So far, the “Hour of Code” movement seems to be working — at least from an exposure standpoint.
The campaign, part of Computer Science Education Week and created by Seattle-based Code.org, announced today that more than 10 million students in 170 countries have tried their hand at an Hour of Code lessons this week, writing more than 350 million lines of code at press time.
In what’s a good sign for the typically male-dominated tech industry, girls continue to out-code the boys this week, with females making up 53 percent of participants.
“Halfway through ‘Computer Science Education Week,’ we can hardly believe the power of the this movement,” the company wrote.
“Hour of Code,” which kicked off Monday and ends Sunday, is designed to push computer science education in schools around the world and encourage students to spend at least one hour coding this week.
Hundreds are supporting the cause, from people like President Barack Obama to huge tech giants — including competing rivals. Apple and Microsoft Stores are offering up free tutorial classes this week, while companies like Google, Disney and Yahoo will feature Hour of Code on their home pages.
Code.org is a non-profit founded by brothers and tech entrepreneurs Ali and Hadi Partovi. Here’s Hadi Partovi talking about Code.org and the computer science education crisis in the U.S. at the 2013 GeekWire Summit:
