THE CODE TO SUCCESS:
Computer Science for Kids
What does it take to move your child from consumer to producer of technology?
T oday’s kids are often chastised for playing too
harder it is to understand why their answers are incorrect.

many video games, texting too much or spending
Alternatively, with computer science, if you give the
too much time on social media. So how can we
computer a set of directions in the wrong order or with the
leverage their interest in technology to encourage them to
wrong syntax, you see the result of your errors immediately.

become the makers and producers—the game designers,
According to a report by the U.S. Department of Education’s
programmers and innovators? The simple answer is
Office of Education Technology, this instant feedback has
computer science education.

been shown to motivate children to persist until they fix the
error, because they are able to monitor their own progress.

NOT ALL SCREEN TIME IS CREATED EQUAL
Most kids today know how to use a computer or a mobile
DEVELOPING GRIT
device, but that is the limit of their digital literacy. With
Like in the real-world, in coding, wrong answers are tools
project-based computer science (CS) education, kids gain the
skills, knowledge and power to develop their own games,
apps, websites, music, robots and more. With CS, students
can expand their horizons, so they are no longer passive
consumers of technology, but active creators.

to bring you closer to the right answer. Experimenting,
iterating, testing and debugging (the process of finding
and solving problems when they arise) are core practices
of computer science – so when failed efforts finally yield a
result that ends with the computer doing what you desire,
it’s exciting, and kids feel ready for the next challenge!
HARVARD-APPROVED According to studies by the Harvard Graduate School
of Education and M.I.T’s Media Lab, when done right,
computer science education helps young people develop
computational thinking skills. It teaches them the concepts,
practices and perspectives to think like a computer.

CREATING THINKERS AND PROBLEM-SOLVERS
While computers often seem to hold all the answers, without
human developed programs, they are nothing more than
SKILLS FOR TODAY AND BEYOND
In a rapidly advancing world, computer science education
is a game changer for kids. When students come together
to create, collaborate and code, they not only have fun, but
they also develop the skills and thought processes that will
carry our world forward.

Generation Code is a kids coding initiative that seeks to empower
students to become creative problem-solvers and digital leaders
expensive paperweights. When kids learn computer science,
through project- and design-based learning. Currently operating
they learn to communicate with the computer – and, in
in schools across NYC, Generation Code will launch in Washington,
doing so, they gain invaluable skills that provide the logic,
D.C. and Vienna, Virginia this spring and summer. Learn more about
creative thinking and problem-solving capabilities that will
the Generation Code approach to C.S. education at generationcode.

serve them in any career path they wish to pursue.

com THE POWER OF SELF-REGULATION
In traditional subjects, students have to wait until their work
is reviewed and graded before they know if they are right
or wrong. The longer feedback takes to reach a student, the
48 March 2017 washingtonFAMILY.com
Sources: •
http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/ct/ •
https://tech.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ Learning-Technology-Effectiveness-Brief.pdf



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