Giving back to the community is a key ethos of TechPoint’s Xtern program, the ultimate tech internship experience. Teaching young children to code is always one of the favorite community activities of Xterns while they are living together in Indianapolis and interning for the summer at tech companies around the city.

Recently, Xterns had a wonderful opportunity to teach 35 elementary school students basic coding skills at the IPS/Butler University Laboratory School. The program features fun iconic games like Minecraft and Angry Birds to help the kids more easily stay engaged and have fun while they are learning something new.

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Each child was paired up with an Xtern to mentor and help them learn basic commands and functions. The ultimate goal was get them excited about learning, and pique their interest in a future career in technology. It was a day full of high fives and pizza for dinner, and at the end the kids ran through a tunnel of cheering Xterns! They also each received their own certificate of completion.

Check out more photos from Butler Lab Hour of Code on Facebook!

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“My favorite part of teaching the kids to code was seeing their faces go from complete frustration of not understanding the problem, to excitement only a programmer can have when code works. The moment when everything clicks is what every teacher waits for,” said Xtern Stephen Kramer.

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Xtern Mitch Holm said: “I enjoy it because you can really see the kids learning and figuring something out. You get a lot of progress, even in an hour”

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“I would say one of my favorite parts was the enthusiasm each and every kid had. My super coder was only four years old and could not yet read very well, but her ability to comprehend coding concepts and algorithms astounded me! This program was proof that anyone can learn to code. It was so neat to see so many students starting at a young age. I wish I could have had an opportunity like this,” said Xtern Suzie Hoops.

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