This article was not written for you or I. This is an attempt by Chris Bosh to make the world of technology accessible to those who wouldn't normal consider it a career path. I feel that his attempt is successful.
I think his message goes further than that. Coding is like a new literacy. It's application isn't just in creating software, but getting things done in a digital age.
Coding is nothing like literacy. You don't have to be able to code in order to live in a modern society but you have to be able to read and write. There is no, or very little, point for the majority of people to learn how to code.
It is like the new literacy; in that it allows people to participate in society at a level they would not otherwise be able to. More precisely, it's the new numeracy; in that it gives a serious advantage in many fields to be able to deal with tasks and entities in a quantitative manner.
At present there are many areas where it is still possible to "get by" without at least a basic understanding of computing. But those days are drawing to a close; most new manufacturing jobs require basic coding skills because all of the work is happening on CNC mills. It may be possible to be a real estate agent without knowing more about digital technology than how to look things up on an ipad; but even in that field people who know and understand the limitations and capabilities of the data management systems they deal with have a serious and undeniable advantage.
Will the jobs of the future be built around coding? No more than the jobs of the present are built around reading. It will be an essential skill that one is expected to have as a matter of course.
You are thinking in the wrong framework. Before sophisticated audible language, drawing and hand symbols were the norm. At the point it could easily been argued literacy was a luxury or niche item reserved for academics and what not. Coding is positioned to be the same, not being able to control machines fluently without needing a midldeman will both be expensive and socially crippling if technology continues the way it is.
Moral: If you dont have a back to the basket post game like Chris Bosh, learn to code basketball joke
The point is exactly to make coding the new literacy. Not coding as in "we should train every kid to become a software developer one day", but coding as in understanding how machines work, how you can break a bigger complex problem into smaller chunks, and how you can think analytically and use technology to solve problems and make new things.
The learn to code part is just the journey, the instrument that will (hopefully) lead the newer generations to a better future. In that sense, it's just like literacy. It's not just about the words; it's about unlocking new worlds through reading.
I'm working on this problem, and I strongly agree that in the relatively near future, coding will be as wide spread (and about as easy) as using a spreadsheet is today, and has been for the last 35 years.
But it won't look like what we're calling "coding" today—even though it is. :)
"If someone in school would have explained to me that coding could reach millions directly or indirectly and make their lives better, it would’ve sparked my interest much sooner." - completely agree, programming was not introduced to me correctly until after college. Even if public schools don't have the resources to hire a teacher who is, by training, a programmer, there is no reason why students can't be exposed to things like Codecademy, Coursera, and Udacity. Online courses with syllabi could even be offered to students (a teacher could simply verify that the work was being completed and that the code works) as replacements for the joke of a "computers" requirement that I had to complete, where the final was just making a PowerPoint, and half the class just played Oregon Trail during. I don't think "everyone should code!" should be the goal, it should be that "everyone should be truly exposed to coding while in school."
Now that I am talking about it, there are so many basic things that people should be introduced to in public school, some of which used to be mandatory (I believe). Things like basic accounting/personal finance, some intro level cooking course (make sure people can boil water and follow a simple recipe), some kind of shop like class, etc. California has a "visual arts" requirement that is much less useful to most students over the course of their life than most of the courses I just named. Visual arts are great, but time is limited, and prioritization should go to preparation for life in the real world.
I recently decided to stop talking about teaching kids to code, and actually do it. I don't plan to quite my job as a developer to become a full time teacher, so instead I started an after school program. This was made a lot easier because my wife is a high school teacher. We started a technology club at her high school with the dual goals of showing kids really interesting things that can be done with technology as well as actually teaching them some coding skills.
We've only been running for a few weeks but we've got about ten kids showing up every week. So far I've shown them some demos of things like using Google maps in your own software, making your own maps with TileMill, browser based games with Crafty, and phone call and SMS stuff with Twilio. They seemed to respond positively to all the demos but were very excited about the Twilio demo. I'm not surprised, because I also thought the ability to type something into a text area in the browser and then receive a phone call with that text read to me, is pretty sweet!
