Teaching Machines to Think: The Remarkable Skill of Coding That’s Shaping the Future

• Code is the language of technology.
• Code is what runs apps.
• Code is what sent the Curiosity Rover to Mars.
• Code is what’s inside drones that sprayed Disinfectant on streets that were too dangerous for humans to walk around during Covid.

For example, Python, one of the languages we teach here is what the website Reddit is written in. When we tell this to our teen students, we see instant curiosity and engagement. 😂

“What’s the point of learning coding?” You might ask.

This question can be answered in a variety of ways. Let’s start with all the jobs you can get with your computational skills.

• Computer programmers
• Software developers
• Coders
• Gamers
• Graphic designers
• Game developers
• Hackers
• Data Scientist
• Data Analyst
• CEO of a major tech company…

Based on that, what do you think a Computer Program is?

OK, here’s how you can think of it. With English you learn with alphabets, then learn words, construction of sentences etc.

Similarly, a computer program is a set of instructions that a computer follows to complete a task. Coding or programming means writing the step-by-step instructions that tell the computer what to do. Coding a language that computers understand.

There are two aspects to Computational Thinking:

1. Learning the concepts and gathering the intelligence &
2. The actual task of performing problem solving.

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Our Curriculum

Our curriculum is aimed at raising 21st Century Computational Thinkers and Achievers. What does that mean?

We teach problem solving while preserving: Imagination, Wonder and Creativity. And while raising the bar on: Grit, Resilience, Collaboration, Perseverance, Goal setting and Decision making.

Our curriculum is designed to enable curious students to get hands-on experience with coding. And become enthusiastic about the concepts of Engineering and Design and their Real world applications. With the tools and knowledge you acquire now, you will learn to incorporate the concepts of strategy, creativity, collaboration to address real-time problems around them in the future.

In order to achieve this, we keep asking the student:

1. What do you think the code we’re developing can be used for?
2. What problem can it solve?
3. How can we make our code better?

The Ethics of Computing

See, there are so many coding programs online. There are so many videos you can learn from watching online videos.

But, here’s why a structured approach to computational thinking and learning must be enforced. Educators can help children understand the importance of why they’re doing what they’re doing.

There’s little doubt that children will create fabulous lines of code. But they must understand the positive and harmful effects of what they’re creating and the impact that their creations can have on humanity.

Simple things like creating a game and sharing it with their cousins or friends can bring a smile to their faces. That’s them literally making a difference in someone’s life with their coding skills!

Our Learning Objectives

We use the INQUIRY METHOD to derive the answer from the student. We also inform them that we’re encouraging them “to take ownership of their own learning” by not giving away the answers immediately.

Our learning objectives for our students are:

• Forging a solid relationship of trust and engagement with the student.
• Introduce ideas and definitions of Coding.
• Help understand reasons and real life applications for Coding.

Ask any child why they why they play video games. And usually they will reply “For fun”. So how about create a curriculum that’s fun, engaging and collaborative? That’s exactly what we do here at FutureSTRONG Academy.