Many tech-savvy people—including Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and HISD’s own Adam Stephens—believe that in the not-too-distant future, knowing how to create computer code will be considered as basic a skill as knowing how to read, write, or perform basic math calculations.

That’s why students at several HISD campuses participated in a challenge issued by Code.org as a part of Computer Science Education Week.

The organization challenged students around the globe to solve fun, online puzzles for at least 60 minutes between Dec. 9 and 15, in an initiative dubbed “Hour of Code” that’s designed to encourage interest in the high-demand career field of computer coding.

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“Within 50 years, I believe that educators are going to approach coding in the same way they do High Frequency Words now,” said Stephens, who serves as the principal of The School at St. George Place. “So our task is not only to prepare kids to be literate in terms of English language arts, but also digitally.”

Other HISD schools participating in this initiative include Southmayd ES and the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy.

To learn more about how HISD is bringing technology into the classroom, visit the PowerUp site.