Vision

Nowadays, it is not a surprise for a two-year-old toddler to sit at a computer, grab the mouse, click on a browser, search for her gaming site link from the bookmarks, and launch her favorite game online. So it should not surprise anyone, when the same child, a decade later, opens an integrated development environment (IDE), and starts a new project in her favorite programming language. Programming is fun and there is no age limit to learning it. With this in mind, volunteers at Silver Oak Elementary started courses to teach basic programming using NetBeans IDE and Java. To their surprise, students were enthusiastic to learn about data variables, loops, graphics and all the things that the instructors learned in college in the 90s.

The vision of the contest is to provide Silicon Valley elementary students with an opportunity to explore their computer skills, and accomplish their first achievements in computer programming.