- December 9, 2013 02:56pm EST
Kicking off Computer Science Education Week, the nonprofit organization joined forces with supporters like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman, and Jack Dorsey to get students, teachers, and parents excited about coding.
The "Hour of Code" initiative, first announced in October, provides an interactive introduction through online tutorials. Are you just a beginner looking to learn the basics, or have you already mastered one coding language and want to pick up another? Visit Code.org to find coaching on building apps and Web pages, programming robots, and more.
Code.org's mission began early this year, when a short film encouraging kids to learn to code surpassed 5 million YouTube views in just two days. The viral video enlisted famous faces like Zuckerberg, Gates, will.i.am, Dorsey, and Chris Both, and inspired more than 260,000 petition signatures and a number of donations.
Many of those big names returned for today's "Hour of Code" kickoff, which already boasts more than 2.6 million participants, including Ashton Kutcher and Shakira, among others. Even President Barack Obama is participating.
"Don't just buy any video game — make one. Don't just download the latest app — help design it. Don't just play on your phone — program it," Obama said in a video. "No one's born a computer scientist, but with a little hard work, and some math and science, just about anyone can become one."
There are even incentives to join the coding party: the first 100,000 educators who host an Hour of Code for their classroom or club will receive 10GB of free storage from Dropbox. Meanwhile, 50 schools — one in each state — will win a full class set of computers, while 50 classrooms will win a group video conference call with a tech titan — possibly Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, or Google's Susan Wojcicki.
Plus, students who take a follow-up course online have a chance tow in additional prizes, like Skype credits and online gift cards.
"We've had unprecedented support — not only from CEOs, celebrities, and world leaders, but from teachers, parents, and students, in the thousands and millions, to spread a simple idea: that computer science should be accessible to every 21st century student," Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi wrote in a blog post.
The nonprofit's program helps to kick off Computer Science Education Week 2013, which began today with a special 107th birthday Google doodle tribute to computer scientist Grace Hopper.
Those looking for a more communal coding experience can visit their local participating Apple Retail Store on Wednesday for a free one-hour workshop on the basics of computer coding.
Check out all sorts of people, from astronauts and actors to surfers and students, write their first lines of code in the video below. For more, see PCMag's American Express, BlackGirlsCode, and Internet Backlash.
