According to Code.org, about 90 percent of parents in the United States want their children to learn how to code. On the other hand, only 40 percent of K-12 schools are currently teaching computer science. Considering the huge demand for technically competent workers in today’s growing-by-the-minute IT sector, learning how to code is the best way to take on the future. To put it frankly, computer science majors can earn up to 40 percent more annually than the average modern worker with a college degree.
I believe we have merely scratched the surface and that the future demand for incredibly large amounts of coding-capable IT engineers will only go up. Parents are not clueless. They see what is going on and know there has never been a better—or more crucial—time to get their kids started with programming. Getting started may seem overwhelming, but I’ve provided 10 easy tips that parents and teachers can follow to get kids coding quickly and easily.
1. Why You Want to Learn How to Code
The first thing that every student has to do is to figure out what they actually want. Do they want to have nice job? Do they want to create something interesting? If they realize they want to pour their hearts and their skills into creating websites or something else that requires coding skills, online tutorials are good enough to help get them started. If they want to become professional programmer, however, college courses are their best bet. Google has a list of suggested courses and skills, so check it out and remember that the places coding can take you are essentially infinite.
2. Choose Your Language
To be honest, the “best” programming language doesn't exist (yet). So, it’s important for kids to try a few and find the one they are most comfortable with. Once they learn one, it is actually pretty easy to learn another. Because of that, kids should start with one of the beginner friendly languages, like JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, or C/C++ and keep in mind that there are more options should they find one of these to be particularly challenging. The language that kids ultimately choose to focus on should depend on their current interests and even their future aspirations.
To show how these different languages can actually be quite similar, check out this simple "Hello World" example.
3. Be Really Patient and Start Small
It doesn't matter which language or what learning method students and teachers choose. In every case, it’s important to start at the very beginning. Beginning with the basics and being patient increases the likelihood of quick success while kids learn at their own pace. It’s always best to start with a simpler project, like the "Hello World" example and, once kids progress a bit, allow them to move on to bigger and more complex projects.
4. Try Applications for Kids
Believe it or not, there are toddlers learning code these days! Of course, programs that are made for kids are pretty simple and offer an extremely basic introduction to coding, but some of them, like Scratch, are suited for kids of all ages. Others are effective teaching tools because they make coding seem more like a game. Through interactive challenges, kids are solving puzzles and racking up points without even realizing that they’re learning one of life’s most important skills.
5. Free Online Training Websites
Since coding has become so important, many educational learn-to-code companies have popped up over the last few years and a lot of them are excellent resources that can be used by students and teachers right in the classroom as well as by parents. Of course, there are many free online training websites that will help kids take their first programming steps. The most popular of these are CodeCademy, Khan Academy, and Code.org, all of which guide beginner coders through the basics of programming regardless of age and ability level.
6. Coding Courses
Taking a coding course could be beneficial especially if students find themselves stuck on one particular topic or concept. For example, a good friend of mine is a senior developer at a reputable company and he guided me through the basics of object oriented programming. Even though I wasn’t necessarily struggling with it, this one-on-one instruction was certainly beneficial. Leveraging free content online can help kids understand something without spending hours looking for an answer and can lead them to a specific revelation that allows them to move on to something new without falling behind in the learning process.
7. Read Free Programming Books
There is another, more old-school way of learning how to code and it is surprisingly quite effective. When students find themselves stuck on a programming problem, it is actually pretty likely that they’re able to find the answer they’re looking for in a book. On GitHub, for example, there are more than 500 free programming books that are legitimate resources for anyone—children or adults—who are trying to get into coding plus others available on other sites across the Internet, or even in this thing called a library.
8. Coding Games
Programming can sometimes be difficult, especially once kids move on to tougher challenges and they might need to take some time off from the traditional way of learning. In most cases, playing games is able to take their heads away from learning and all the different projects they are creating. And, the best part is they’re still able to practice coding—maybe without even realizing it! One of the best ways to learn something new is through gaming—there’s even an educational trend referred to as game-based learning. Here are a couple of examples of learning games that give kids a brain break, but still incorporate subtle coding lessons: CodinGame and Code Combat.
9. Get a Tutor
The programming community is strong and full of people willing to help those who want to learn, especially children. In most cases, every question kids can have is answered somewhere on the Internet. Sometimes, however, and depending on the way they learn best, kids could benefit from one-on-one instruction. For those who don't want to wait a long time for an answer, a private tutor could help launch a major streak of benefits for shaping Future Ready coders.
10. Reverse Engineering
Once kids learn a bit about coding, reverse engineering will be more interesting to them than any game they can find. Testing each line of someone else’s code, looking for bugs, and understanding how that program works will be an experience that’s both thrilling and useful. Thanks to tons of open source code, students will always be able to find something that needs improving and the extra practice will go a very long way in ensuring they develop the necessary coding skills to become ready for the real world.
There are tons of resources on the Internet that can be helpful once students decide what they really want to explore, learn, and accomplish. If they are creative, love creating something new, and interested in bettering their chances at future success, learning how to code is the first and most important step on their journey.
About the Author:
Emil Sipos is a Google Analytics Certified webmaster, SEO professional, content creator, blogger, private tutor, and consultant with extensive coding knowledge and the belief that computer science is imperative in K-12 education.