Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that in the future, students will learn about software coding just like they learn reading and math today.

Students at L.B. Morris Elementary School in Jim Thorpe got a glimpse of what that could look like this week, by participating in the nationwide "Hour of Code" program.Students in Rose Strubinger's fourth-grade computer classes were among the millions nationwide who took part in the program recently.Coding is essential to the computer programs that students use every day - whether it's social media, email or video games. They are all based on some kind of computer language.The "Hour of Code," sponsored by the nonprofit Code.org, is aimed at sparking students' interest in computer science.Advocates say that even if students do not go into a tech field, the problem-solving skills involved can be applied elsewhere.Schools nationwide participated. Apple CEO Tim Cook helped a class in New York through their lesson earlier this week."We're trying to incorporate more coding into the curriculum," Strubinger said. "This is something to get every student involved in coding."For their lesson, Strubinger's students were tasked with controlling a digital version of Princess Elsa from the movie "Frozen" as she "skated" on a digital ice rink. In order to direct her, students had to write their own computer programs using a language called "scratch."For many of the students, it was their first exposure to coding.Fourth-grader Mackenzie Aguirre said that there were some similarities between the activity and video games. She said that it was a good learning experience."I learn every day," she said.Strubinger was there to provide assistance along with seventh-grader Logan Pachulski, who does coding in his spare time at home.Pachulski said that coding can be difficult at first, but ultimately leads to rewarding projects."If you spend enough time, you can develop whole games and stuff that's really productive," he said.Jim Thorpe already has a computer class on the high school level. Coding isn't normally part of the elementary curriculum, but superintendent Brian Gasper said that they are constantly revamping."Every year it just gets more and more popular," Strubinger said. "It's good to start them young, to spark that interest."