Category Archives: Coding Education

Coding Curriculum, Coding Education

Coding: a Significant Economic Force

KeyboardWith the explosion of the internet in recent decades, programming has become a significant economic force. In America especially, it’s just getting bigger. With the expulsion of a large portion of the labor-based jobs in the United States, both hardware and software have replaced many other industries in America. More and more people work with computers, at home and as part of their occupations. Computer proficiency requirements for jobs are more and more common these days. Even the IRS would rather that you filed your taxes online. More and more people code and program these days, both for fun and as a career.

More and more young people work and found start-ups at a young age these days. Silicon Valley has become one of the economic centers of the country in the last few decades and it is centered around breeding and creating the next big app, website or widget. PayPal and Bitcoin are now an essential component of the revenue streams of many businesses.

What does this mean for your children? Well, it means that you need to make sure that they are well trained in the ways of the internet and computers. You can’t stop at making sure that they know how to use computers, apps and the internet, you should ensure that they learn how to make this virtual world work for them. One of the best ways to place your children ahead of the technological learning curve that everyone must master these days is CodeRev. Their fun and interactive programs help kids learn STEM and programming skills quickly and with joy. CodeRev can help your child find their niche within coding and programming, from website design to robotics, or it can simply give them skills they will assuredly need in this brave new world to thrive in whatever career they choose.

Coding Curriculum, Coding Education

The explosion of the coding industry

LaptopThe state of labor has changed and evolved in many ways in the last century. Manufacturing, farming and other traditional American industries are currently experiencing a period of decline after a boom following WWII. As a result, unions which were once powerful in influencing policy and worker pay are now smaller and boast a much smaller sphere of influence. In the last 75 years, many jobs have been made obsolete in one way or another.

At the same time, the use of computers in the United States has exploded. These days, many people work with a computer, and a significant portion of them do so for the entirety of the work day. The internet and smartphone applications have become a consistent and even essential part of many people’s day to day life. Almost everyone owns multiple devices and many children become acquainted with computer technology at a young age now.

More and more of the American economy is based in these virtual worlds. PayPal and Bitcoin effect the stock market in real ways that we sometimes hear about on the news. Make sure your kids take advantage of this new world order. If you can instill computer proficiency and interest early in life, your child will greatly benefit later on as they enter the job market and her career.

CodeRev is a California company which has mastered the art of teaching children to love computers, programming, and science. Their spring and summer camps, along with their after school programs are specially designed to catch the interest of any child. Programs vary from computer games, apps and web design, to robotics and more interesting coding projects. Children can start as young as 6 years old and by the time they are done, they will probably know more about computers than you will! What’s more, the programs are specially designed to teach critical problem solving and teamwork skills along with knowledge that will help them succeed in STEM classes, the common core, and other areas. It’s one of the best gifts you can give a child.

Coding Education, Skills

What does it take to build robots for a living?

Robotic PartsHas your kid asked you this question? Well, it turns out that this is something asked by many children. Robotics has taken hold of the imaginations of young people for over half a century, even before B-9 warned Will Robinson of danger and Robby helped Adams defeat Morbius. This urge to learn about and build robots is a great thing to foster in your child.

There are many products for children on the market these days that appeal to the robotically inclined. This is great because it is paramount that your child begins to learn about this complicated technological field as early as is possible. While you may have grown up with annoying girder and screw kits for your engineering play as a child, there are much better things around these days. Most notably, there are great Lego kits for building robotic projects that include the ability to learn to program creations with a home computer. There are plenty of other kits from a variety of manufacturers that will fit the particular interests of your child.

One of the best ways to help your child learn about robotics is to enroll them in afterschool or camp programs which specialize in teaching programming, engineering, or robotics to children. CodeRev is a great California company which leads the country in providing this type of service to young people of all backgrounds and levels of computer experience. Robotics classes at CodeRev expose your children to a number of aspects of robotics through the use of fun projects involving Legos Mindstorms, basic programming, and circuitry. What’s more, as your child gains experience in the area, they will get to use technology like Arduinos and Rasberry Pi that innovators use in the industry today.

Of course, along with focused extracurricular activities, school is of paramount importance. It is especially essential that you encourage your child’s growth in math and science to help them meet their goals in robotics. I’m not just talking about physics and chemistry either. Biology is a great thing to know about when you are trying to make a machine mimic life! Art will be helpful in developing your child’s mind. Remember that even if you child doesn’t end up pursuing a career in robotics, the skills that you help foster in your child will help them in other jobs and interests. Coding and robotics are cropping up everywhere these days.

Coding Education, Skills

What does it take to design video games?

Video GamesMany kids ask their parents this question, or simply state “I want to design video games.” Luckily it might mean that something good will come of all those hours spent in front of the television, controller in hand. However, many children don’t realize how hard it is to become a video game designer or developer or how competitive the industry really is.  So, if your kid is serious about pursuing and interest in video games, make an effort to nurture the skills that she or he will need to be successful. Many of these skills are not taught in most schools, but this interest can be a very productive and rewarding extracurricular activity.

