Thursday, April 4, 2013

Why Kids Need to Get Excited About Programming


     Everything is reliant on technology. From your computer at your desk at work, to the traffic lights on the street, we need people developing technologies to make our life easier. By 2018 1.4 million technical jobs will be needed and opening in the US, but only 400,000 graduates will have appropriate degrees. People still have a prejudice idea of a computer programmer being a geeky person with no social life, but we need to get past this idea. I know some very friendly programmers who I would not describe as geeky at all. We need to start encouraging programming at every school because it has become a necessary skill to learn, such as our multiplication tables and geography.
     Many students don't see, however, that their passion does not need to be programming. Think about it, if a child wants to do something with sports, they could develop a technology that analyzes plays, so players could work on becoming better athletes. Anything is possible with programming not matter what your interests are. I actually think that implementing programming into your passion can give you new insights into your passion. You can see it in a way you have never seen it before.
     So, if programming is so important, how are we going to get kids active in it? First, we need teachers to start teaching computer programming. In the 21st century every single school should have a Computer Science program. We also need to get students involved with programs like Raspberry Pi and Arduino, so they can start bringing their ideas to life. Finally, students should start learning on their own. Get resources such as Code.org and Codecademy.com. These sites offer students and adults some of the principles of programming that make everything from Facebook, to Google work. This is the time for students to get excited about what their learning, and Computer Science is no exception.
   

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