Coding for Kids
Increasingly, schools and educational organizations are incorporating coding for kids into their curricula. After all, they realize full well what has been apparent for some time: coding benefits youths in a myriad of ways. It is the most modern of languages, a skill that will prove invaluable on the future job market.
Beyond the potential employment edge, there are other benefits of coding, including the development of skills and abilities that will serve students well their whole lives, in a myriad of ways. Here’s why coding is important in education.
Nurtures Creativity
The ability to find solutions to unfamiliar issues can be learned with proper training, including through coding. There are multiple routes one can follow to solve problems encountered in programming. As students experiment, they become more confident, heightening creativity.
Fosters Collaboration
Complex problems often call for collaborative solutions, and team players will be increasingly needed. While it can seem like a solitary occupation, coding requires more teamwork than one might think. Some projects call for team members to focus on a certain aspect, such as visuals, for example. With programming, the ability to effectively work with others to find solutions can be nurtured from a young age.
Renders Math Easier
Many people have been intimidated at some point by math and, try as they might, they could never quite grasp it. Children who learn coding, however, tend to not struggle as much while learning about formulations of numbers and letters. Not only are they generally less fearful of math, but coding helps students’ math skills grow and flourish. In fact, coding helps bring abstract mathematical concepts to life, since students can more easily visualize them. This makes math more enjoyable – fun, even.
Teaches Students How to Think
Coding promotes and stimulates critical and logical thinking. Rather than focus exclusively on writing lines of coding, programming also teaches students to take a complicated issue and reduce it to smaller, more manageable pieces so it can be solved, step by step. It’s a skill that can be used throughout life, in nearly every area.
Teaches Problem Solving
It’s human nature for many people, once they encounter an obstacle or challenge, to throw in the towel. Coders don’t think that way. Students who grew up programming in school tend to view such situations as a problem to fix – not a sign to give up. Instead of fearing failure, programmers seek out the fastest fixes. This kind of mentality is developed while learning to code and serves students well throughout life.
Develops Resilience
As students advance in coding, they will increasingly encounter issues arising from a failed problem-solving attempt or even something as mundane as a typo. Coders keep going, though. They are trained to simply pinpoint where they went wrong, learn from their mistakes, then get right back at it. Children who learn to program understand that failure is part of the process. Such learned resilience and grit will carry over to other areas of their life, regardless of their occupation.
It Prepares Students for the Future
Think about the fact that most of us carry technological marvels in our pockets and purses every day that require instructions in code to properly function. Life is only going to become more digitally advanced, so coders will have a leg up on others.
Summary
Coding is important in education because it prepares students for a future in the programming field. But it’s also important because the skills it imparts – problem-solving, critical thinking – can be used in any number of careers, as well as in everyday life.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Coding Good For Kids?
We’re living during a high-tech revolution, witnessing life-changing advancements in medicine, environmental conservation, and much more. At the core of all these amazing projects and discoveries is CODE. Code can be the thing that differentiates your child from peers and allows them to stand out as an asset for companies when they are looking for employment. The children who learn to code today will become the creators of the technology tomorrow. Learning to code can help children make a major contribution to the world that they live in and make a lasting impact.
As kids and teens learn to code, they also build essential skills like critical thinking, logic, and problem solving. They learn to logically sequence events, create playable games, tell good stories, and model real situations. They also learn computational thinking by developing algorithmic and design thinking abilities. Coding for kids has become an essential element of a child’s education and an excellent way to express their creativity and imagination.
How Do I Start My Child Coding?
Coding, otherwise known as programming, is a creative activity for all children. Your child might not care about writing data processing algorithms, but they might enjoy creating games, programming music, designing websites, or just playing with code. Learning to code is for everyone; you don’t have to be good at math or a “techie” to learn how to code. Kids as young as five can learn to code and pick it up faster than most adults.
When your kids are starting, pick a program like MIT’s Scratch or Tynker Junior app. The visual style of these programs makes it easy for young children to learn to code. Scratch and Tynker have a graphical interface that works. Drag-and-drop code blocks snap together. Pieces of code that don’t make computational sense won’t fit together, making syntax errors impossible.
Older children can learn to code with Python by building games, art, music, and more. Some programs like Tynker offer a placement test to set your child on the right track for their age and experience level.
