What is coding?
- Coding, in the simplest of terms, is telling a computer what you want it to do, which involves typing in step-by-step commands for the computer to follow. Computers are not clever things, however they are very obedient. They will do exactly what you want them to do, so long as you tell them how to do it correctly.
- Learning to code has been likened to learning a new language, or perhaps more specifically a family of new languages. There are many different coding languages, each one designed with certain things in mind. Examples include C, a 'low level' but fast programming language that is good for anything graphically intensive like games; and Javascript, which was specifically designed for dealing with web content.
- Code powers our digital world. Every website, smartphone app, computer program, calculator and even microwave relies on code in order to operate. This makes coders the architects and builders of the digital age. Over the next 10 years it is estimated that there will be 1.4 million jobs in computer sciences, software engineering, and computer engineering. Jobs not directly linked - such as banking, medicine and journalism - will be affected by the need for an understanding of programming and coding.
President Obama Is the First President to Write a Line of Code
In 2014, President Obama became the first president to write a line of code as part of the "Hour of Code" -- an online event to promote Computer Science Education Week.
And what did the Coder-in-Chief write for his first line of code? moveForward(100) The line, written in the computer programming language JavaScript, was part of an online exercise from Code.org to help teach young people how to write computer code using the children's movie Frozen. |
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CODING RESOURCES AND LESSON IDEAS
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Scratch Overview from ScratchEd on Vimeo. |