As computer programming continues to gain popularity, more schools are gradually adding coding to their programs so that kids are not left out of the thrills and fun.
While you are encouraging your kids to take up coding at an early age, you should have it at the back of your mind that the plan is to invest in their future and not decide their fate.
So, it's entirely up to them if they want to pursue a career in programming or not.
Meanwhile, let us look at top tips to you should consider while pitching coding to kids.
Tips to Consider While Teaching Kids Coding
1. Make Coding Fun
Coding can be tiring and frustrating if not taught the fun way for kids. Should be more interactive and understand the needs and challenges. Some may be fascinated about creating a website while others may want to build an app.
Once you have identified the interest, you need to make the learning process fun and engaging. If the lesson doesn't match the interest, then the chances are that they will lose interest and give up.
Tip:
Kids enjoying coding if you teach them with games and videos.
2. Sign Them Up for A Class
Who is the CEO of Facebook? Mark Zuckerberg, right? Well, that's not the point. Mark had a tutor who taught him computer programming from middle school.
While one-on-one classes are fantastic, they come with extra costs, and not every family can afford that. Thankfully, there are online classes. Yes!
You can sign up for an online class and get around the clock support from professionals. While evaluating coding classes to enroll your kid into, you should keep an eye out for the one with a comprehensive teaching plan — and good reviews too!
An introductory lesson plan should feature basic concepts like the Boolean concept and variables, among others. Hopefully, as time goes on, there will be more children-friendly courses to juggle.
3. Get A Mentor
Yes, children can pick up coding at a very young age, and some can even learn it by themselves. However, having a mentor makes the learning process smoother, and you won't run into brick walls.
Thankfully, professional developers are not proud individuals. A good number of coding masters often volunteer to teach for free, and it could be either in person or online.
Online meetings have been made easy, and you have tons of resources at your disposal. You can also opt for recorded classes or video conference calls or any other convenient option.
4. Visual Block Platform Vs. Text-Based Coding
While both the visual blocks and text-based computer programming are essential to help kids understand the basics of coding, it's also crucial to understand the difference between them.
Visual Block Platform
Visual block platforms can best be described as the "drag and drop" kind of coding. These types of coding are designed to help kids get on their feet in computer programming. Some examples of programming languages in this group are scratch and Tynker.
Text-Based Coding
Text-based coding is the higher-level programming platform. Rather than just "dragging and dropping" objects, kids who learn this type of coding can develop personalized software or attempt to design a website because they are coding with real programming languages.
The reward for teaching kids how to code are enormous. Coding is not something you master overnight; it requires patience and persistence. It is also a fun way of learning something new and improving academics and teamwork.
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