Apple Announces This Year’s ‘Hour of Code’ Sessions and More

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Apple on Monday announced thousands of free Hour of Code sessions and other new resources as part of its expanding Everyone Can Code program and curriculum.

This will mark the sixth straight year of Apple hosting Hour of Code sessions. This year, they will kick off on Dec. 1 and run through Dec. 14 — coinciding with Computer Science Education Week. The sessions will be available at all of Apple’s retail locations throughout the globe, the company wrote in a press release.

Aspiring coders can now sign up for various Hour of Code sessions. While there are options for all age groups, Apple will also host Kids Hour sessions for children aged 6 to 12. Sign-ups are available at the Today at Apple section of Apple Store websites.

There’s also a new Hour of Code Facilitator Guide for coding teachers. The free-to-use resource will help educators host their own sessions using Swift Playgrounds and other iOS apps for iPad.

In addition, Apple introduced Swift Coding Club, an educational program that focuses on teaching coding and programming outside of the classroom using the company’s own Swift language.

Educators and students alike can now access a Swift Coding Club kit that provides resources for users aged 8 and up to start their own groups, create apps and explore various community-based activities from the App Development with Swift curriculum and Swift Playgrounds.

Students will be able to earn an App Development with Swift certification that “recognizes their knowledge of Swift, app developer tools and core components of apps.” The certification exam is offered through Certiport Authorized Testing Centers across the world.

Lastly, Apple also announced the upcoming launch of an advanced placement (AP) Computer Science Principles curriculum that will allow high school students to earn AP college credits when they learn App Development with Swift.

The new programs and resources are part of an ever-expanding Everyone Can Code platform, which Apple launched in 2016.

Everyone Can Code is designed to provide students with skills they can use for high-demand and high-skill coding jobs, Apple says. According to the company, more than 5,000 schools and colleges are using the Everyone Can Code curriculum.

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