Howard County
Hour of Code

Learn

Compete. Win $1000+ in prizes.

Prizes

Individual Prizes
  • 2x Razer Gaming keyboards ($180)
  • 12x Best Buy gift cards ($25)
  • 4x Art of Problem Solving gift cards ($25)
Winning School Prizes
  • Website banner
  • $300 donation to computer science dept.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Hour of Code?
The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. You can check out the official Hour of Code here.
When is the Hour of Code?
Howard County Hour of Code, is a 5-day event taking place from May 29 to June 4, 2023.
Why computer science?
Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path. See more stats here.
How do I participate in the Hour of Code?
Login using your HCPSS Google account, navigate to Articles, and start completing articles! Completing articles will earn you and your school points, which are transformed into raffle tickets at the end of the event.
What device should I use?
Please use a laptop or device with a large screen for the best user experience. Some pages will look funky on mobile...
How much can one learn in an hour?
The goal of the Hour of Code is not to teach anybody to become an expert computer scientist in one hour. One hour is only enough to learn that computer science is fun and creative, that it is accessible at all ages, for all students, regardless of background. The measure of success of this campaign is not in how much CS students learn - the success is reflected in broad participation across gender and ethnic and socioeconomic groups, and the resulting increase in enrollment and participation we see in CS courses at all grade levels. Millions of the participating teachers and students have decided to go beyond one hour - to learn for a whole day or a whole week or longer, and many students have decided to enroll in a whole course (or even a college major) as a result.

Besides the students, another "learner" is the educator who gains the confidence after one hour that they can teach computer science even though they may not have a college degree as a computer scientist. Tens of thousands of teachers decide to pursue computer science further, either attending PD or offering follow-on online courses, or both. And this applies to school administrators too, who realize that computer science is something their students want and their teachers are capable of.
How do I keep learning after the Hour of Code?
Our teachers in Howard County are some of the best educators in the world- take advantage of the opportunities HCPSS offers! If you liked learning about CS, then consider taking some of our county’s CS courses. CS is also unique in that there is a wide array of online resources to help you learn virtually any topic you can imagine, from YouTube tutorials, to free courses, to online forums - make sure to take advantage of these!
How do the points/prizes work?
Individual Points are earned by completing articles, up to 373 points maximum.
Individual Prizes are awarded by a county-wide raffle at the end of the event. Each of your individual points counts as 1 raffle ticket (35 points --> 35 tickets) for a maximum of 373 tickets in this raffle.

School Points are awarded two both the individual and the school at a 1:1 ratio.
We will follow-up with winners after the event is over and deliver prizes to the winner's school.
Who made this website, and why?
This website is the product of a collaboration between various schools and clubs across the county. It is intended to be a version of Hour of Code better catered for high schoolers and to better promote CS education through inter-school competitions. The contributors to this year's event are listed below:
Directors
Alex Luo
Ben Li
Authors
Aryan Sharma
Sai Siddhish Chandra Sekaran
Alex Luo
Alex Zhu
Developers
Alex Luo
Ben Li
Outreach
Ben Li
Rylie Peres
I still have questions. Where can I ask them?
Please email any questions to mdhocohoc@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Also, feel free to join our discord server even if you don't have questions!

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