CodeRev is a wonderful California organization which specializes in teaching children to code and love to use the computers while developing skills that will be essential professionally in the near future. Your child can take part in Spring or Summer Camps along with wonderful afterschool programs. Younger kids can start with learning to make Minecraft levels to gain an understanding of visuals and design. They can then work up through a variety of other programs along with older children in both coding and video game design, along with classes on related subjects like robotics and web design.

When it comes to school itself, make an effort to encourage a number of subjects in your child’s learning. Visual art and music classes will develop your kid’s creative mind while math and science are needed to develop an advanced and competitive understanding of computers and games. As it is not often taught in schools, try to encourage your child to continue to learn coding on the side. Again, continuing education at places like CodeRev is a great way to accomplish this. To design video games in this day and age you have to develop a large amount of experience before most companies will hire you. The industry is often too fast-paced to train people in it. Summer internships are a great way for your kid to develop skills in making video games in between college semesters. These experiences will keep your child’s mind active while preparing them for a potentially lucrative field. What’s more you can rest easy knowing that if you child does lose interest in video games as a career, the skills that they learned pursuing it will be helpful in a variety of other paths that they may choose.

Coding Curriculum, Coding Education, Education

How Modern Schooling Needs to Change

SportsThere are many problems these days in modern schools. Costs are being cut everywhere in municipal budgets across the country. In many places

Teachers often bear the brunt of less and less funding. Often when one teacher is fired to account for a smaller budget, two other teachers who still work for the school are forced to take on a larger student load. This means that every student receives less attention than previously, which has a direct effect on how well any child learns. Art and music programs in some schools across the country are being cut out of the curriculum outright, and what programs that do exist in public schools are often underfunded. This also has a detrimental effect on the creative growth of students

Science and Math programs in our modern schools in the United States are not up to par.  Essentially, in this area, we are behind the times. As further evidence computer science and coding programs are nearly non-existent in public school in the country. As parents we have to make sure that we do our best to help our kids learn about STEM topics of all kinds, even if school isn’t going to help very much. CodeRev Kids is a great California organization which runs both after school and summer camp programs which are aimed at teaching children real computer skills that they will be able to use later in life. With the way technology is progressing, even if your child doesn’t end up becoming a full-time programmer, it is highly likely that she will need to know it as a part of her professional life as an adult.

It’s crazy that these days, even some sports programs are getting cut. No one takes auto shop, wood shop or any other trade class in high school anymore because those programs don’t exist in many schools where they once did. This means that more and more kids that don’t go to college don’t have anywhere to go when they graduate from high school. College shouldn’t be the only place you can go after high school, we should be doing better to help every child find what they need in their lives.

Coding Curriculum, Coding Education, Skills

Learning In California

San FransciscoOf all the states in the USA, California is a great place to raise a child. There are many reasons that California is so good for growing kids, and I will try to hit the high points in this short article. One of the most important parts of being a parent is trying to foster the development and learning of your child without smothering or being overprotective. We all want to help a child do what they want, and one of the most critical ways that we do that is by finding great activities which stimulate our kids’ minds. California is wonderful in that this journey of learning can reliably start in the public school system. The schools will be able to expose your child to a variety of ideas and subjects, but there are some things which may not be covered in class. Never fear, there are great afterschool programs and camps in California to further your child’s learning and career in areas that school might miss. CodeRev Kids is one of my favorite examples of these programs. They do a great job of making learning about computers and coding fun for kids in both after school and camp programs. If someone had put Minecraft in front of me when I was young, I might have learned to code too!

The outdoors are a great place too. No matter where you live there are a number of great outdoor activities for you child from the mountains to the oceans. If you child shows a significant amount of athletic talent, California boasts an amazing density of national and state parks and locations, as well as world class museums. The Exploratorium is one of my favorites in San Francisco. There are even great trade and craft programs all over the state. Take advantage of the great the state school and community college systems in California as they often offer great programs for your younger kids which might spark interest in them early in life.

Coding Education, Education, Skills

Hot Activities for Your Kids This Summer

Youth CampIs your child bored of doing the same thing every summer? It happens. Sometimes the old Boy Scout or Church camp, no offense to those fine institutions, just stops being fun for your kid. What are you supposed to do when the old summer activities don’t work anymore? We have put together a few options for you below. Hopefully these options are varied enough that you will find something for whatever kind of child you have.

Coding camps are a great option for your kids that can’t pull their heads out of the tablets. CodeRev Kids is one of the foremost summer camps in this area. For younger kids, you can get them started in fun activities like Minecraft level building, which help to teach the basics of programming and using the computer. They can move on, or older children can participate in a variety of programs which appeal to plenty of tastes from robotics, to web design, to more complicated coding. Coding camps are an amazing way for your kids to learn great skills which can help them immeasurably later in life.

