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Hour of Code
Course: Hour of Code > Unit 2
Lesson 1: Hour of Code (for teachers and parents)Using Hour of Code in your classroom
What is Hour of Code on Khan Academy?
On Khan Academy, we offer multi-hour, self-paced courses in JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and SQL. For Hour of Code, we have curated one-hour introductions to each of those topics.
You and your students can check out all of our offerings here:
Here's a breakdown of what you'll pick from:
- Hour of Drawing with Code: This hour teaches your students to program using JavaScript, one of the world's most popular programming languages. They'll use JavaScript to program drawings and finish with a fun project to draw either a snowman, animal, or self-portrait. Requires good typing skills and a keyboard. Recommended ages: 8+.
- Hour of Webpages: This hour teaches your students to make their own webpages using the basics of HTML and CSS, finishing with a holiday greeting card. Requires good typing skills and a keyboard. Recommended ages: 8+.
- Hour of Databases: This hour teaches the fundamentals of databases, which are how apps store data about users and content. Your students will use SQL to create tables with data and query them, finishing with a project to create a database for an imaginary store. Requires good typing skills and a keyboard. Recommended ages: 12+.
Each option includes the following content:
- Instructional videos and “talk-throughs”. Talk-throughs are like videos, but you can pause them and play with the code in realtime.
- Coding challenges, which give the student a chance to practice the concept and give us a way to automatically grade them and award points.
- A final project, a way for students to use what they’ve learned in a more creative, free-form way.
We believe that it will take students about an hour to get through any one of the options. However, we also believe on Khan Academy that students should be able to learn at their own pace, so we encourage you to give students more than an hour (like 1.5-2 hours), or make it clear that they don’t need to finish the entire lesson.
What is Hour of Code?
Hour of Code is an initiative to encourage students to spend an hour learning to program and takes place annually during CS Education Week in December. Our hope is that many students will want to keep going with many more hours of computer programming and computer science.
How can I use Khan Academy's Hour of Code lessons in my classroom?
Before Hour of Code
Prepare your classroom
- Make sure you have a computer for each student, or a computer for each pair of students. If students pair up (“pair programming”), then make sure they take turns being the typer and the watcher.
- Make sure you have good internet access in the classroom, as you will need that to access Khan Academy content, particularly the videos and talk-throughs. See this guide for more info.
- Make sure you have a compatible browser installed on the computers. See our list of supported browsers.
- Provide headphones or ask students to bring headphones. You can buy disposable headphones in bulk on Amazon.
- Register on Code.org to be eligible for freebies and prizes for your classroom.
- (Optional) If you plan to do the Hour of Drawing with Code, print out the graph paper handouts, one of each per student.
Prepare yourself
- Go through the tutorial yourself so that you are familiar with what your students will be experiencing.
- (Optional) Sign up as a coach on Khan Academy and add your students. That will make it easy for you to track their progress. See this guide for instructions.
During Hour of Code
- Distribute headphones or handouts if you have them.
- If you want to let your students pick whichever tutorial appeals to them, direct them to the
Hour of Code landing page:
https://www.khanacademy.org/hourofcode - If you've picked a tutorial for your students, direct them to that specific tutorial:
Hour of Drawing with Code:
www.khanacademy.org/r/hour-of-code
Hour of Webpages:
www.khanacademy.org/r/hour-of-webpages
Hour of Databases:
www.khanacademy.org/r/hour-of-databases - Watch the welcome video together, and then encourage students to do the rest of the lesson at their own pace.
- If there's time, hold a Show & Tell at the end of all the cool projects that students make.
After Hour of Code
- If you signed up as a coach, check out what your students made for the final project by visiting the Projects tab in the teacher dashboard.
- Print out a certificate for each student that completes a tutorial. Download a PDF here
- Encourage your students to continue learning to program on Khan Academy, using our full curriculum. Everything on Khan Academy is free so all you and your students need to do is signup!
- Share your stories with us! We'd love to see photos or videos of your students working through our lessons or screenshots of the projects they make. Share them on Twitter or Instagram, tagging @khanacademy #hourofcode.
