Apple Supports 'Hour of Code' Campaign for Students with Free Workshops in U.S. Retail Stores

hour_of_code_iconApple today announced that it will be participating in the "Hour of Code" initiative this Wednesday by offering free workshops in its U.S. stores introducing students to computer programming. Apple is setting aside the 5:00-6:00 PM hour at all of its retail stores for its workshops, and reservations are required.

The broader initiative is sponsored by the non-profit Code.org with the backing of a wide variety of political, corporate, and personal supporters. The goal of the campaign is to introduce 10 million students to computer programming, with the ultimate goal of every student learning a basic level of programming.

Learn about the campaign to get students involved in a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics of programming. Visit code.org or attend a special Hour of Code workshop at any U.S. Apple Retail Store on December 11, 5 p.m.

Steve Jobs makes a brief appearance at the 1:47 mark of the promotional video for the event, by way of a 1995 clip from "Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview".

Top Rated Comments

tigres Avatar
128 months ago
One hour?

That should cover the time it takes to install and configure Xcode.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
troop231 Avatar
128 months ago
Pretty cool initiative. Just please teach them about memory management lol. :)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hansonjohn590 Avatar
128 months ago
Care to explain why? We'd love to hear the reasoning.

Absolutely horrible syntax and all but useless outside Apple's environment.
There's a reason CS programs don't use it to teach students, high school kids would hate it even more.

Java and C++ are far better to teach OO principles. And far more useful in the real world.

That's not even diving into the technical aspects of the language, which is beyond the scope of this thread.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hansonjohn590 Avatar
128 months ago
Objective-C is a **** language to begin with and even moreso for an introductory class on programming.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
craig1410 Avatar
128 months ago
Absolutely horrible syntax and all but useless outside Apple's environment.
There's a reason CS programs don't use it to teach students, high school kids would hate it even more.

Java and C++ are far better to teach OO principles. And far more useful in the real world.

That's not even diving into the technical aspects of the language, which is beyond the scope of this thread.

Java is marginally easier to understand than Obj-C but only on a very superficial level. Anyone who has worked with enterprise Java knows just how hideous it can easily become. C++ may at first appear to be easy to understand but beginners will quickly come unstuck.

Obj-C has been improved a lot in recent years not just through the vast libraries and frameworks provided by Apple but also in terms of language features themselves. It is a hugely powerful language and one that opens doors to the world of iOS and Mac OS X programming. There are definitely worse choices these days for someone beginning to program.

I've been programming for 30+ years and have used many many languages. I currently use Ruby for most things but also work regularly with Java, Javascript and Objective-C. They all have their strengths, weaknesses and quirks. I was taught at school and university largely using Pascal but have never used that commercially so maybe that wasn't the "best" choice at the time. Then again, I don't think that matters as any programmer worth their salt can easily take onboard a new syntax as long as they understand the fundamentals and have an open mind.

C.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
losthorse Avatar
128 months ago
-- removed by user --
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
iOS 17 and iPhones Feature

iOS 17: 10 New Features That Just Launched

Sunday September 17, 2023 12:35 pm PDT by
In June, Apple announced iOS 17 with a wide range of new features and changes for the iPhone. Following over three months of beta testing, the free software update will be released this Monday, September 18 for the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have recapped 10 key features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17, with additional features coming later this year. The update should be released to...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...