Frozen-cover-image

There are a lot of coding tutorials out there. But only one that will have kids belting out “Let it Go.”

That’s right: Seattle-based Code.org has teamed up with Disney to create a new tutorial that features Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Entitled “Artist with Anna and Elsa,” the tutorial introduces students to basic coding concepts like loops and conditionals, with appearances from the leading women in Disney’s blockbuster animated feature.

Frozen Level 6

In addition, the tutorial will be backed by short video lectures from women in the tech industry, like Polyvore CEO Jess Lee and Microsoft engineer Paola Mejia. The new tutorial is a part of the company’s efforts to encourage more girls to learn programming and go into tech.

It’s all a part of Code.org’s Hour of Code campaign, which is entering its second year. The organization is trying to get as many school-age kids as possible to spend an hour writing code during Computer Science Education Week, which runs from December 8-14 of this year.

App developer and model Lyndsey Scott contributed a lecture to the new course
App developer and model Lyndsey Scott contributed a lecture to the new course

In addition to licensing Disney characters for Code.org’s use, the massive media company has also invested $100,000 to promote the organization’s vision of attracting young people to computer science. Disney will also host Hour of Code events for kids at its offices in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Seattle, and Kelowna, British Columbia.

People who want to try out the new tutorial can visit code.org/frozen.

Comments

  • Greg

    Cute and clever, likely to reach some girls that otherwise wouldn’t be interested. Nicely done.

  • Kate Luthner

    I will gladly hear Frozen for the 10 millionth time if it means my girls are learning.

  • hork

    showing actual women in the field is such a powerful tool– far too often young girls are bombarded with ‘not enough girls in STEM, you have to fight through the disadvantage and show them all! the women in engineering club!’ nonsense, which just perpetuates the stereotype that women are the ‘other’. all they need is an example of someone like them doing something they like, and human intellect will take its course.

  • Daniel Bingamon

    Reminds me of the “Turtle Graphics” from the late 80’s/early 90’s.

    • ronelm2000

      Looks like it’s based of the same concept. Either way, I like it personally myself. Not that I actually will use it though.

  • Basil Nolan

    I’m a full fledged web and app programmer… but I can’t help follow Elsa’s instructions in this tutorial. If I ever have some kids (girls actually), this is the first thing I’ll show em, then straight to python. Hell, I’ll make a Frozen app for python showing the magic of iterators, and why pointers don’t have to be hard to understand.

  • lol

    lol

  • lol

    I like cheesy toes

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