When I look over the landscape of successful leaders in the business world, they are more than just technically literate, they are technologists.
I believe it is our responsibility as a society to provide each student with a firm foundation that includes STEM -- specifically the ability to code. Look around you, the phone you hold, your doorbell, car, thermostat, smart speaker, TV, all the medical devices, traffic lights and all the computers that make up the internet. Without software, they are all just useless shells. These devices only come to life once there is a basic operating system and then the specific applications that make them useful to us.
With code integrated into virtually every aspect of our lives, why are we not introducing our students to the basics of reading and writing code in our K-12 education system? Do we really want the first time a student formally learns how to code to be college? What if we sent students to college without the ability to read and write? The demand for innovative programmers will only continue to grow and we are already having a hard time filling the current need of programmers.
Let's start with some misconceptions.
Like other core competencies, coding should be integrated into our education system and our homes at an early age. Like creative writing, not every child will grow up to be the next great American novelist, but without integrating the basics of creative writing in our education system from an early age, few will reach that pinnacle of literary success.
Likewise, without a system that integrates coding into early education and the ability for interested youth to dive deeply into programming, she may never develop the next great technology innovation. We need a new systematic approach to creative coding that enables all students to reach their full potential in this new environment.
If you have young children, introduce them to coding. If you are an educator, look for ways to integrate coding into every aspect of the student's life. Students should code early and code often.
I believe it is our responsibility as a society to provide each student with a firm foundation that includes STEM -- specifically the ability to code. Look around you, the phone you hold, your doorbell, car, thermostat, smart speaker, TV, all the medical devices, traffic lights and all the computers that make up the internet. Without software, they are all just useless shells. These devices only come to life once there is a basic operating system and then the specific applications that make them useful to us.
With code integrated into virtually every aspect of our lives, why are we not introducing our students to the basics of reading and writing code in our K-12 education system? Do we really want the first time a student formally learns how to code to be college? What if we sent students to college without the ability to read and write? The demand for innovative programmers will only continue to grow and we are already having a hard time filling the current need of programmers.
Let's start with some misconceptions.
- Coding is a creative process like creative writing. While logic is a huge part of the process, you don't have to be a math whiz.
- Writing code is creative. The best programmers are problem solvers and usually good at other creative activities like music or art.
- Computers don't write (all) code. Often people ask me: "Don't computers write code?" Not really, computers can help with some of the basic processes and fill in the blanks, but people write code.
- Anyone can do it. All you need is a basic computer.
Like other core competencies, coding should be integrated into our education system and our homes at an early age. Like creative writing, not every child will grow up to be the next great American novelist, but without integrating the basics of creative writing in our education system from an early age, few will reach that pinnacle of literary success.
Likewise, without a system that integrates coding into early education and the ability for interested youth to dive deeply into programming, she may never develop the next great technology innovation. We need a new systematic approach to creative coding that enables all students to reach their full potential in this new environment.
If you have young children, introduce them to coding. If you are an educator, look for ways to integrate coding into every aspect of the student's life. Students should code early and code often.
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