It isn't a new thing at all, and lots of schools are starting to pick up on the trend that is CODING.
The idea is simple...everything that you do online and digitally required some kind of coding sitting in the background driving the programme you are using, making the website function, giving the user prompts as to what to do next...the list goes on.
This video is an easy explanation of Coding and it's importance.
I have had teachers ask me recently what it the point of coding and teaching children about something that only a small proportion of them would do as a job. This got me thinking... is there a job that our students are going to be doing when their older that wont have any elements of coding and computer programming involved in it?
The importance of learning how to code is not so that we have a million game designers working in the same field of expertise in 15-20 years time. It is so that children grow up understanding systems and basic computer science.
Newton's Third Law - For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. How does this relate to coding or computer science? Well for every action that a person keys into a computer there is code sitting in a start of inertia waiting to be activated. It then reacts to what message it is being sent or what it is being asked!
Children need to know that what they do on computers happens for a reason and that by understanding why things happen and a little about the how that sits behind computer science, they have the potential to create and innovate beyond the basics!
For teachers who are new to Coding, I suggest signing your class up to the Hour of Code. It have lots of different integrated modules which get children understanding computer science through game play and design.
