We at Bio::Neos were happy to once again participate in Computer Science Education Week 2019. Steven Davis, Cody Metz, and I volunteered at schools throughout the ICR area.

I volunteered for the first time this year at Oak Ridge Middle School. I would like to thank Alyssa Stratton and Annette Saxion for allowing me to come in and work with their classes. Alyssa was my son's special education teacher and I was very happy to work with her and Annette's students. I contacted her to see if she would be interested in having her students participate. She wasn't familiar with Hour of Code but was excited to have her students learn a little bit about programming. Prior to working with their students I coached my son through a few activities. Hour of Code has activities for K-12 grade levels and also has information to help you support students with special needs.

Most of the students had no coding experience, but they were eager to try. After we went through one activity together the students asked if they could try a few on their own. It was fun to watch them solve puzzles and work through problems. They were proud when they came up with a solution, especially if it was something that had been stumping them. The teachers even mentioned that they would start allowing the students to work on Hour of Code activities during free time.

I look forward to volunteering for Hour of Code again next year. It was fun and rewarding. I'd like to encourage parents, professionals, and educators to consider hosting or helping out at an event in 2020. Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date on our commitment to promoting computer science education in the ICR area and throughout the state of Iowa.