Ditch geography and learn code instead

With the world changing at such a rapid pace, it’s no surprise that computer science will soon be a part of our children’s curriculum at school. It’s time to learn code.

Code.org is partnering with 30 school districts to promote and bring computer science to classrooms. They say that making an app or building a website will grow and surpass the need for any other skills going forward in the next ten years or so and I whole-heartedly agree. These days every business wants recognition and rightfully so.  Every great business has a website and some sort of app that goes along with it because that is what people are turning to nowadays.

Most people spend a ridiculous amount of time on their phones, and who does this more than anyone? Yeah, you guessed it, students. As early as the age of one, kids are interacting with smartphones, the Internet, apps etc. so really, why wouldn’t computer science be part of the curriculum. To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere further along the line they incorporated the history of computer science and social media as a subject. Suddenly, we have our children learning about the great Mark Zuckerberg and how he was the one who invented Facebook. It’s so crazy to even think about, but it’s true.

Getting back to Code.org, they are on a mission make a change in the school systems curriculum. The non-profit organization announced their partnership with 30 school districts on April 24^th 2014. In return for their cooperation and incorporating computer science as part of their curriculum, they will be provided with all the resources, teacher training and stipends and even support from councilors responsible for advising students on their course decisions.

Kids really seem taken by the idea of learning code. Since the marketing campaign launched 1 million students have enrolled in Code.org’s introductory computer science course. The marketing campaign featured celebrities such as Shakira and Ashton Kutcher. In addition to having 1 million students sign up for the program, 33 million have tried the “Hour of Code” session.

The program is expected to expand on to 70 more districts by the end of the year. With a blended learning model and the ability to carry the cross of their implementation, it will help schools overcome their concerns about computer science in place of other primary subjects.

Partovi head of the computer science movement says “Schools are constantly getting pressure to add this and that.” His response to that is simple “Let the students decide.”

Patricia Ferreira, Raven5 Ltd., Oakville, ON May, 2014.

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