Israeli children over 10 wrote code to create a digital menorah

More than 15,000 students in about 120 schools across Israel have participated in the programming program.

DECEMBER 20, 2020 10:12

Updated: DECEMBER 20, 2020 12:12

"Code Plus" program of the Center for Educational Technology (photo credit: "CODE PLUS" PROGRAM) — "Code Plus" program of the Center for Educational Technology

(photo credit: "CODE PLUS" PROGRAM)

On the eve of Hanukkah, December 13, the Center for Educational Technology (CET) completed a code writing project, the "Code Plus" program, teaching children ages 10 and over across the country to create digital menorahs.

The move marked the “World Code Hour” event, which encourages children all over the world to experience one hour of programming and writing code.

As part of the event, more than 15,000 students in about 120 schools across Israel have participated in the creation of a virtual menorah.

The "Code Plus" program allowed children in grades four to six, including children with special needs, to meet programming tasks using Scratch, a friendly, easy-to-understand and step-by-step programming language.

.@csedweek is GLOBAL! Millions of students in more than 180 countries have played hundreds of #HourOfCode tutorials in more than 45 languages so far this week—and it's not over yet! Learning CS connects all the world's students ❤️ https://t.co/YGHoN7FuVc pic.twitter.com/Fb2fgfR0GR
— Code.org (@codeorg) December 11, 2019

"As a teacher, I loved the idea that every child would make a digital and original greeting and pass it on to parents, family and friends," said Jihan Bhutto, a teacher from the Reim School in Shimshit. "Everyone expressed enthusiasm and excitement about it."

"Digital literacy is not the profession of the future, rather a necessary skill in the present. It is needed in all areas of learning and life, but until it becomes a core profession, we at CET, together with the Ministry of Education, promote it," Bhutto added.

"Code Plus" program of the Center for Educational Technology. (Credit: "Code Plus" program)

"More and more children in grades four to six are being exposed to the programming world, and in doing so, they are taking a first and important step in becoming familiar with the technological ecosystem," Bhutto said.