UF Computer & Information Science & Engineering professor Christina Gardner-McCune, who was recently hired under the UF Preeminence Plan to work on Human Centered Computing, collaborated with the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and CommunityCode to challenge approximately 1,000 students at Eastside High School to embark on their first computer programming experience – an “Hour of Code.”
A degree in computer science currently promises top pay and three times more jobs than there are graduates in the major, but nine out of 10 schools in the United States don’t offer programming classes. President Obama and Code.org– along with teachers, businesses and non-profit organizations around the world – asked students everywhere to participate in an “Hour of Code” for Computer Science Education Week. The official website – http://csedweek.org/ – provides programming tutorials for various ages and abilities.
Gardner-McCune brought a group of her and other Gator Engineering students to help Eastside’s students with hands-on tutorials. They wrapped up the day speaking about careers and afterschool opportunities in computer science, including robotics.
Read more and see photos in the Gainesville Sun.