Code Iowa . . . could it unlock the next Steve Jobs?

"Code Iowa" works in partnership with "Hour of Code," which is an opportunity for every student to try coding for one hour during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 5-11. The national campaign comes after an obvious job demand: Currently, only roughly 43,000 computer science graduates are trained and available to fill more than 500,000 computing jobs in the nation (Code.org).

      The “Code Iowa" partnership — thanks to a $40,000 gift from Google and Verizon this year — helps generate interest and participation from Iowa educators, school districts, community organizations, parents and students with the hopes of establishing a continued interest to incorporate computer science into schools and after-school learning environments across the state.     Plus, all of the programming is hosted for free on Code.org year-round and expands beyond just one hour of coding for those interested. Just trying it out might light the spark in the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or our own, Iowa-bred Ben Silbermann, co-founder of Pinterest.