Apple Stores to host free ‘Hour of Code’ workshops next Thursday

Hour of Code logo (image 001)

In addition to hosting Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump at the SoHo New York Apple Store as part of its Apps for (RED) promotion to benefit the fight against AIDS in Africa, Apple will be hosting another event at its stores, one tailored for students who are interested in coding.

Supporting the Computer Science Education Week which runs December 8-14, Apple’s free Hour of Code 2014 seminar will be taking place at its brick-and-mortar locations next Thursday, December 11.

The free computer programming workshops for kids are being described as a “fun” one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to “demystify code and show that anyone can learn the basics of programming.”

In addition to the U.S. stores, the event will be hosted by Apple’s international retail locations, too, including stores in Berlin, London and Tokyo.

Billed as the largest education event in the world, organizers are hoping to reach ten million students this week (almost fifty million signed up thus far).

To see if the event is available in your area, use this special webpage on the Retail section of Apple’s website and select your state and store from the menu.

Hour of Code logo (image 002)

Another page will load offering a selection of workshops and events at the chosen store, as shown above. Click on “CODE”, hit the Next button, choose your preferred schedule and upon signing in with your Apple ID confirm your reservation.

Hour of Code logo (image 003)

Apple supported Code.org’s Hour of Code last year with a similar event at its retail stores providing introduction to the basics of computer programming. Code.org’s stated goal is to get as many as a hundred million participants from all across the globe join the initiative this time around.

I’m liking the below clip explaining in an amusing way what isn’t being taught in a whopping 90 percent of U.S. schools, and not just because it stars some of Silicon Valley’s most famous luminaries such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst and Hadi Partovi.

In addition to Hour of Code 2014, Apple will be hosting other workshops and events for Computer Science Education week in select cities, December 8-14, featuring popular developers as well as its own engineers.

Some of the more prominent names in iOS development that will be on hand include the Hopscotch team at the SoHo, New York store; Clumsy Ninja developer NaturalMotion at the Regent Street, London store; BASE founder at the Shinsaibashi, Osaka store; The Elements app developers at the North Michigan Avenue, Chicago store and FitPort developers who will share some of their own tips and tricks at the Ginza, Tokyo store.