BeckyStrause
“Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer, should learn a computer language, because it teaches you how to think.” – Steve Jobs
With nearly everyone in the world primarily using Windows and Mac devices everything is completely user-friendly, which makes technology very easy. That means that few people are learning computer science because there’s little need for it in everyday life. However, there is still a tremendous need for it.
The team at Code.org figures that by 2020 there will 1.4 million computing jobs open, and only 400,000 computer science students. They have taken it upon themselves to try and change these figures. According to their site, “ Code.org is a non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science education by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Our vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer programming.”
One of the ways they are actively pursuing participation is to teach basic concepts of computer science, using drag and drop programming lessons. The lessons are for various ages and feature some of our favorite stars from video games such as Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies. The lessons consist of the instructional videos and practices (games). But the lesson options don’t end there. They have various learning options including “unplugged” computer science, which uses pen, paper and other objects to teach fundamentals.
Code.org works with a famous group of people, such as Bill Gates (Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and Chris Bosh (NBA Miami Heat Player). They, and several others, star in the instructional videos. Who knew athletes and musicians are interested in coding?
Other than just teaching some simple computer science fundamentals, code.org seems to have a bigger passion of enabling students to learn computing, and encouraging thinking. You may want to check out their site. Go ahead, learn how to code!