Thank you for encouraging the next generation of computer scientists!
Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to post additional questions or comments in the discussion below.
Is the curriculum translated into different languages?
In translated languages, the talk-throughs are dubbed, and challenge instructions, project descriptions, and error messages are translated. Interactive talk-through transcripts in these languages are also available so learners can go at their own pace, in their own language.
Is the curriculum accessible to deaf students?
Yes, there is a transcript option available for the talk-throughs. Click the gear menu next to the play bar and select "Interactive Transcript." Students can pause the talk-through if it is going too quickly.
Is the curriculum accessible to blind students?
We try to support screen-readers on the KA website, but there are many aspects of the coding experience that are not yet optimized. We instead recommend the accessibility-optimized Quorum Hour of Code.
Do the tutorials work on ChromeBooks?
ChromeBooks use the Google Chrome browser, which is one of Khan Academy's supported browsers, so yes, all of the tutorials should work well on a ChromeBook.
Can students continue working on Hour of Code after the class?
Yes! They can work on it at their own pace at any time. They should sign up for an account in the classroom if they want to easily pick up at home from where they left off in the classroom.
Do students need a Khan Academy account to use the curriculum?
They do not need a Khan Academy account, but they may enjoy it because having an account will allow them to track their progress and earn points and badges.
Want to join the conversation?
What grade level is this recommended for? I teach grade 4, and I have two boys, ages 12 and 16, who might also be interested.(11 votes)
I'm 27 and going through the hour of code :)(38 votes)
Do students need an uninterrupted hour to complete the activity? Our class periods are 45 minutes in length and we would have to modify the schedule to make this happen if it needs to be all in one session..(8 votes)- I'm pretty sure it could be less than 1 hour, because this is a really simple program, and you could skip a few parts if they are confused , and if some of your students are used to programming or are fast typers that save time. And if people need help a person with experience can help him/her to save time .
Hope this helped to do programming in your school..(Lucky you guys!)(10 votes)
- Hi, I would love to try the coding and to let my students have a go. We have exams, not regular classes during that week, PLUS we don't have enough computers at our school to even work in pairs. The students all have computers at home. Can they do this from home, possibly during the Christmas break? I am signed up as a coach, and all of my students are members of Khan academy.(3 votes)
From the author:Yes, they can do it at home, many of our students are home schooled. You cannot yet track the challenges as a coach, but you should be able to within the next few weeks, by the time it's the official CS Ed Week.(7 votes)
- Can the students use iPads to complete the hour of code projects(3 votes)
I would suggest testing it out first. I've tried on my iPad and it often cuts off part of the canvas (where your drawing appears).
I think you (and your students) would have a much better experience if you did it on an actual computer, but try the iPads out first and see how it goes.
For all non-computer related content on KA I find the iPad fantastic (watching videos, doing quizzes, etc.)(7 votes)
- We love this idea and would like to use it in May/June. Will it still be available?(4 votes)
- Will the activity still be available after December the 15? I would like to use this activity on December 20th with my students.(2 votes)
I'm trying The Hour of Code for beginners, and found difficulties to solve the "debugging" part. How actually to spot the problems of code while i cant even see what's happening to the "field"? :(
There's no picture at all except trees.. Where's the farmer? >,<(2 votes)
What type of device are you on? If you are on a iPad, you won't be able to see a part of the screen.(1 vote)
where do you go to do this(4 votes)
My classes are 55 minutes. Is it still possible for them to do what they can do in this time and then continue on their own?(1 vote)- From the author:They can get started on it, and then continue at home. Perhaps you could spend 10 minutes of the next class showing their projects (the "what's for dinner?").
If they're going to continue at home, I recommend they sign up for Khan Academy accounts, so that its easier for them to continue where they left off.(4 votes)
- Since my school doesn't have computers for the kids, I'd love to have the kids do this over the holiday break. All my students have accounts, but where do they log on or sign up? Thank you!(1 vote)
- From the author:They can just go to: http://khanacademy.org/r/hour-of-code(4 votes)
