This can go farther than we think if we would just give it a chance and give it some time. More will jump on board. Maybe more programmers will sacrifice their time and teach a semester or two. Those programmers who are out of work can jump in, too, and get a paycheck as well. This can go far if we let it instead of writing negative articles to drag it down. We need to elevate our kids' education instead of letting them scrape by with "no kid left behind".