Week 6: What are the compelling arguments both for and against computer coding in schools?7/3/2016
Last but not least, by far the most compelling argument I read, comes from Resnick, 2012, MIT professor and the mind behind Scratch, the coding program I used to make my dancing guy. 6. Coding builds literacy. According to Resnick, coding creates fluency with new technologies. He says that kids are not necessarily “digital natives,” that they can read and manipulate technology, but they cannot write. As a result, with new technologies, they are not completely literate. And according to me, a linguist, learning language is very good for the brain. Whether it be French, Japanese, Russian, Python or JavaScript, learning language develops brains and creates better learners in all subject areas.
However, the argument against teaching coding in schools feels very thin and opinion based, and I am all for it. I would like to conclude with an analogy from Resnick, 2012. He said, “Very few people learn to write to become professional writers, but they use writing in their daily lives.” I think that is important for critics like Felker to remember. Kids are learning to code not necessarily to become professional coders, but more to be literate members of a society that uses computers every day. The threat that seems to be at the heart of the push from outside parties might be, according to Clive Beale of the Raspberry Pi Foundation: “If we run out of computer scientists and engineers, there will be no new devices” (Gardiner, 2014). References: 3 Reasons Coding Should Be a Core Subject. (2015, September 29). Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://gettingsmart.com/2015/09/3-reasons-coding-should-be-a-core-subject/ A is for algorithm. (2014, April 26). Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://www.economist.com/news/international/21601250-global-push-more-computer-science-classrooms-starting-bear-fruit Felker, C. (2013, August 19). Maybe Not Everybody Should Learn to Code. Retrieved July 06, 2016, fromhttp://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/08/everybody_does_not_need_to_learn_to_code.html Gardiner, B. (2014, March 23). Adding Coding to the Curriculum. Retrieved July 6, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/world/europe/adding-coding-to-the-curriculum.html?_r=0 Kohli, S. (2015, May 14). The Economic Importance of Teaching Coding to Teens. Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/05/the-economic-importance-of-teaching-coding-to-teens/393263/ Resnick, M. (2012, January). Let's teach kids to code. Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code?language=en Strauss, V. (2016, January 30). All students should learn to code. Right? Not so fast. Retrieved July 06, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/05/29/all-students-should-learn-to-code-right-not-so-fast/
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August 2016
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