There are a number of great outdoor camps your children can attend over the summer. We won’t talk about the basics like football, baseball, or any of the other sports you might be familiar with. Instead we’ll mention some outdoor activities which you may not have thought of. Circus camp is a great option for children with a bunch of energy, and it teaches skills which instill poise, grace, and a good party tricks too boot! Rock climbing and ultimate frisbee are two more great options for outdoor sporting camps, depending on whether you child prefers individual or team sports.

Space camp is the old standby and a personal favorite of this reviewer. What better way to teach physics and encourage a love of science than with rockets! These days, space camps will also teach your kids about biology, nutrition, health, and chemistry, so there are many topics to pique your child’s interests.

Coding Education

What do I do with my kids this summer?

ChildSports Camp – Sports camps are a great way to develop your child’s skill in their preferred sport, or to teach your child a new sport that they wish to learn. Some of these camps are highly focused and others cover multiple sports. Choose based on your child’s wishes.

Music Camp – From School of Rock to your local school band, practice makes perfect! Rock’n’Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, OR is a great example of camps throughout the country.

Code Camp – These camps are great ways to expose your child to possible skills and career paths that are not often covered in schools, even these days. Your kid doesn’t have to be a computer nerd to attend these camps and they can be really helpful in exposing your child to possible STEM related careers in the long run. CodeRev Kids is a great example of a summer program which appeals to children through a variety of programs from computer game and web design to robotics. Your child can dip her toe in the water of programming easily by learning to make a level in Minecraft, or how to program a robotic arm made of Legos. As their interests grow, your children can explore different aspects of coding and expand their skills.

Academic Camp – Ask officials at your child’s school what local camps would be best for your child’s academic growth. There are a wide variety of camps available in most locations, and there are larger camps available at major universities throughout the country.

Outdoor Camp – Outdoor summer camps come in all shapes and sizes. All children should learn to appreciate nature, and picking up some extra skills can be a bonus. Hiking, animal care, fire building and camping, crafts, horseback riding, and barn dances are all wonderful experiences for your children.

Space Camp – Everyone loves Space Camp! It is a great way to sneakily introduce a love of science into your child’s life. You can’t defy physics unless you know what the laws are!

Coding Education

Coding Is A Great Way to Develop Your Kid’s Brain

Brain

Learning to code is great for the development of your child. A game as simple as Minecraft can teach kids real world skills. Coding will develop your child’s eye for the world around them, as well as the world within computers, and make them more able to analyze and understand new problems and ideas.

Don’t think of learning to code as a new skill, independent of anything your child might learn elsewhere. Learning to code can also develop artistic, scientific, and mathematical sensibilities. This can be best accomplished through hands-on focused learning with coding academies like CodeRev. There, your child can learn to design and create animation, website building, or even make their own computer games. Does your kid want to build things? The robotics-based programs will help them get on the cutting edge of integrated engineering and coding. There, they can learn on Arduinos and the programming language Rasberry Pi, two products which are used by professionals in many different disciplines today.

These days, paying for college is expensive. You might have a plan to  save, but costs are continuing to grow. Coding is a great way to place your child at the head of the pack. Coding can earn your child scholarships down the road which can be invaluable for their financial future and stability. The lessons learned in coding be applied to anything these days to improve job prospects, and many employers now ask for coding experience in positions which did not require it as little as five years ago. Even if knowledge of coding is not required, its presence on a resume can work wonders in displaying an applicant’s intelligence and capability.

Really though, most of those reasons should take a backseat to one simple fact: kids have a lot of fun at places like CodeRev. That is probably the most important part. Coding can help kids learn to be productive members of our world when they do, unfortunately, have to grow up, and they can do so while having fun.

Coding Education

Why Coding is a Skill Every Kid Should Learn Before College

Coding For College

Coding is an invaluable skill in the modern world. I believe that all children should be taught how to code, as early as is possible. It should be a language class after Spanish, but, that doesn’t really happen yet. Coding provides a foundation for a developing brain which leads to smarter and more successful adults. CodeRev Kids is one of the best ways to get a child started in coding. There are many ways to get your child involved, depending on your family schedule and your child’s particular interests. Programs are held as Spring and Summer Camps, as well as after school. Kids can choose among a number of topics, as young as age 6, and build on their skills along with their interests. Topics range from simple Minecraft modification fun to hardcore Python programming. Your child can delve into animation, game design, robotics, or another specific area in depth if they wish through a plethora of.

In this day and age, there are not many growing industries. The baby boomer generation is still taking up a large number of jobs, at it looks like they may not be able to retire as early as they would like. Some jobs are being outsourced and some have been made irrelevant. For these reasons, there aren’t many growing industries in the United States. Coding is a skill that can provide a child with a marketable trait as he or she moves out into the world. Coding can give your child the freedom of choice to live where they want, as you can always work from home! College is expensive, and it isn’t for everyone, so wouldn’t it be great if that wasn’t the only way to get your kid ahead in the world? If your child is college-bound, and doesn’t want to code, the skills learned through different coding camps can be applied to many other passions, and improve their eventual chances in the job market.

So please, make sure your kid learns how to code.