Teaching Children To Code: The Latest Revolution Most People Are Unaware Of
We’re living in an age of technology, with exciting new devices being released at a tremendously fast rate. It is then no surprise that children are becoming accustomed and proficient with technology faster than ever before. This technological innovation is making improvements and new changes in education. Children are now benefiting from tablet computers, SMART boards to replace the old whiteboards, and accessible computer labs. With all this exposure to technology there has been a new educational trend that many people have not even heard of, children are learning to code.
Coding has been portrayed in the past as something exclusively for computer experts, as something very difficult and advanced. The reality is that you or anyone else can learn the basics to code, and teaching children to code at earlier ages can allow them to become familiar with many concepts. There are many advantages of teaching children to code, and the best part is that it can be a very fun learning experience for the children.
There are many benefits that children gain from learning to code. Understanding how programs work will give them a proper understanding of how technology works in general, this is very useful in understanding the world around them. As technology advances it is important to teach children all about technology so that they can have greater opportunities in the future. This age of technology can be unforgiving to the technologically impaired. Coding is a great tool for all educators.
Learning code also comes with the fantastic benefit of learning mathematics concepts indirectly. Computer code is all tied to mathematics and children can learn all about advanced concepts before they even encounter them in their mathematics classes. This is very important because it gives children a solid foundation for their future classes. They will encounter mathematics as something familiar and intuitive at a young age, not as something new and scary.
Free platforms for learning
As mentioned earlier, one of the best things about teaching children to code is that they can gain the benefits while having fun. Children can have the opportunity to learn something they can play around with. The prospect of making their own games is enough to motivate many students. Coding encourages students to create something that interests them and encourages them to explore various ways to solve different problems. There are many educational systems out there that are very child friendly and are perfect platforms for teaching children to code, and the best part is that many of them are free!
One of these systems is “Scratch” a very simple and child friendly coding language developed by MIT with the intent to teach kindergartners to code. With this system children can create, games, stories, animations and more all on their own. The sense of accomplishment that children can feel from making their own projects is a great life lesson on work ethic and creativity. While children develop their ability to code, they can also put enhance their critical thinking and even their reading and writing skills. This system is being used on all grade levels from kindergarten to college, it is useful for all.
It is clear that teaching code in the classroom is a growing trend that is here to stay. The advantages are tremendous, and most schools are already equipped with the proper tools for coding lessons. Devoting some class time to coding is a great addition to any curriculum. Educators all around the world are seeing the difference teaching children to code can make. Current educators, those pursuing a master of arts in teaching, and parents should pay attention to this growing trend, teaching a child to code is the way of the future.
