Yesterday was the end of Lakeview’s Hour of Code which lasted from December 6-8 in the media center. For those who aren’t aware, Hour of Code is a 1-hour introduction into computer science. Simply put, coding is learning to program computers and write apps or create websites. Coding is how everything you do on the computer is possible. It is an important thing to know how to do and the fact that the students here at Lakeview had the chance to dive in was amazing. Of course, nobody is going to master the art of coding in an hour, but that is not what this program was for. Hour of Code was a small, but exciting drop in the ocean that is the coding process. Students had the opportunity to code mini games that many adolescents already enjoy playing. Some people may ask for the point of all of this and to that I tell them to keep reading. Hour of code is basically an hour of awareness for coding. Not many people, especially high school students, know what coding is or why it is important and in a world where technology is an increasing part of our lives, coding is becoming an essential part of every job out there today. As Andria Morningstar-Gray, one of the advisers of Lakeview’s Hour of Code put it, “I think that coding is probably in almost every field right now. Computer science isn’t just for geeks anymore, and part of this movement is to get people into it since it isn’t really taught until college. It is also something that is very hands on with problem solving, and the best part is that you get to create something new and possibly innovative.” So, even if you aren’t going to pursue a career in a very mathematical field, you still might need a basic understanding of how it coding works. Nowadays, even CEO’s of large companies may be required to have an understanding of it so they can understand just what it is that their company is doing. Regardless of who you are, everyone should consider the possibility of participating in program like this one. For more information on Hour of Code, you can visit the website www.hourofcode.com or ask Morningstar-Gray or computers teacher Emily Koch more on the subject. It is safe to say that there is no harm in participating in this next year or simply looking up some more information about it. Who knows, you may even enjoy it!