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"Hour of Code season has arrived, and we're excited to unveil new activities from our partners!"

"The Finns are pretty bemused by Americans' preoccupation with whether to put iPads in every classroom. If a tablet would enhance learning, great. If it wouldn't, skip it. Move on. The whole thing is a little tilting-at-windmills, anyway. That was the gist of the conversation one recent morning at the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., where diplomats and experts gathered to celebrate the country's education accomplishments as Finland turns 100. And Americans could stand to take notes. (Yes, from Finland-again.) Coding and programming are now part of the curriculum in the Scandinavian country, and they're subjects kids tackle from a young age. But unlike in some parts of the United States where learning to code is an isolated skill, Finnish children are taught to think of coding and programming more as tools to be explored and utilized across multiple subjects."

"Canada Learning Code will drive the development and implementation of an action plan to create 10 million meaningful technology education experiences for Canadians over the next 10 years. Through program design and delivery, strategic industry and public partnerships, educator training, research, advocacy and awareness we aim to unify coding education in Canada and drive results."

"Technology diversity advocacy body Girl Geek Academy has started a new teacher training course today with the eventual aim to teach coding to girls aged from 5 to 8 years."

"Coding and computer science have yet to make their way into every school curriculum in the U.S. But the country isn't short on initiatives-such as Google's Code Next program or the White House's Obama era Computer Science For All campaign-which aim to change that. And while these programs attempt to arm students will the ability to code, they sometimes overlook a critical skill that developers, computer science scholars and tech recruiters say is key to landing a job in their field: writing."

"Nik Peachey continues his digital teaching series by exploring how QR codes can be used to create mobile worksheets. He provides simple steps to help you create them, plus a fun lesson activity download too! "

RT @CambridgeUPELT: How can you use QR codes to create mobile worksheets? @NikPeachey shares his tips and a fun lesson activity too! https… RT @CambridgeUPELT: Save time printing and making photocopies by using QR codes instead! @NikPeachey explains how: https://t.co/md4yNUHsz7

"Thanks to the successes of campaigns like the Hour of Code and this week's Computer Science Education Week, educators, policymakers, and families around the country are realizing the value of coding and computer science in K-12 education. But how do "code," "computer science," and, "computational thinking," fit together? What is motivating their introduction into schools, and how might they change education?"

Hour of Code season has arrived, and we're excited to unveil new activities from our partners!

"Teaching Kids to Code"

"Samantha John didn't learn programming until she was nearly done with college. Her Hopscotch iPad app teaches the next generation of kids how to write code as soon as they can read."

"Hadi Partovi wants more kids to learn to code. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerber, Sheryl Sandberg, and many others agree. Partovi wants all high schools to offer computer science classes because it represents a growing cluster of job skills but one that few schools teach-particularly schools attended by low income and minority kids."

"I have spoken a lot recently about my frustration with a lack of apps that help teach children to code. Largely this frustration is centred around the resulting perception of ICT and edtech this limitation gives our schools. If a school invests wholesale in a set of iPads then the ICT curriculum for these children can be based largely around internet research, movie making and a collection of multimedia authoring apps. And though I love my iPads and iPad lessons the aspect of struggle or challenge for children using these devices is not always apparent or indeed talked about."

"Computer Science for All reflects the Obama administration's concerns that an economy based mostly on high-tech industries will exacerbate wage and income inequality unless a more diverse talent pipeline can be created. Here are the reasons why the initiative is about more than simply teaching more people how to code:"

"Who knew one simple Medium post could ignite such a profound movement? #iLookLikeAnEngineer is now being spread globally in over 50 countries. It has received over 170,000 tweets and has been covered in countless news outlets. In addition to an influx of incredibly heart-warming and positive support, many people have reached out to me for advice on how I learned how to code without a formal college education. I wanted the opportunity to give everyone an illustrative and thoughtful response, so that is now my intention with this Medium post. I am most familiar with web application development, so that is what this will be covering."

The Code Club projects are step by step guides for children to follow to create animations, games, websites and much more. Children will build up their programming skills as they move through the projects, and challenges provide opportunities to demonstrate and apply what's been learnt. Our projects cover Scratch, HTML & CSS and Python. Choose your language to access the resources.

"From the programmers behind Pokemon Go to the creators of chatbots, the impact of computer science (CS) is ubiquitous in our daily lives. This is because computer science education provides a way of thinking that focuses on problem solving, teamwork and a powerful way to express yourself - important skills for any career. And with a projected 1 million jobs going unfulfilled in computing-related roles by 2020, we need computer scientists from all backgrounds to bring their unique perspectives to solve real-world problems. That's why today, we're excited to announce Careers with Code in the US, a free high school "CS + X" career magazine that shows how to combine your passions, your "X", with computer science. We partnered with STEM specialist publishers Refraction Media to create a CS career magazine that illuminates the range of computer science careers and highlights the impact they have across industries. Readers can get to know people who use CS in their daily work in sometimes unexpected ways, such as Jonathan Graham. "

"4 - 104 are encouraged to participate in one hour of computer coding (programming).  The ultimate goal of this activity is to prove anyone can learn the basics of computer programming.     ​Over 10 Million people worldwide will take part!  "

"I've included links to some of the resources I've created for incorporating coding into the classroom. The resources in the last column show how a teacher might approach teaching a problem. Please contact me if you have any questions. Lisa Floyd (lisafloyd834@gmail.com, @lisaannefloyd on Twitter)"