A score of days ago, I asked a twelve-year-old boy whether he had done his assignment. He said there was a power outage and as soon as power was restored, he hurried to charge his laptop but couldn’t get it charged up 15% before there was another power outage. There were enough twists and turns to keep his answer long-winded. As I listened to him, I began to think of the importance of coding.
What I asked was a binary question; a binary question calls for a binary answer. Computers cannot handle ambiguities. The instructions for a computer must be unambiguous. Consequently, those who write instructions for computers must exhibit clarity in their thinking. Learning the rudiments of coding early in life brings about this clarity.
Importance of Coding for Kids
1. Critical thinking: Coding conditions the minds of kids to think critically and analytically. It helps them draw inferences from premises using a systematic approach.
2. Problem-solving skill: Computers were invented for solving problems—especially those repetitive ones. Teaching kids coding will help them acquire problem-solving skill. Through coding, kids will understand that most problems have solutions. However, some of the solutions are efficient while others are inefficient.
3. Teamwork: Complex software systems are usually developed by a team of programmers, UI/UX specialists, software architects and other professionals. Coding teaches kids the importance of working in a team nurtured by coexistence.
How not to teach kids coding
I think it is germane and useful to say something about how not to teach kids coding before I take on the subject of this blog.
Mathematics and Computer Science—by deduction, programming—have a lot in common. Most of the pioneers of computer science were mathematicians. The approach adopted in teaching math in many countries will not work in teaching kids coding. We were taught how to prove theorems whose applications we did not know. What is the importance of knowing how to generate a Fibonacci sequence if one does not know the applications? Of what importance is trigonometry if the applications are not shown to students? The teaching of math was reduced to abstraction and learning of facts. Mathematics is a language for solving problems. And so is coding.
Visual programming makes a difference
In addition to showing kids the importance of coding, they should be taught using a visual approaching. This will make coding fun. We must shun pedantic approach in teaching kids coding. Text-based programming languages which require learners to type at a command prompt or into an editor should be adopted after introduction to coding through the visual approach.
From the age of five, kids can start learning coding using visual programming languages or block coding. I recommend the following:
Scratch: This is a visual programming language that is used for creating games, stories and animations. It can be
used to explain basic programming concepts such as variables, loops and conditional
statements in a manner that is fun and easy to understand.
Kodu: This a visual language from
Microsoft. It is used for creating games and teaching the fundamentals of
coding.
Blockly: This is a block-based coding approach that can be used to generate syntactically correct code for controlling robots and making games.
There are other visual programming languages. Unfetter the minds of kids so that they can explore!
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About the Author
Okwu, D. C. holds degrees in Computer Science and certifications from CompTIA and Microsoft. His areas of interest include computer hardware, computer networking, teaching and programming.
