We live in an age in which technology surrounds us. The most successful company in the United States today is a technology company. Children today need to understand more than just how to use this technology. As our boys enter the workplace of 2015 and beyond, they need to understand how it is created. The best way to get this understanding is to have some knowledge of coding.
Coding Is Not Just for Techies
Often when we think of coding, we think of one person sitting at a computer all alone typing in letters, numbers, and symbols to create programs. However, there is so much more to coding than many realize.
Learning to code is really about learning to learn. Students are gaining not only mathematical and computational ideas, but also problem solving, project design, and communication skills. All of these skills will be necessary as they continue with their education and go out into the world to begin careers.
Coding Can Be Fun and Easy
In the past, learning to code has not always been easy. You had to learn a specific computer language such as Java or Python before begining to code. Many of our current parents likely remember hearing about BASIC or Fortran from their school days. Today, anyone can learn the basics of coding.
Through sites such as Code.org and Scratch, students can learn the programming concepts of sequencing, loops, conditionals, functions, and variables. These sites and others like them present coding in a fun and engaging way.
Top Five Reasons for Learning to Code.
- Students will begin to see themselves as creators and designers.
- The ability to code allows you to create things such as interactive stories, games, animations, and simulations.
- Coding is not just a pathway to a good job. It is a means of self-expression and a new way of learning.
- Coding helps develop perseverance, as it is not easy and can take many tries to accomplish your goal.
- Knowing how to code can help solve real-world problems by giving students the knowledge of how computers and other digital tools can be used to help solve those problems. This allows students to build something that just might change the world.
Our Director of Communications, Winston Baccus, is teaching his daughter to code in Python using the book Teach Your Kids to Code: A Parent-Friendly Guide to Python Programming by Bryson Payne.
Get your kids started coding today. Below is a short list of a few fun but challenging websites or apps to get your kids started on the path to coding.
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