When we think of creativity, we usually conjure up images of painting, drawing, poetry, or music…but what about computer programming and coding? Is it a creative pursuit?
According the esteemed computer scientist Maria Klawe, it is. She says, “Coding is today’s language of creativity. All our children deserve a chance to become creators instead consumers of computer science”. Klawe is one of a whole host of programmers, tech CEO’s, academics and even celebrities (Ashton Kutcher, Will.i.am and Snoop Dogg to name a few) that are pushing the creative possibilities of coding and are trying to get it taught to more kids in more schools.
Currently a US-based organisation, Code.org is a non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools. Their vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer programming, and that it should be part of the core curriculum in education.
Susan Wojcicki, the Senior Vice President of Google speaks on programming and creativity: “Learning to code makes kids feel empowered, creative, and confident. If we want our young women to retain these traits into adulthood, a great option is to expose them to computer programming in their youth."
So where do we go if we want to introduce our kids to coding?
A great place to start is one of the many kid-focused basic programming apps that are available online. A good first choice is Daisy the Dinosaur, this free and fun app teaches coding basics to kids via a super-easy drag and drop interface. Kids can choose whether they want Daisy the Dinosaur to drop, roll, move, grow or jump and then determine the order that she does it in by the drag and drop programming. Once they’ve got the hang of that process the app has a link to download a kit to allow kids to program their first computer game.
Have your kids shown any interest in coding? How important do you think this new form of creativity will be in the future?
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