Coding for Kids
The ability to code has never been more important for today’s generation, whether they’re in elementary school, high school, or beginning to explore career options. In the process of learning how to code, kids and teens develop valuable, life-long skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, organization, time management, and goal-setting.
Meanwhile, the technological revolution is alive and kicking with a seemingly endless wave of stories highlighting awe-inspiring innovation. Yesterday, it was the out-of-this-world device your neighbor was showing off. Today, it’s the amazing app your kid downloaded to your phone that’s going to change your life. Tomorrow, who knows?
What’s happening in the world of technology right now? Are the possibilities to create really infinite? And where does it all start? At its core, everything begins with someone’s imagination and the ability to think outside the box. So the question becomes how to bring your innovative tech ideas to life. And in the 21st century, one answer is clear: Embrace your STEM courses and learn how to CODE.
This August, we’re featuring millirobots, a code-writing copilot, and careers that require code. Sound interesting? It does to us! Here are three recent tech stories that shine a light on how computer programming is impacting our world in positive ways:
Tiny Robots
Renee Zhao, a mechanical engineer at Stanford University, is working on developing millirobots that can take medicine to specific areas of the body, making treatment more precise and effective. To target drug delivery, Zhao is making fingertip-sized robots that can swim in your body over organs and through bodily fluids.
Powered by magnetic fields, these robots can propel themselves wirelessly while transporting liquid medicines to their designated target. Due to their non-invasive operation, these robots could potentially be very beneficial in treating more complex medical problems like cancer or cardiovascular disease. Tynker offers 5 great courses with 340 activities in Robotics and IoT (Internet of Things).
Code-Writing Copilot
Amazon recently announced the release of a “coding companion,” an AI-powered programming tool designed to help developers write code. Aptly named CodeWhisperer, the preview version showcases how it uses contextual clues based on the user’s coding style and variable names to make syntactically correct recommendations.
This will save developers time and effort while reducing repetitive work. The available preview is part of the AWS IDE Toolkit, which works with Python, Java, and JavaScript, all programming languages currently being taught by Tynker.
Thinking of a Career? Learn how to code!
Two articles on Wired.com emphasize the importance of today’s kids and teens learning computer programming if they want to get into particular fields and careers. For example, aspiring astronomers are finding out quickly that they need really good coding skills. Lucianne Walkowicz is an astrophysicist at the Adler Planetarium. “You need the materials upon which the experiment was performed, and you need the tools. Code is the equivalent of our beakers and Bunsen burners.”
How about biology? Yes! Biologists are embracing big data and the need to learn programming languages like Python, which Tynker has great courses in. Graduate programs are coming to the conclusion that it’s in their best interests to incorporate coding into their core curriculum since it’s become readily apparent that computer scientists aren’t the only ones who need computational skills. To that end, the National Institute of Health is a big advocate of adding skills training, including coding, to biomedical graduate training.
Awesome!
At Tynker, we teach kids how to code, so we know that triumphs in technology come in different sizes. Although some projects will have an enormous global impact and others only fill a unique niche, both are essential to tech’s vibrant fabric. Currently, it’s estimated that there are roughly 700,000 open computing jobs but only 80,000 computer science graduates every year.
We can’t wait to see what your child will create with code this summer!
