Why Learn How to Code?
There are a variety of resources available to support why it’s important to learn coding skills. I few that I find personally accurate are
- Learn problem solving skills
- Learn how to fail-forward
- Celebrate the joys that come from accomplishments
- Bring creativity and analytical thinking to life
All in all, I recommend a few coding lessons for everyone – no matter your field of interest. There are many skills and experiences that are gained from coding that are transferable to all career fields and all ages.
There are a variety of resources available for all ages that are available at no charge and fit all types learning styles. Let’s explore three of my personal favorites.
w3schools
w3schools.com is a web based online learning platform that provides training and resources for the very beginner level. There are several advantages to the platform that include
- No minimum age requirement
- Provides a place to practice the code
- Breaks the instruction to focus on one concept at a time
GitHub Learning Labs
GitHub Learning Labs is a web based platform that teaches coding concepts for a variety of languages in addition to gaining experiences of using the GitHub platform. This does require having a GitHub account which has a minimum age requirement of 13. The advantages of using this platform include.
- Concise instructional material teaching coding languages
- Gain experience using the GitHub platform
- Length of courses ranges from 30 minutes several hours
AWS Educate
AWS Educate provides an introduction not only to a variety of career pathways in computer science and cloud computing but provides resources to learn the skills for these careers and a job board to explore. This platform is available at no charge but does require a sign-up process that includes having a school email. The minimum age to sign up is 14. The advantages of AWS Educate include the following:
- Access to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform to build and create in the cloud
- Learn about full-stack development
- Earn digital badges with course completions
If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive in to these resources for yourself or your classroom, reach out and I’ll be happy to help!
Tasha Penwell, MISM is the Computer Science Program Manager and Instructor at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. She is an AWS Educate Cloud Ambassador and AWS Academy Accredited Educator and works with local middle and high schools sharing her love of computer science career opportunities. You can reach her at penwellt31810@hocking.edu.
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