In class, we just finished our first Scratch Project. The Scratch program was developed by students at MIT who wanted to teach kids that coding wasn't something that was only for geniuses. Anyone can learn how to think in a language that code will understand, and therefore, your computer! While I (embarrassingly) found the Scratch project difficult at first, I quickly got the hang of pressing the right buttons and figuring out the right conditions to use. My project might have been quite simple, but it met the proper requirements as well as managed to teach me a little something about computational thinking.
Speaking of computational thinking! Let's go back to talking about "coding being more than coding." Recently, I read an article titled "Is Coding the New Literacy" by Tasneem Raja. I was most fascinated by how the article explained how coding taught a new form of thinking, "computational thinking" that could pave the way into new venues of creativity.
"The happy truth is, if you get the fundamentals about how computers think, and how humans can talk to them in a language the machines understand, you can imagine a project that a computer could do..."
The article made a wonderful point in the argument as to why everyone, no matter your age, gender, etc., should learn to code. This quote emphasizes how many problems that we, as a group, don't even know we have yet. However, by learning this new type of thinking, you're learning a new creative output that you can begin wondering about, questioning, and analyzing. It's important, in my humble opinion, to be aware of the world's problems. Our rapidly growing technology is a subgroup of this, and we shouldn't stay ignorant to its problems.
Moving on however, the liberal arts part of me recognizes that, maybe we're not all that good at programming. We're not all math-minded people, who can learn binary code in one moment and go home to learn the language of html the next. It's not as easy as everyone wants to think it is. At the same token, it's not as difficult as everyone wants to think it is, either. Another article I read was titled "Coding in the Classroom: Computational Thinking Will Allow Children to 'Change the World'" by Anthony Cuthbertson. It pointed out some things that I thought were important as well.
"Not every child needs to learn a programming language, but without some understanding of how code works and how it affects our lives, we may be depriving young people of new avenues to creativity, and valuable skills for the job market."
This was stated by David Miller, Kuato Studios Director of Learning, to IBTimes UK. What I want to focus on here is the deprivation of new avenues of creativity. Learning something new, and truly intaking and reviewing this new knowledge, will lead you to begin thinking about the world differently, or at least with a different view point. As a writer, I excel at "differing viewpoints." My whole job is to tell a story from a different view point (considering I'm not writing an autobiography that is). With this in mind, I've come to truly believe that being able to see something from a different perspective is essential to living in this world. It should be something strived for, and never refused.
By learning coding, I'll begin seeing the world from another point of view. Through a different lens, you could say. I can begin seeing the stories that I write differently as well. By learning coding, I'll essentially be learning another language; another language that is concise, and well thought out. I'll be learning new syntax, and grammar, and, most importantly, methods of thinking.
Just my take on this whole "learning how to code" rollercoaster.
Raja, Tasneem. "Is Coding the New Literacy? | Mother Jones." Mother Jones. 16 June 2014. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.Cuthbertson, Anthony. "Coding in the Classroom: Computational Thinking Will Allow Children to 'Change the World'" International Business Times. IBTimes Company, 2 Sept. 2014. Web. 9 Sept. 2015.
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