The better one understands the principles of coding – and ideally can operate as many coding languages as possible – the more confidently one can approach technology. Coding is in everything and it’s thus more than strategic to understand in order to create a more confident relationship with technology. You twist a button and the drying fan you’re using to dry your hair changes the amount of heat it uses. You adjust another button, the volume increases. You press a button, the device gets turned on. Any electronic device we use has had to have been programmed to function in the way it does. Like any other language, it has its own set of rules and is used to convey instructions to a computerized device – whether that be a computer or a device. We’ve compiled a short list of coding languages most appropriate for young kids in early and middle-school education for you to choose from.īut before we get ahead of ourselves – what are coding languages for kids? And more generally, what is a coding language? And like with any language, it’s best to start learning early. Currently, there’s around 250 coding languages in the world. Coding languages for kids start at the very basics, ranging from those that require physical tools to those that are purely electronic. The tools are a-plenty and they’re available for anyone willing to invest their time. From women on maternity leave, through ambitious university students, to young curious kids – everyone’s learning to code.
We compiled the best 5 coding languages for kids to get acquainted with and a short guide on how best to approach each of them.Ĭoding is an inseparable part of the essential ABC’s of 21st century education. “I think the passion, the drive that these kids have is something that you don’t see in your ordinary kid, because I know that they had to work 10 times harder to be here,” Ogbonna said.How to introduce kids to coding languages? It’s not rocket science, it’s a lot of fun and you have a wide variety of methods to choose from - you don’t even need any complicated tools. Jason Gibson at community event recruiting students and tutors for Hood Code. A 2021 Pew Research analysis found that Black and Latino adults are less likely to earn STEM degrees than degrees in any other field, and they make up a lower share of STEM graduates compared to other populations.
And I didn’t even know that jobs in coding existed,” Outar said.īlack people made up 9% of the STEM workforce in 2021, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. I didn’t have a computer until basically high school, when I had to do online school. “I think it’s because we both come from low-income communities, we understand. She and her friend Sara Outar decided to take on the job together. She’s a high school senior and a tutor at Hood Code. “Coding is not always necessarily accessible to kids that we teach,” Chigo Ogbonna said. Gibson used that entrepreneurial spirit to gather sponsors and community members to ensure that Hood Code would be free for students and a paid job for tutors, many of whom are in high school. I could have been maybe one of the big tech founders.” “I’ve always been an entrepreneur, I’ve always had that spirit. “I think my life could have possibly been different,” Gibson said. Jason Gibson, back left, stands with Hood Code students as they receive their participation certificate. Those disadvantages inspired Gibson to provide his community with opportunities that he says he wished he had growing up. “And I realized how much of a disadvantage I was at and how kids from my neighborhood are in.” “That was my first opportunity to really sit down and read,” Gibson said. While serving a five-year sentence, Gibson spent most of his time expanding his knowledge and researching both the tech industry and African American history. Gibson founded Hood Code in 2019, but the idea for the program was born two years prior - from behind bars. Many of the kids embark on quests to make their own video games or re-create their favorites, finding inspiration in games like Flappy Bird and Geometry Dash.