‘Students can’t get enough’: Hour of Code 2018 inspires students to go beyond an hour

The Hour of Code has grown every year since it began in 2013, but 2018 was truly one for the books. Not only was there a record-breaking number of Hour of Code events registered around the world, teachers repeatedly told us, their students kept wanting to do more!

Topping the charts was the new Dance Party Hour of Code activity that lets students code and create dances to hit songs from artists like Katy Perry, Sia, Ariana Grande, Ciara, Justin Bieber, and many more. Dance Party also inspired whole classrooms to get up and dance!

“My students loved Dance Party. When we have indoor recess, a couple of my students now choose to go onto Code.org for their free time. They can’t seem to get enough of the activities.”—Jillian H., public middle school teacher from Virginia

In November and December, social media was flooded with posts about #HourOfCode, many featuring teachers, students and staff coding and dancing along with the colorful characters! During CSEdWeek alone, 31,406 users published 66,030 posts, with a potential 473,587,749 impressions.

There were also 140 other new Hour of Code activities this year from more than 60 partners as well as also old favorites with a twist, like Microsoft: Minecraft Voyage Aquatic.

A huge goal of the Hour of Code is to break stereotypes in computing and lower barriers for girls and underrepresented groups to enter the field. So, we’re thrilled that the post-Hour of Code survey indicates that 50% of this year’s participants were female. Our hope is that they are inspired to continue studying CS and ultimately bring more diversity into the workforce.

“I stopped to chat with one of my female students and she said, ‘I can’t believe it! I don’t like video games at all and I thought this was going to be awful. BUT I LOVE IT! Coding is so much fun!!’” –Melanie P., public elementary school teacher in California

And like last year, 76% of teachers said they were “more interested” in teaching CS after doing an Hour of Code. We want to make sure teachers feel just as comfortable learning CS as their students do, especially because we know it can be difficult to try something new in the classroom.

In fact, 20% of teachers actually began to teach coding after a previous Hour of Code! And 54% of teachers said they would teach it if given the opportunity. Computer science is only taught in 35% of schools, and this interest shows that our movement not only has room to grow, but also growing support from millions of dedicated teachers.

“Students loved doing the Hour of Code experience. When they finish other tasks early they beg to do Hour of Code.” — Francesa M., public middle school teacher from Washington

Ninety-four percent of respondents said their students coded for more than an hour. This percentage is the highest it’s ever been, showing that students were engaged and wanted to keep learning. Overall, 99% of survey respondents said they had a “Good” or “Great” experience.

“Our students get excited about Hour of Code every year. They collaborate with each other on the coding activities without the teachers even instructing them to do so. It is awesome to see them working together to figure out a specific line of code.” — Jessica H., public middle/high school teacher from Alabama

Thank you to all the dedicated schools, teachers, community members, donors and CS advocates who helped make the2018 Hour of Code the biggest one ever. Help us take the next step and go beyond an hour! Learn how you can help bring computer science to a school near you so that one day, it will become a subject taught in all schools across the U.S., right alongside reading, writing, math and other subjects. Together, we can make it happen!

Alice Steinglass, Code.org

Note: The survey was in English only and does not measure the experience of non-English-speaking organizers. The survey was also only sent to event organizers and classroom teachers who registered on the Hour of Code website. Many students or adults engage with the Hour of Code on their own, and their experience is not measured by this survey.