The Importance of Coding 1

The Importance of Coding

Research Project
Akash Malhi
Career Education 12
Mr. Koshman
09/28/2017
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A Software engineer has one of the most important roles in modern culture, as they are the

master-minds behind the all the applications and websites we use today. Its the study and

application of engineering to the development, and maintenance of software. A software

engineers creates websites that we use every day, such as Microsoft Office, emails, games, and

social media. However, working and designing these programs for huge industries isnt easy and

its a very long process. Learning the language of coding, developing unique ideas, and creating

your own product is just the beginning and start. Therefore, researching on the importance and

how to use coding to develop a website on HTML and JavaScript will be a great research

project for a prospective software engineering.

Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites. All of

your browser, your applications on your phone, such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram-

theyre all mode with code. Its important to learning the language of coding because, it

empowers you to do many things wouldnt be able to do. Coding helps create your own websites,

have a potential career, or even start your own technology business. Now coding doesnt need to

be memorized or learned to become an engineering, but its proven by Kids Safe Certified

Education and SitePoint Education that it helps kids to be more creative as they create project

that contain amazing features, coding allows kids to build confidence because incredibly

empowering for children to be able to create projects and show them off to family and friends,

and most importantly coding translates to success in other areas. Learning to program supports

learning in other areas, like math, reading, and science. Clearly, there is an importance and

demand for engineering, but learning how to use coding isnt very easy. Its like learning

English or French for the first time, if you never spoken it before.
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Now that we know why coding is important, the main researching is going to be on how to

use coding in order to create a website from HTML and JavaScript. HTML is a computer

language devised to allow website creation. These websites can then be viewed by anyone else

connected to the Internet. It is relatively easy to learn, with the basics being accessible to most

people in one sitting; and quite powerful in what it allows you to create. JavaScript is a

programming language that enables you to create dynamically updating content, control

multimedia, animate images, and pretty much everything else. Its like both HTML and CSS

combined. Both are similar, as they both programs create a website, but JavaScript can create a

better website. From doing this project I hope to gain enough knowledge to create my own

website easily, because its what I want to do as my future career. After completing my research,

capstone and semester, my goal is to be continuing to make my website better in my own

personal time.

Its hard to imagine a life without software usage today. When we wake up in the morning

we use our digital alarm clock, we make phone calls that are software-controlled, we are

constantly connected to a network via our phone or computer, we make road trips based on a

digital navigation system, we shop online, download films onto our tablets, we use programmed

machines to produce our clothes, interiors, food and other objects. All of the above have been

programmed by a developer and since these technologies play such a large role in modern life,

we need more people who understand how they work, not only for future job opportunities but

also during their current education. Schools are now starting to use devices rather than books as

educational tools which makes it crucial that our children know how to operate them. (Nina

Mujdzic)
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Here are some reasons and explanations why its important to educate our younger generation

on coding.

Learning from mistakes is vital. Its almost impossible to coding a program and have it work

perfectly with your first trail. This is huge lesson students can face and learn to improve. Kids

are growing up in a very different world than that of their parents. Cell phones, computers,

YouTube, Netflix, and Facebook are embedded in their daily lives. Even toys are digital, and

many are programmable, such as Legos and the new-generation LeapFrogs. It is one thing to

know how to use these technologies. Its another, however, to understand the logic behind them.

When learning to program, kids understand and tinker with the digital world they inhabit. Coding

draws back the seeming magic of technology so they can truly understand the logic and

science that controls this technology a discovery that is more magical. Our reliance on

technology will only increase. The students of today must be able to not only passively consume

this technology, but also understand and control it, becoming an active part of this huge digital

shift. (2016, Tynker) Studies show that, If youve always thought of yourself as more of the

artist type--right-brained, creative--then coding can help you gain balance. Prior to teaching

himself code, Leong navigated life based on feelings and gut instinct alone: When questioned on

the logic of my decisions, I struggled to articulate them in comprehensible steps. Logic, problem

solving, and organization are some of the cornerstones of programming, and practicing with code

helps you exercise that left side of the brain. According to Leong, Learning to code has not

only helped me process the rationale behind my own thinking, but has increased my ability to

create more well-thought-out decisions through organizing my thoughts and intentions.

