MILLIONS TO CODE: At the time of writing, 46 million people have tried Code.org's "Hour of Code." But the SF-based nonprofit wants to boost that number by raising $5 million in an IndieGoGo campaign to "introduce 100 million students worldwide to one hour of computer science." TechCrunch noted a couple of power couples have already chipped in: John and Ann Doerr, along with Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, each committed $500,000. Another two anonymous donors have also pledged that same amount. Four of the $5 million will go toward teacher training, according to Code.org's estimates.
The celebrity firepower behind the Code.org movement continues to grow, extending beyond tech luminaries, professional athletes and the POTUS himself. Recently, Noble Peace Prize Winner, Malala Yousafzai, challenged girls in every country to learn an hour of coding.
States are also gradually updating policies to encourage more computer science in the classroom. SFGate reports that 25 states currently allow computer science to count toward math graduation requirement.
This year's Hour of Code campaign will once again coincide with Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 8-14. Fifteen million students partook last year. Entire public schools that sign up to host the Hour of Code are eligible for $10,000 in hardware. Prizes for individual organizers, classrooms and entire schools include range from Skype credit to a class set of laptops.