Most recently we started doing some basic HTML. Pages, images, links, etc. The kids were simultaneously making jokes about how simplistic it was ("oh wow, text on a page") and super excited to be creating something ("look I made it say something different", "cool, let me try!").
So basically what I'm saying is that if you have the opportunity, stop just "spreading the word about programming" and actually work with some kids to teach them something. It's only been a few weeks, but already it feels like very fulfilling work, and hopefully it will make a difference to expose these kids to the what's possible for them to do earlier than they might otherwise encounter it.
Sounds like you are enjoying running these workshops (the pupils will notice that and respond of course)!
Suggest you pop basic documentation of the demos and what you evolve as the club progresses somewhere for other people with the skills to use as some kind of model, or at least a starting point.
I have the basics up on GitHub at https://github.com/madisonpdx. I also plan to teach them how to use Git, but while version control is important, it didn't seem like the most exciting thing to begin with. I have been directing the students to the GitHub page though to get them comfortable with the idea of browsing open source code and possibly looking for other projects that interest them.
Is your wife planning to describe this club and its impact on the general motivation and development of the pupils to her school governors and local professional development forums?
They range in age from 14-17. One of the challenges I am trying to tackle is finding ways to keep everyone engaged even though they have a pretty wide array of skill levels. I've found that while none of the students have extensive programming training, the older ones have picked up a little bit here or there while the younger ones are more users of technology and don't really know anything about programming.
My wife is part of an initiative at her school to bring technology into the classroom, so there is already some awareness of this program within the school administration. Right now I'm totally focused on working with the kids that took the initiative to join the club, but who knows, maybe it can be developed into a program that could reach a larger audience within the school.
I really love what you did there and am wondering if you mind sharing some ideas on how to go about starting an initiative like this? How do you explain computer science concepts to students - things like classes, variables, etc? In essence, I would love to know more :)
Honestly, I don't really know. I've been trying to figure this out over the past couple of weeks and am starting to think that the answer to how to teach some of those things is not to (or at least not from the start). When I look at all the knowledge I have built up over the past 10-15 years, it's kind of overwhelming to attempt to identify a place to start. But when I think about how I got started programming, it was much more organic. I saw little bits of code around the web that did something that interested me, and then I just played with it to see if I could get it to do something slightly different. In the process I certainly learned about things like variables, logical constructs, loops, etc., but it wasn't until later years (and after firmly solidifying my interest) that I started a more formalized education in computer science.
Most of the students are very interested in writing mobile apps. While I would love to jump right into that, I don't know if we would get very far in one hour a week. So currently I'm just trying to provide some "exercises" that let them get their hands dirty with programming and maybe lead them in the right direction towards the type of programs that they are interested in writing. Then on their own time they can pursue things further, and I'm always available to answer questions or help solve problems they run into.
I agree with you. Thinking back about how I started, I only started really getting into programming in university. However, my main motivation back then was to make video games. In my early teens, I learned the basics of HTML and JS to do weird things on the web and that completely fascinated me. So I think you're right that the formalized education stuff shouldn't be taught directly. In fact, I wonder if it should even be taught at all at such an early stage. It sorta kills the fun of discovery how to do things with code.
It's not a direct answer to your question, but a while back I ran across http://www.introtopython.org/ which in a beginners introduction to programming using Python as the first language. It has a github project[1] full of IPython notebooks used in the course.
I became interested in computers in part because of a middle school teacher's similar weekly after-school program (TRS-80s!!). Thank you very much for improving these kids lives.
Thanks for the kind words! I was had the good fortune of having a father who was a software developer which is what made me aware of the field in general. But writing programs in BASIC on my TI-83 graphing calculator was what really spurred my interest in programming, and just making things in general. I just hope I can pass that excitement on to a younger generation.
"...where the final was just making a PowerPoint, and half the class just played Oregon Trail during."
I honestly think this is the biggest issue and the main motivator for teaching coding. The issue is our computer courses are designed to be 'How to Learn Microsoft Office on Microsoft Windows', any deviation from THAT curriculum already punishes the student. Then, its re-enforced by repitive 'this is how you bold' work. Every computer teacher says they throw in some extra 'real' work, but why can't THAT be what they're learning.
