By Janet Pinto, Chief Academic Officer, Curriki
Whether your child wants to be a fireman or a computer programmer, one of today’s most valuable skills is learning to code. Even if your child isn’t interested in creating websites or new apps, coding is a great exercise in problem solving skills.
“I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think. Computer science should be a liberal art.”
– Steve Jobs in an interview from 1995
At the recent JavaOne4Kids conference in San Francisco, more than 400 children ranging from 10 to 18 years old were introduced to programming, robotics, and engineering through courses like Greenfoot, Alice, Minecraft Modding, Java, Python, Scratch, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, NAO Robot, Lego Mindstorms, and more.
However, you don’t need to wait until then to learn valuable programming skills. Java is a great place to start, and Oracle Academy has generously shared numerous tools to teach young people how to program using Java, based on the learner’s age and aptitude. Here are a few courses you can find on Curriki:
- Scratch (for ages 5 to 15), is a simple programming language with a drag-and-drop interface.
- Alice (less simple for ages 8 to 22), is a 3D educational software tool with a drag-and-drop interface for creating animations.
- Greenfoot (less simple, for ages 13 to 25), is a visual 2D educational software tool with a code editor for creating games and simulations.
No experience required!
One of the speakers at the JavaOne4Kids event was Hania Guiagoussou, a high school student from Dublin, California, who developed a Water Saver system to monitor and control water usage in gardens and fields. “I wasn’t into programming until I took a Java programming summer workshop at Oracle in 2011, where I learned object-oriented programming using Alice,” she told attendees. “I was a newbie, just like many of you.”
Help children “learn a second language” by checking out the many resources on Curriki.org!