Today I received an email from Sal, Founder of Khan Academy, and lover of code. It is no secret that most teachers do not know how to code. However, with a little training and a lot of enthusiasm, teacher and students can benefit from learning how to code in so many ways (there are simply endless opportunities for growth and great potential future employment opportunities).

Are you ready to learn to code?

From Sal, the founder of Khan Academy:

When I first started Khan Academy I managed to pull the website together with some pretty rusty javascript skills I had picked up in college. I realize now that I was one of the lucky ones – 90% of students don’t get the opportunity to learn any type of computer coding while they’re at school. Yes, you read that correctly-in a world run by computers, 90% of students are not even exposed to coding. That’s crazy when you consider how much of our lives require technology.

This week over 5 million students will participate in the Hour of Code – and try out coding for the first time. (Sal has given educators a pre-built lesson and they can send their students there to try it out) – at the end of the hour, they’ll have coded their very own greeting card to send to someone this holiday season (check it out now, as you will see cards already)!

Sal states, “If they can type, they can code. Coding may seem a little scary to some, but we’ve made a fun hour of coding that’ll have them building things in a snap.”

What is the Hour of Code?

Hour of Code is about getting millions of students to try computer science for just one hour during Computer Science Education Week, which starts tomorrow. A lesson plan for educators can be found here. At Khan Academy, we’ve custom made a tutorial for students that requires no prior experience and is good for grades 3 to 12 and beyond – anybody can learn.

Thank you Sal!

Please share your stories and creations with us!