As part of Drexel’s annual celebration of
National Computer Science Education Week (November 17 – 21, 2014), Drexel student tech volunteer organization
DUCSTeach (Drexel University Computer Science Teachers) visited middle school students at
St. Francis de Sales School on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2014 to lead an “
Hour of Code,” where volunteers gave introductory computer science activities designed to demystify coding, and show students that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator or an innovator.
In working with groups of about 25 students ranging from grades six to eight, DUCSTeach volunteers helped students complete an hour of code in programming languages such as JavaScript, HTML and Python through a combination of games and coding activities. The visit was the organization’s second hour of code session held at St. Francis de Sales School, located in West Philadelphia, as part of National Computer Science Education Week.
“Students enjoyed the 2014 session so much that we'll be moving forward with our plans to have a programming club for the students after school in 2015,”
said president and founder
Dan Ziegler, who is an undergraduate peer mentor and computer science student at the College of Computing & Informatics (CCI).
DUCSTeach was founded in fall 2012 by Ziegler during the honors section of Intro to Computer Science (CS 164) when Professor
Jeffrey Popyack, PhD (now DUCSTeach faculty advisor) challenged his honors students to fulfill their five-hour freshman service requirement by making a lasting difference outside of the classroom. It was then that Ziegler recruited his classmates and connected with St. Francis de Sales School to pursue workshops to increase STEM knowledge in the classroom through the schools existing technology club.
Click here to read more about DUCSTeach’s history and 2013 Hour of Code session on Drexel’s news blog.
DUCSTeach’s current efforts, with support from CCI and the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement, support local public and private educational institutions in
the vicinity of Drexel's University City Campus. Volunteer duties include providing technical support to teachers and faculty in partner schools; assisting
in teaching classes or leading clubs in technology related fields (website design, app development, etc.) with kindergarten through grade eight students;
helping coordinate the integration of technology into classrooms by assisting teachers in learning about and applying interactive programs, websites and
presentations; and advocating computer science, engineering and other STEM fields to students of all genders, races and backgrounds.
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