Why Kids Aren’t Learning Computer Skills

Bliss

Bliss

Well-Known Member

Code Red: Why Kids Aren’t Learning Computer Skills
Takepart.com

http://news.yahoo.com/code-red-why-kids-aren-t-learning-computer-000900200.html

We might be missing the boat on something pretty huge. It turns out computer science is among the highest paid college degrees and programming jobs are growing at two times the national average.

Now, why exactly aren't we teaching more kids how to be the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg?

Common myths around coding insinuate that well, it's just too hard.

A new short documentary by Lesley Chilcott, the producer of Waiting for "Superman," along with Code.org, a foundation and online hub dedicated to growing computer programming education, shows that this is not even remotely true.

In the film, famous faces from Bill Gates to Mark Zuckerberg and Will.i.am talk about the importance of coding and how you don't need to be a genius to learn. They told Chilcott that when you do get a program to work, "it feels like magic."

Technology is all around us, she said, yet most of us don't know how it works. "If you go to another country, you make an effort to learn a few words of the language, just so you can communicate. What's even more interesting to me is if you don't have a minimal understanding of how something functions, how are you going to know how to change it?"

Coding to her, and the founders of Code.org, is directly linked to change.

Thankfully, school administrators and lawmakers are starting to understand that we need to place more focus on computer science. Mayor Bloomberg, for example, recently announced that 20 public schools have been selected to take part in a software engineering pilot program in New York City.

For teachers and parents across the country, if coding is not offered at your school, it doesn't mean kids can't learn. With Code.org, you can type in your city online and find coding classes near you. There are also online options like Code Academy that will teach you coding skills for free.

"You can debate the pros and cons of the internet and modern technology," Chilcott said, "but the bottom line is it's everywhere, so do you help shape it or are you shaped by it?"

To view the short documentary visit Code.org.
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Not just for kids either, adults can still learn code for a career.
 
I can see that it may be somewhat difficult to interest a lot more of the you get crowd because of the lack of "adventure."

Kids want to be doctors , firemen and lawyers when they grow up. These profession are precieved as civic heros and more adventurous. Not many young folks are going to find sitting behind a desk and coding very alluring. Maybe the idea of "black hat hacking" would, but we may not want to strive for that.
 
In the age of technology, even learning the fundamental blocks of Javascript, C++, or even something as archaic as FORTRAN can keep people ahead.

Maybe the career path as a coder may not really seep into people's imaginations, but we do have the obligation to give them more flexibility so that in the near future, we can maintain a strong, vibrant, academically reasonable future.
 
I really wish they had taught this while I was in high school, I am in college now studying it and to me it is very difficult but I want and need to learn it.
 
I have my BA in Information Technology w/ a minor in Health Informatics, as well as my MS in Cyber Security. Didn't go back to school until I was 30. So it's never too late. But there is a definite disconnect with our youth and technology. I'm actually interested in starting a program to help children get more involved with technology beyond the point of using social media. They need to know the practical, business side of technology. Gotta get 'em young.
 
The scary thing is that when we get older, it's much harder for us to absorb anything, even if we have an affinity to certain subjects. So, we have to retrain our brains to fully master certain areas, even those which we aren't exposed to.

ChocolateLoverTrish said:
Yes. I have a brother that works at an adult training center, and he said that adults as old as 65 still don't have any computer skills. It's very freightening!
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