Mike Deutsch

Why, exactly, teach coding?

So here we are, in another generation of Let’s teach programming to kids.

We’ve got Scratch, Tynker, Hopscotch, Thimble, MinecraftEdu, Codea, and many, many others — great ways for kids to get their feet wet with programming and building digital things.

Pick up the Education section of any newspaper or magazine these days and you’ll see a profile of someone who’s either teaching kids to code, or building a foundation or a policy to support someone who is. It’s a wave.

But this isn’t the first one. And this time, just as before, it’s worth asking why, exactly, teaching kids to code is so important.

If you’re part of this enterprise, what makes you so sure this is worth it? And how do you convince others they should join in?

Continue reading Why, exactly, teach coding?

Why teach coding, Part II

Last time I posed the question: Why, exactly, is teaching kids to code so important?

And I introduced an August 2014 article from Inside Jersey about how programming is being rolled out in a number of NJ schools and why that is so great.

Did you catch how many reasons were cited? In a chain of 10 paragraphs, quoting 5 different people, there must have been 6 different angles on why programming is an important part of the curriculum.

That’s good, right?

If you read the research and the popular press, there are at least 4 plausible reasons why we should make Coding part of everyone’s school experience. (and I say “experience” on purpose)

This Aug 2014 article from a New Jersey newspaper is an absolute jumble of great reasons. That means it’s not exactly coherent and wouldn’t make a good policy roadmap, but you can see that different people can get excited about different aspects of Coding.

Here’s a succession of 4 quotes that manage to articulate 4 completely different (and great) reasons why teaching Coding is important:

“Just like we use the principles of math or the words in world languages as building blocks for those studies, code is a form of communication.”

i.e., Code is a language, a tool for expressing ideas you have.

“Code is how any technology works”

i.e., Code is a mechanism that technical and other things are composed of.

“Coding is its own language, not like anything else. It’s sort of like learning music and then applying it,”

i.e., Code is a creative, generative medium.

“I feel like this is the real meaning of and most effective way to teach logic — not in an abstract way, but rather making it happen right then.”

i.e., Code is a practical form of logic, and a good way to teach it.

A first word

As a simple introduction to Freshman Labs, I’ll paste my About blurb into a post.

I look forward to meeting new people and discussing the issues of the day… and getting this long-running internal commentary out of my head and onto paper. Sometimes it’s like Statler & Waldorf in here. 🙂

From the About page:

Hi, I’m Mike Deutsch, a 15+ year veteran in the Tech and Education worlds and a product of (and contributor to) several generations of “oh, this is gonna change everything!” … Over time I’ve learned to take those with a grain of salt, but I remain curious and optimistic and eager to do my part for good technology & learning in the world.

I’m based in Montreal, Canada, and Freshman Labs is a place where I think about, play with, and provoke the fields of Education and Technology from interesting angles.

Among the topics I’m likely to talk about:

Pedagogy – how people learn, and how best to teach in order to engender learning; especially of mathematical & technical subjects
Schools – curricula, school models, professions, etc. I’ve worked in or alongside K-12 and Higher Ed for many years and think about these a lot.
Analytics & Visualization – i.e., how to turn the inner workings (, data, records) of a system into something the eyes & brain can readily understand.
Trends and waves that build, pass by, or crash, in Technology & Education.
Usability – design and philosophy behind making tools (specifically technological ones) useful and dependable.
Business concepts behind or related to Education and Tech.

In other settings you can find me as myself (linkedin, @mdeutschmtl); as the founder of The U of Me (www,@theuofme, US college admissions); and as a Startup Dad (www,@startupdads).