Cameron Showard and Anne Smith (standing), with Silver Creek students.
Learning how to write computer code from scratch was among several highlights for nearly three dozen area students at SUNY Fredonia for Hour of Code, a global initiative that promotes computer science and computer programming during Computer Science Week.
Hour of Code is held during Computer Science Week in honor of Grace Murray Hopper, a computer science pioneer and naval officer who is considered to be one of the first modern programmers and is best known for her trailblazing contributions to the development of computer languages, beginning in the 1930s. Born on Dec. 9, 1906, she knew that computers would someday become widely used and helped to make them more user friendly.
Students from the Northern Chautauqua Catholic School (NCCS) and Silver Creek (NY) High School spent a half-day on campus as guests of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences during Computer Science Education Week in December.
An introduction to Python Programming, one of the most popular and widely-used programming languages in the world, was the focus of the Hour of Code lesson taught to Silver Creek High School students by SUNY Fredonia Computer Science Club members and majors Cameron Showard of Buffalo, a 2020 graduate of Frederick Law Olmsted High School; Anne Smith of Lake Placid, NY, a 2020 graduate of Lake Placid High School; and Aurora Gomez from Cairo, NY, a 2020 graduate of Cairo-Durham High School. Mr. Showard is president of the Computer Science Club.
Department of Computer and Information Sciences Lecturer Nathan Kropp led the Hour of Code activities for the group from Northern Chautauqua Catholic School. Mr. Kropp stated that “Python has applications in web development, data analytics, machine learning and design.”
In her talk about careers in computer science and computer information systems to these local students, Computer Science Club member Ms. Smith, outlined job titles and educational requirements for these positions. “Many of the jobs in these fields require a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Information Systems,” Smith noted, “and SUNY Fredonia offers both programs.”
Students attending Hour of Code were recommended by their computer science teachers. The Department of Computer Information and Sciences began hosting area students for Hour of Code in 2012.
