Hour of Code

Dear Parents,

We live in a world surrounded by technology. Information, commerce, communication, and entertainment all rely on computers. But only a tiny fraction of us learn computer science, the basics of how computers work, or how to create software, apps, or web sites. Computer Science provides a foundation for virtually any career and everybody can benefit from learning the basics.

Did you know:

• Software jobs outnumber students 3-to-1. The gap is 1 million jobs over 10 years- and these are some of the highest paying jobs.
• 90% of schools in the US do not teach computer science.
• In many countries, it's required (China, Vietnam, Estonia. Soon UK, Australia)
• The basics can be learned by anybody, starting in elementary school. But fewer than 10% of students try. Only 2% are women. 1% are students of color.

Programming literacy is going to be key to your child's future. And this year we're joining a massive campaign to prepare students for the 21st century during Computer Science Education Week (Dec 9-15).

The Hour of Code campaign has an audacious goal: to introduce 10 million students to one hour of computer science. While your children will have the opportunity to participate at school, I  encourage you to participate, in two ways:

1) As a student - set aside an hour in December to learn the basics yourself either at home or work.

2) In your community - the Hour of Code campaign isn't only for students, and you can help introduce others in your community to computer science - whether in an after-school club, a church, a veterans group, etc.

See http://hourofcode.org for details.