Encourage Kids To Become App Developers This DL Day

In today’s tech-driven society, the use of digital technologies (computers, smartphones, tablets, and mobile and web applications) are no longer exclusive to the adult population. With wide-ranging educational apps available today encouraged by the rapid growth of academic institutions that are leveraging the use of mobile learning, your children are now significant beneficiaries and successors of digital tools. Many of them might be aspiring to be designers, developers, and even app creators to become the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. Let them unleash their inner creativity and follow the tips we have below to further encourage your kids to be successful in the tech world.

As various educational institutions encourage students to be tech-lovers, there are a couple of youngsters today who are making a mark in the industry as early innovators. One of them is Thomas Suarez, a 12-year old student of South Bay Middle School in Los Angeles. At the age of 12, he had developed two gaming apps dedicated to kids: “Earth Fortune” (a fortune telling game where the Earth changes its color depending on the player’s response) and “Bustin Jieber” (a Justin Bieber whack-a-mole game). In his TED Talk, he told the audience that he managed to learn how to develop applications just by experimenting with his iOS development kit.

Another inspiring story is the group of students from New Hampshire’s Hampstead Academy, who worked with the MIT Media Lab to write an app called the “Chow Checker”. The app can create a profile of one’s allergens so that the next time you scan a bar code of a grocery item, it’ll automatically suggest if the food will not trigger your allergies. This application has been recognized as one of the 2013 National Winners for the Innovative App Challenge hosted by Verizon.

Since these stories are all about young developers, they will trigger your child's interest, curiosity, as well as their eagerness to achieve the same recognition.

As suggested by Helen Mowers, editor for Edutopia, there are numerous on-line resources that you can use to encourage your kids to learn basic coding (programming) skills. The website presented a definitive list of mobile and web tools that can help kids understand the basics of programming for game development in a less complicated way. Below are some of them:

Give children time to play and explore the published apps on the market. Pick the ones with educational value and appropriate content for their age. Luckily, in the case of the Apple iTunes store, the company has recently implemented a dedicated “Kids” App store, where all of its selections are suited for young users.

By letting them play, you are also challenging them to be creative and innovative since you are actually establishing a standard that they should be following.

Nothing beats a structured curriculum and training facilitated by industry experts. Signing them up on technology design camps and workshops dedicated for kids can also unleash their passion. In the case of High-Tech Learning’s Video Game Design Program, young learners are placed in beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels; and as a class, they all work together in camaraderie. As a finishing requirement, they will create their very own video game.

Overall, you should not discourage and pressure your kiddo in their explorations of apps and app development; otherwise, they will take it as a burden. Do you have other helpful tips you wish to share?

Jennifer Birch is a tech correspondent for educational technology and digital learning solutions. She’s not a mommy yet, but she has 2 little nieces and a nephew, who also share the same interest in digital devices and mobile gaming at an early age. Learn from her experiences by connecting with her via Google+ or Twitter.