Two years ago, or may be little more, at an “unconference” a few people were shocked to hear that a six year should be learning to code. After a few discussions, as in an unconference, it turned out that there is a perception of a coder to be a hairy geek. This perception can be attributed to TV and Cinema. Gosh, how hideous are those “Access Denied” messages in a movie and then suddenly the screen turns alive with gibberish lines of code scrolling at a very fast speed. That is not coding, that is movie crap.So here’s why young kids should learn to code –
1. It is not about the syntax and jargon anymore!
It seems finally, after a full circle of focussing on a plethora of programming languages, the focus is now back on the building blocks, algorithm. This is perfect for young kids as they should not be bothered about Java or C# or Ruby or Python or something else. This is the first step to teach the young minds about dealing with logic – in the language they can understand and not the textbook language of variables, loops, procedure and arrays. None of the tools aimed at the young kids use the heavy jargon or syntax, and uses characters or players which the kids can identify with.
2. It has never been easier to learn to code!
If you just search for “Learn to code”, you will get quite a lot of results, most of them are real sites which will teach you to code, unlike few years ago when there were only static websites offering content for learning programming languages. The good news is that they are available for platform or browser of your choice be it Android, iPad, Windows, Mac, Linux or a Chromebook.
My first encounter with one of these was Lightbot Check this out if you have an Android device. It teaches about consolidating repetitive actions together and then using that to create a command (procedure). It also teaches you to notice patterns, and how these patterns can be re-used. The reason I have highlighted the words notice and re-use because they actually are taught in very advanced level of Computer Science studies as a concept of Reusable Patterns.
Once all the levels are complete, the child can get a cool certificate of participating in the “hour of code”. More about hour of code in another post.
There are many such more apps and programs like these, I’ll keep you posted about these in future posts. If you do not have an Android, don’t despair, you can try out Lightbot for iTunes.
Image copyright Lightbot and Google Play Store.
3. They are not teaching this at school
Most of the schools are using technology as a learning aid for other subjects, but not for technology itself. I say most, because I know many schools in the UK have some focus on programming in the primary and secondary schools and has some BBC sponsorship as well. Well, if it was not for the BBC Micro which was a gift to our school way back in 1986-87, it may have been an altogether different post. There are many clubs there in UK which are aimed at young and teach programming concepts. Out of all the OECD countries, I would not be surprised if UK is emphasising it the most. The rest, they are still catching up or have not given a thought. Yes, there will be some schools that you know which are taking steps to teach young kids to code. Good on them.
4. They learn something
Like everything else, some kids will love it a lot, some will be neutral and some will have an utter dislike for it. They will still learn something out of it, even if they engage for only a little time. It teaches them many concepts which they will use later in life, be it for studying humanities, sciences, commerce or something else. There is not a single field which is untouched by technology and their understanding of the fundamentals of technology will help them perform better in the field they choose.
5. You will love it
When they show you the results of what they have learnt and what they can do, you will not be able to resist the smile. That expression of joy will be the motivation for them to do more.
Disclaimer – I am not affiliated to Lightbot or gain any benefit from promoting it here.
