VINCENNES, Ind. - For the fifth consecutive year, the Vincennes University Information Technology Department hosted fifth graders from the South Gibson School Corporation on for the National Hour of Code event held at VU’s Gibson County Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics in Fort Branch.

The December 6 event drew 140 fifth graders and was planned and executed by 27 VU students majoring in VU’s Information Technology Concentration Baccalaureate Degree program. The VU students first completed a class in Project Management.

In addition to computer science, the fifth graders were engaged with multiple examples of technology, including logic activities, coding, 3D printing, IOT (Internet Of Things), Lego bots, and cyber security safety.

Code.org organizes the annual campaign which has engaged 10 percent of all students in the world and provides the leading curriculum for K-12 computer science in the largest school districts in the United States.

According to Code.org, to date, policies have changed in 44 U.S. states (including Indiana) to establish CS education standards, to make CS courses count toward high school graduation, etc. There are 570,926 open computing jobs nationwide and 49,291 computer science students graduated into the workforce last year.  In Indiana alone there are 5,010 open computing jobs and 1,578 computer science graduates.

Jaci Lederman, department chair of VU Information Technology, first read about Code.org and the Hour of Code event in Wired Magazine five years ago took steps to incorporate the Hour of Code into project-based learning for her Information Technology students. “Technology encompasses many areas and it is exciting to see college students that want to share their area of interest,” said Lederman. "This event is an excellent opportunity to give back to the community.  College students are given the opportunity to inspire fifth grade students by teaching them about various types of technologies within the Information Technology profession."

Brian Igel, assistant professor of Information Technology, also assisted with the event.

"The Hour of Code event is an excellent opportunity to expose fifth grade students to the possibility of a rewarding career in Information Technology," said Lederman.

VU GIBSON COUNTY CENTER

VU’s Gibson County Center for Advanced Manufacturing is a leading resource for workforce development. The 57,000 square-foot facility features modern and flexible training labs and classrooms that serve employers, employees, and students within southwestern Indiana’s industrial corridor. It is located on U.S. 41 near Fort Branch and just a few miles from Interstates 64 and 69.

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