The Importance in Teaching Coding

         In the Mountain Meadow Media Center the Alders and Cedars have been working on coding projects for the last month. You may have a few questions as to what it is and why is it essential to teach our children to learn to code. First, coding is a set of algorithms or inputs that make it possible to create software. It is a series of commands that makes it possible for your browser, or any app on your phone, etc. to work. Why are we teaching this skill at MRA? According to an article in the Wall Street Journal the future statistics prove that our children will need these skills to become successful in the future job market.

        "It has become essential that we prepare our students to have the skills to succeed in the 21st Century which will include programing. It doesn’t hurt their cause that the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be one million unfilled jobs for programmers in the U.S. by 2020. And that may be an underestimate, says Mr. Partovi. He adds that the more software and hardware humans create, the more jobs in software there are, as new platforms like smartphones and drones spawn their own software ecosystems.” (Mims, Why Coding Is Your Child’s Key to Unlocking the Future, www.wsj.com)

      Currently, we are a using a website, scratch.mit.ed, for our students to start at their level of coding. I would encourage you to check it out. The students were given a set of expectations that included a focus on using the “Shrek” fairytale. We have had some innovative games of mazes, interactive story scenes, retelling of a fairytale with a twist, and much more. Here is a sample project done by Caelan Erickson. His game takes Shrek and Donkey through the volcano to find the fair princess, Fionna! Please check out his work at https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/89627132/#editor.