What Age Is Best To Introduce Coding To Kids?
Every child learns at their own pace. They can learn different subjects at varying rates and ways. Experts believe that children should learn coding at an early age. According to MIT, the best age for kids to start learning coding languages such as Scratch Jr. or Tynker Jr. is from 5 to 7. Many programs allow your children to progress at their own pace or hire an instructor to help them move along.
With Tynker, a placement test will place your child on the correct path based on age and skill level, and Tynker supports children up to age 18 with real-world text languages like Python and JavaScript. Children progress to more difficult coding courses with the support of interactive tutorials and video instructions at their own pace.
Which Is The Best Coding For Kids Program?
With so many great services available, learning to code has never been easier! For example, Scratch and Tynker provide innovative visual coding languages that make coding fun. Coding is a great way to broaden your child’s worldview and develop their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Here is a few coding-for-kids options to review:
Game-based learning—Game-based platforms such as Tynker and the challenges on Code.org motivate kids to use code to complete game levels.
Independent learning with Scratch—Scratch from MIT is a great way of getting started with code. Although they don’t have courses, there’s a vibrant community to learn from.
Online courses—Enroll in a Python or JavaScript course on Codecademy or Tynker or learn to code with Processing on Khan Academy. Tynker offers advanced courses like Processing 1, using p5.js to introduce the foundational concepts of art and computer science.
Build an app—Learn to build your own iOS app using Swift. Install the Swift Playgrounds app by Apple.
Use a book—Learn by following along with books like Mission Python, Super Scratch Programming Adventure, or Coding with Minecraft. Tynker has a series of super-informative coding activity books, including Code These Games, Code These Minecraft Mods, and Code This Art.
Why Is Coding Needed?
Coding is the method of instructing a computer to perform a specific task. You may also hear coding referred to as software programming or computer programming. These instructions are communicated using a language that computers can understand, like visual blocks, JavaScript and Python.
Coding for kids lays the groundwork for our world’s technology, from microprocessors in everyday items like refrigerators and water heaters to sophisticated programs that run our cars and buildings. Learning to code is a great opportunity for children of all ages to develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while building the necessary focus and organization to see projects through to completion.
Coding usually begins with drag-and-drop visual programming in which children connect blocks together to make programs. Visual programming teaches fundamental concepts without typing or syntax by placing the focus on the logic behind the code. Once they’ve learned the basics, children can transition to real-world programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and C.
From online coding courses and games to offline learning, from in-person coding instruction to live online tutoring, there are endless coding resources available. The best coding platforms and programs like Scratch, Code.org, and Tynker give children of all ages and experience levels the ability to code while making the process fun and engaging.
Why Should We Use Tynker Coding For Kids?
Tynker is the world’s number one coding platform for children ages 5 to 18 for a reason—it works! Tynker powers the creativity of over 60 million students and serves thousands of schools and educators worldwide.
Tynker’s award-winning, gamified courses and coding for kids activities encourage kids to complete projects as they have fun, allowing them to progress from novices to experts using languages like Python. Tynker’s interactive lessons have built-in tutorials for all ages and skill levels. Our highly rated mobile app (4.7 stars) lets students take Tynker on the go. Learning how to code with Tynker unlocks and empowers children’s creativity, teaching them life-long skills they can use today and into the future.
How Do I Teach My 7-Year-Old Code?
Learning to code is for everyone; you don’t have to be good at math or a “techie” to learn how to code. Kids as young as five can learn to code and pick it up faster than most adults. Tynker Junior is a fun, interactive way to spark your kid’s interest in coding. Kids (ages 5-7) learn coding basics by connecting picture blocks to move their characters. Tynker’s immersive game-like coding courses and interactive lessons with built-in tutorials are perfect for beginners 5+ through experts 18+.
What Options Are There For Coding For Teens?
Code.org has a yearlong course in Computer Science Principles that introduces students to the foundational concepts of computer science and challenges them to explore how computing and technology can impact the world.
Tynker has coding for kids courses that align with subject standards like CCSS-ELA, CCSS-Math, NGSS and CS standards such as CSTA, ISTE, CA CS, UK National Curriculum, and several state-level standards like TEKS.
Tynker is recognized by College Board as an endorsed curriculum provider for AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A.
