The Virtual Voice

Hour of Code

Celebrating College & Career-Ready Students

By on February 26th, 2019

From contests to clubs, FLVS offers a variety of ways to learn about coding and computer science, including online technology courses that develop the skills students need for the careers of tomorrow.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses combine academics and the real world, providing hands-on learning that puts students at the center of the action. CTE also helps develop critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills, which means students are better prepared for college and career life.

As we wrap up CTE Month at the end of February, we want to celebrate several student participants who wowed us with their entries in our recent #FLVSCodes contest. Continue reading

Congrats to our #FLVSCodes Contest Winners

By on February 1st, 2019

February is Career and Technical Education Month – a time to recognize the importance of practical skills students need to succeed in the real world.

In support of this same goal, FLVS recently held an online photo and video contest encouraging students to share their love for coding and computer science. The entries featured students participating in a variety of STEM-related activities, from programming robots to participating in an Hour of Code. Continue reading

Win an iPad in our #FLVSCodes Contest

By on December 3rd, 2018

To celebrate our tech-savvy students, FLVS is hosting a contest from Dec. 3, 2018 through Jan. 14, 2019. We want to see how our students are engaging in computer science activities — from coding to construction!

Three lucky winners – one in elementary, one in middle, and one in high school – will be chosen to receive an iPad generously donated by the FLVS Foundation. Winners will be selected based on the quality, creativity, uniqueness, and relevance of their entry. Continue reading

FLVS Corkboard: Thanksgiving Edition

By on November 12th, 2018

With the summer sun slinking away, we’re furiously free-falling into Fall — and holidays are around the corner! These months are bustling with activities at school and at home, so we are combining your November and December highlights.

First, there were many festivities in October. Here’s a recap of a few notable events from last month. Continue reading

Bringing Learning to Life with Practical Experience

By on December 4th, 2017

We know students learn best through experience, but how can they get hands-on in a virtual learning environment?

Say hello to Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs). These professional student organizations are integrated into the FLVS Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum. Why? Because they give students tons of personal growth swag. Continue reading

FLVS Corkboard: Thanksgiving Edition

By on November 17th, 2017

And just like that, fall is nearly complete and the winter holidays are upon us! We know these months are bustling with activities both at school and at home, so we are combining your November and December highlights. Here are some of the activities happening at FLVS!   Continue reading

Catching Up with a Computer Science Expert

By on December 9th, 2016

To get a better idea of what Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code is all about, FLVS Content Writer Irene Pynn-Cunha sat down to chat with Amie Ross, FLVS Computer Science instructor.

flvs-hour-of-code-2016Mrs. Ross looks forward to Computer Science Education Week every year. In the past, she’s worked with students both online and face to face. She loves watching mental light bulbs go off all around the room as, one by one, students who thought they would never learn to code begin solving programming puzzles.

“When something works,” she says, “the excitement on their faces, that’s really cool.”

This year, she’ll be helping students with one of her favorite puzzles: a storybook about Santa’s missing socks. It may seem like a simple exercise, but by the end, students discover they’ve just worked through a challenging computer science concept: the binary search.

Mrs. Ross says one of the great benefits of Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code is that participants “tackle very complicated concepts without even realizing it.” In many ways, this is the key to showing students that programming actually is for anyone. In fact, she says, programming is a heavily creative field. “I’ve watched a lot of students really surprise themselves,” she says. “There isn’t just one type of person who gets into programming.” Continue reading

Join an Hour of Code!

By on November 23rd, 2015

Hour of Code TutorialsComputers are everywhere, but fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago.

The good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you’ve heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code with fun online games and tutorials featuring Star Wars, Minecraft, and Frozen.

This year, students of the FLVS STEM Club will give presentations about creating websites and more. Last year, every Apple Store in the world hosted an Hour of Code and even President Obama wrote his first line of code as part of the campaign.

Over 100 partners have joined together to support this movement.  Continue reading