Seeing Rewards for Coding Early

When we talk about coding, the conversation is often in the context of the future. We discuss filling the need for technology-related jobs. The conversation veers to a competition with young coders in other countries. However, sometimes, it’s most effective to stay in the present. Viacom takes a look at how some students are seeing immediate coding rewards in a recent article titled “Look What These Girls Can Do: A Summer of Coding Wraps at Viacom.”

Stuart Winchester of Viacom writes, “This summer at Viacom’s New York City headquarters, 20 girls learned that coding can do exactly that, creating these experiences with skills learned through Girls Who Code (GWC), an organization built to inspire, educate and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. Last week, these girls gathered with their families and teachers, Viacom staff and GWC staff to demo these final projects and celebrate a remarkable summer. ‘From speakers to mentors to my fellow coders, we all believe in the Girls Who Code message – that females can and will achieve greatness in the STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] fields,’ said Sejal Mehra, who represented her class with remarks. ‘Over the summer, we not only learned how to code, but have also made 22 new best friends. I know for a fact that when we leave this week, our friendships will grow with our coding abilities.’”

The Roanoke Times reports on a coding competition with governmental implications in a recent article titled “Coding competition: Time running out to try to help government.” Yann Ranaivo of the Roanoke Times writes, “A competition for coders across the state to build and submit software aimed at making Virginia government more efficient and transparent is entering its final keyboard clicks. The software submission, with a Sept. 2 deadline, is part of Datathon 2015 — a competition that lets coders use open state data to build apps for platforms that include the Internet, personal computers and smartphones. Top projects will be chosen during regional events throughout the state before they are presented at a final event in Richmond, according to the competition’s website. The person or persons responsible for the winning entry will meet with the evaluation panel with a goal of launching the idea as a business. The data participants must use for their applications can be found at data.virginia.gov, where they can find datasets on education, agriculture, elections, health and human resources and public safety. Participants are asked to use at least one dataset. Submissions, according to the site, must include a paragraph explaining the app’s purpose, functions, intended audience and problems it aims to address. They also must include a text description of the app, a narrated video demonstration of the app and a link to the software.”

When it comes to youth coding education, no one provides a better, customized coding education than CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, we emphasized computational thinking, which encompasses a wide range of programming concepts and languages. Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise.

We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.We offer tracks focusing on everything from robotics to website development, to app making.

If you’re looking to give your child the foundation he/she needs to be a successful coder, sign up for one of our afterschool programs today!