One more year, Microsoft has joined the Code.org initiative “The Hour of Code”, which takes places from 4 to 8 December. It coincides with the Computer Science Education Week which objective is to spread a basic knowledge of programming and computing among boys and girls.
During this week, several countries are applying Hero’s Journey, Minecraft’s new tutorial. It has been created to be used in class, out-of-school, home and in the different communities. This tutorial includes several parts that inspire young people. the Agent is a funny character who teaches computing concepts in a creative way. You can find more information about the tutorial by clicking on this post by Deirdree Quarnstrom, Director of Minecraft Education.
Workshops with Real Sociedad Fundazioa
Microsoft and RS Fundazioa, which is la Real Sociedad foundation, organized workshops in several educational centres in Euskadi. The aim was to inspire 300 students (6th grade) to start out in programming. The selected schools were NJP Ikastetxea, Amara Berri and Lizeo Santo Tomás (Donostia-San Sebastián), Endarra Ikastola in Anglet (France) and CEP El Carmelo in Lima, Peru. The workshops were taught in Basque, Spanish, French and English to enable a better understanding for the children.
Moreover, the different schools talked via Skype and shared their experiences.
Óscar Sanz, Director of Education of Microsoft Ibérica stated: “Learn to have a critical thinking through the code. It is the most important step for the students who will participate in and benefit from the digital economy. According to the predictions of the World Economic Forum, 65% of the children who are now in primary school will have jobs which don’t exist nowadays. Amongst other things, the study suggests that students develop technology skills so that they are capable of adapting to the changing work environment. Thus, we are happy to hold these Minecraft: Education edition workshops with la Real Sociedad Fundazioa”.
It was an excellent start of the day together with la Real Sociedad players. La Real Sociedad is member of the Global Sports Innovation Center, promoted by Microsoft and pioneering in Europe. The players welcomed the students via Skype and the children could speak to their idols as well as sharing their creations with them.
It has been a very positive experience for Real Sociedad Fundazioa. The Director of RS Fundazioa, Andoni Iraola remarked: “We want responsible and active users, no inactive users. Having capacity and programming knowledge make us find active, critical and responsible users who are familiar with the digital world”.