(Bradford, 2016)
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You shouldnt fear mistakes or failure. Coding can be fixed, and it teaches kids that you wont

always success the first time without trial and error. Children have creative and fluid minds that

allow them to think in a more out of the box way. The nearly endless ways of coding and

solving problems can inspire kids to grow. You can show your child that coding is a type of

storytelling. There is a logical beginning, progression, and ending to the story and the program.

These skills can set kids up for success in written and oral communications in school and

thankfully the introduction of IT basics in primary schools is rightly becoming widespread.

(2016, John Porter)

Teamwork is important. Students learn to cooperate with their peers and have the chance to join

their creative minds to create something cool with coding. Learning how to program is like

learning any other language in that the skill must be practiced and tested out. Just as languages

open the ability to communicate with worlds of people, programming gives children the ability

to create technologies that impact those around them. With just a computer, kids can use their

programming skills to build things that could change the world. (2016, Tynker) Coding is great

because, programmers must work in a team to deliver a project. Working together as a team is a

key part of developing software. Children will learn this high-demand skill as they learn to

deliver coding projects in teams.

Starting back in 2003, Mitch Resnick (2013) and his team at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology (MIT) created Scratch, a block-based coding tool that is engaging and educational

for students. After more than 11 million students used Scratch, the team discovered that students

learned far more than coding. So, what do students learn besides how to code? According to

Resnick (2013), students [also] learn [from coding]: (EnglishHill, 2016)

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1. Math concepts such as variables and conditions

2. Logic such as sequencing as well as cause and effect

3. Techniques for solving problems

4. Project design such as the importance of breaking down big ideas to specific tasks

5. Benefits of collaboration and techniques for communicating ideas

6. Ability to take criticism as well as identify and fix errors

7. Perseverance in the face of difficult

These results were greats, because studies show that students who struggle with reading, writing,

and math in school, its crucial that they learn these techniques to better their skills. Yet,

incorporating coding helps students gain skills such as sequencing, problem solving, math

concepts, as well as perseverance so that they will become better readers, writers, and

mathematicians. I believe that making the time during the school day will prove beneficial for all

students. (EnglishHill, 2016)

After researching multiple programs that offer an easy way for students to learn coding, Tynker

is proven to be one of the best fundamental programs. Not only are students learning but they are

also having fun and engaging into the platform. Tynkers CEO understood that coding can be

boring to learn as there is a lot of information needed to be procced, and students are not

engaging. Therefore, Tynkers program allows students to create their own games and coding is

also a fundamental skill as, student also increase their math and reading comprehensions.

Traditional programming such as HTML, CSS Python and JavaScript are very repetitive, and
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any students would lose their interest. Tynker strips away the syntax and provides exciting

activities so children can learn the programming concepts they need to code in any language

without all the frustration. With Tynkers courses and activities, kids have fun while they learn,

so they stay engaged and continue learning and creating. (2016, Tynker)

Huge phone companies like Apple, have started workshops for kids to visit their nearest Apple

store and have a Coding Genius who teaches you how to solve problems and work together in

creative ways. Apple has designed a program called Swift, which is meant to be easy to use for

students in Grade Kindergarten to University. Apple has done a great job trying to teach coding

on iPads as children seems to be more engaged. We created a comprehensive Everyone Can Code

curriculum to help you teach coding to students from kindergarten to university. With teacher guides

and lessons, you can introduce the basics on iPad, then advance to building real apps on Mac. So,

whether your students are first-time coders or aspiring app developers, youll have all the tools you

need to teach coding in your classroom. Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad that

makes learning Swift interactive and fun. It requires no coding knowledge, so its perfect for

students just starting out. Solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift a powerful

programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build todays most popular

apps. Then take on a series of challenges and step up to more advanced playgrounds designed

by Apple and other leading developers. (2017, Apple)

In 2016, Google for education released a computer science research study report called Trends

in the State of Computer Science in U.S. K-12 Schools. The report results showed that 84% of the

parents in the study acknowledged that computer science subjects are required in the primary and

secondary education system but only 3 out of 10 parents have expressed it to their childrens

schools. This shows that a lot of parents (and hopefully teachers) are seeing the importance of
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CS subjects beings introduced into the curriculum but not a lot of them are encouraging schools

to bring it on board. One reason might be that they dont know how or what tools are available

on the market even though there are plenty of resources out there. (Mujdzic, 2017) Its great

that parents are aware of what coding is, however its not being acknowledged to the students.

