C?o?d?i?n?g? AKA. What?
During class this week we explored into coding, in which I immediately thought “???” I had no clue what this meant. My prof walked us through a site called, Hour of Code, in which it immediately caught my eye. A classmate, Crystal and I, were clearly struck by the game ‘Flappy Bird’ as we both commented on how we wanted to try that out as a class. However, we did a different game as a class so, in turn, I explored it myself.
To begin, I took a screencast of my whole process. I sped it up, so the video is only 34 seconds so you are not sitting here aimlessly bored. It was a very interesting process, to say the least.
The first few levels seemed so simple because it was step by step and only ever required one block to be added. As the levels increased, I needed to add more blocks and the way the instructions were laid out was confusing to me. It took me quite a while to figure out that there was a place for hints. I was happy I discovered those hints because by level 8, I needed those hints. Let's be honest, that's the only reason I passed the level.
I learned that coding is a series of steps that occur during a game, in order to make it a game (if that makes sense). In order for the game to successfully work it is important to clearly lay out, step by step, what will exactly happen at different spots and when obstacles occur. I had never thought about this before as I would just play games, scream at the screen when I lost and then move on. I learned how valuable coding is because without it, we would not be able to do anything online. To add on to this point, coding is so much more than just games, it is everything online, including this website I am posting on now. Did you know that? I didn't!
Overall, I think coding is something that everyone should be aware of and know how to do. I think it is a shame that I am just finding out about what it is now because I feel like I missed out on a lot when I was younger. I think it is essential to know how to code because then we can truly understand the tech world, as Ko discussed in this article. Within it, Obama (2017) had also commented saying, “be creators in the digital economy, not just consumers, and to be active citizens in our technology-driven world.” To me, this means that we cannot just be buying products and not truly understand how they are made/used. We must understand the technology when we are buying it and using it. If we cannot code, we cannot use.
This blog explains what coding is, how to use it effectively and different sites that could help you develop those skills.
Last thing I want to touch on is the fact that Sarah made a comment in her blog this week that resonated me with because I have had similar experiences. “Coding is terrifying to me. I have a few friends in Computer Science and whenever they talk, it just goes over my head. This week I was a little nervous, but after Tuesday’s class. I felt a little more excited.” I feel now I can be apart of many more conversations and understand the tech world more because I have this new knowledge. We are always learning and I am LOVING it.
How do you think we can bring coding into the classroom? What age should it be introduced?
