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Microsoft adds new tutorial to Hour of Code

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 24 Nov 2015
The Minecraft tutorial during Hour of Code will introduce participants to basic coding skills.
The Minecraft tutorial during Hour of Code will introduce participants to basic coding skills.

For this year's Hour of Code campaign, Microsoft will offer students and learners a new coding tutorial, which includes basic concepts from the video game, Minecraft.

Now in its third year, Hour of Code is a global participation programme organised by Code.org. Hour of Code is designed to demystify code and encourage more students to learn the basics of computer science.

The campaign provides one-hour coding tutorials available in over 40 languages, with no experience needed. It will be held during Computer Science Education Week from 7 to 13 December.

Microsoft says the tutorial will introduce players to computer coding skills within the interactive and popular Minecraft environment.

Participants will navigate, mine, craft and explore in a two-dimensional Minecraft world using a block-based visual programming editor to complete all actions.

"A core part of our mission to empower every person on the planet is equipping youth with computational thinking and problem-solving skills to succeed in an increasingly digital world," says Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.

"With Minecraft and Code.org, we aim to spark creativity in the next generation of innovators in a way that is natural, collaborative and fun."

As part of Computer Science Education Week, Microsoft plans to lead thousands of youth coding events in more than 50 countries around the world.

The events will take place at Microsoft stores, offices and innovation centres, as well as facilities of Microsoft's YouthSpark non-profit partners and schools. The sessions will be led by over 7 000 Microsoft student partners, most valuable professionals, and employee volunteers.

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