Its quite a hard process to have a school agree to spend their money and teach kids coding,

because many teachers themselves are not aware on how to code or up to date with the new

technology. Of course, there is going to ups and downs to every project, but if Google has proven

that 84% of the parents are wanting and agree for their kids to be educated about Coding, then

why not take these stats to a head board of Education and present the cons and responses of

parents about coding.

Its shocking to find why many schools and parents dont agree to allow their students and/or

children. The main reason is because they dont understand they coding it not only thought like

the way they teach in Collage or University. There are different level of learning, for all students.

Many people think that coding is for students in universities because of the complexity of the

activity. Today, schools and tutoring classes are making it a lot easier to learn. Obviously, the

coding that college students learn is different from what your child learns in high school.

Younger kids are prepared with the basics and can easily learn how to manipulate code in a short

while. Real time feedback ensures that your child learns to code the right way. Kids get to learn

both block-based and text-based coding and learn how to build games as well. Whether your

child wants to become a software developer or not, learning how to code can help him or her in

more than one ways. Coding tutorials for kids are one of the first steps towards digital literacy

and can sufficiently prepare the young ones for a tech-dependent, new, world. (Jeff, n.d.)
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When a student is first taught about coding, its doesnt seem to sound very fun or engaging.

However many students change their options after trying out a program that teaches coding, and

there is a lot of positive responses. In the United States, calls for an expansion of programming

teaching have had mixed success. According to programming advocate Code.org only one in 10

U.S. schools teach children to code, despite forecasts that computer-related employment will rise

by 22 per cent by 2020, with the strongest demand for software developers. On the other

hand, Chicago and New York City have revealed plans to make computer science a core high

school subject, while this month Wisconsin and Alabama announced that a computer science

course will satisfy math graduation requirements. Code.orgs own contribution includes the Hour

of Code, which saw 15 million students learn programming skills earlier this month. So far,

Code.org has collected more than one million signatures on its petition for every student to have

the opportunity to learn computer science, and just as organisations such as Code.org and Code

for America have led the charge in the U.S., in the U.K. much of the groundwork is being done

by volunteers and organisations outside schools. (Morrison, 2013)

To draw conclusions, its understandable that coding is very important for the applications we

will use in the future, such as personal or business websites, Microsoft Office, emails, games,

and social media. Without the advancement in coding, we would probably not using these

applications like we use today. Its important for kids to learn and understand the background

and how the games they play are created. When you are learning about coding in school it just

not, about typing but a lot more fundamental are learned. This is proven so many times, and yet

many school districts dont agree. Coding is a tool that one could improve their math, writing,

science, and communication skills. Its not just about how to create a program, and this is what

many people dont understand. There are many programs, in which a student in Kindergarten
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could understand on how to use. Today, computing is involved in almost all aspects of our

lives, from communications and education to social media, banking, information, security and

shopping. If grade-schoolers are taught biology and mathematics in order to understand the

world around them, then knowing the basics of how computers communicateand how to

engage with themshould be a given. (Missio, 2015)

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Bibliography

Bradford, L. (2016, June 20). Why Every Millennial Should Learn Some Code. Retrieved from

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencebradford/2016/06/20/why-every-

millennial-should-learn-some-code/#5879d71570f2

EnglishHill, L. (2016, September 29). How All Students Should Learn How to Code in

Elementary School. Retrieved from Catapult Learning :

https://catapultlearning.com/blog/2016/09/29/students-learn-code-elementary-school/

Jeff. (n.d.). Coding For Kids. Retrieved from Importance Of Coding Why Every Child Should

Learn To Code Or Program: https://www.smartcodingforkids.com/importance-of-coding-

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Missio, E. (2015, June 9). Why Kids Should Learn To Code . Retrieved from CBC News:

http://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/view/why-kids-should-learn-to-code-and-how-to-get-

them-started

Morrison, N. (2013, December 27). Teach Kids How To Code And You Give Them A Skill For

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2013/12/27/teach-kids-how-to-code-and-you-

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Mujdzic, N. (2017, July 25). Why Teaching Kids How to Code Is Important. Retrieved from

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https://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
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https://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp. (2015, July 15). HTML for Beginners. Retrieved

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