A quick Google search shows this is the Intro to Computers description: "This course introduces computer concepts, including fundamental functions and operations of the computer. Topics include identification of hardware components, basic computer operations, security issues, and use of software applications. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the role and function of computers and use the computer to
solve problems."
Somehow this has become MS Office. Graphic art courses don't teach 'Photoshop', they teach you art using Photoshop. I feel the issue is many Intro to Computer courses are taught the opposite.
>> Then, its re-enforced by repitive 'this is how you bold' work
I remember 10th grade computer class. We got a printed piece of paper, you had to center, bold, and italicize things. Anyone who had used a computer to type a paper before completed it in about 5 minutes while the rest of the class struggled.
>> Every computer teacher says they throw in some extra 'real' work, but why can't THAT be what they're learning.
Same teacher tried an HTML assignment later that semester. Center, bold, italicize somethings and place an image, make a link. Almost none of the kids finished it, and the 2-3 who knew HTML completed it in 5 minutes.
I'm not saying formatting a document isn't important, it is. But the degree I'm required to teach, or when I tutored is grad school, is a bit overboard.
We have an entire chapter on MS Office integration where they'll learn to export an Access query to an Excel spreadsheet so they can 'integrate' that with a Powerpoint presentation. Does it force them to study? Yes. Is it an activity they'll ever need? No.
My point falls more in line with the Intro to Computer courses are too platform dependent, so we have to teach the platform, not the activity.
Instead of teaching them how to use an Internet Explorer Web Slice, I'd rather have it focus on being able to adequately solve a problem through search engines. I <i>can</i> do it, but then I'm chastised for being the nail that sticks out.
At least on your last point, I actually think there should be a placement test administered to students to determine their computers skills, much like Math and Foreign Language. If you don't know how to turn a computer on, get placed in a pre-Intro course, so-so students can fall into the basics (not MS Office) and those that will sleep through and Ace the course can be CLEP'd out. The issue is, how would you create a placement test that tests ability to 'use a computer' vs. MS Office.
Anyone who's technically savvy (including non-IT people) know how to 'use a computer', which is exactly what I feel current Intro to Computer courses do not teach.
Going back to the accounting/personal finance piece, I did a year of law school, and it was absolutely stunning how many of my classmates had no idea what compound interest was (more insane given that most of them were debt funding their education with high interest, non-dischargeable loans that now compound immediately upon taking them out), or that opportunity cost was something they should have considered when evaluating the cost of school.
It is the parents' job to make sure their child is being educated. If the school is doing a poor job, the parent should switch schools or supplement the education at home.
I say this because I think people used more common sense about money 100 years ago. They likely learned it at home, not at school.
>> I say this because I think people used more common sense about money 100 years ago. They likely learned it at home, not at school.
This is true, but 100 years ago, compulsory public education until ~age 18 was much less common, people simply had less money, and credit was not ubiquitous the way it is now. I agree parents need to take responsibility for filling in the gaps of school, but that doesn't mean you can't also advocate for the schools filling those gaps themselves.
They probably did. Parents assume that their kids will learn anything they need to know in school, rather than ensure their kids know something by teaching it themselves.
That's a response I use whenever people tell me compulsory schooling as it exists now is essential so kids can function in the real world. You learn little-to-no real-world skills in a basic K-12 (US) curriculum.
If you'll let me put my tin foil hat on, I would say its possible that personal finance isn't taught deliberately - banks want people to be worse at money and debt management so they can make more money off them.
>> I would say its possible that personal finance isn't taught deliberately - banks want people to be worse at money and debt management so they can make more money off them
Public education seems to me to be one of the few sectors that big banks exert little to no influence on. The main problem is cyclical, many teachers and administrators never got this training, and so aren't well equipped to teach and advocate for it. Much of education curriculum setting (in terms of what classes to teach) is driven by union demand, so a lack of accounting/finance teachers leads to less advocacy, while a surplus of visual arts and music teachers leads to substantial demand for those classes.
I agree with your point about it being a cyclical problem, but have to disagree with the part about supply and demand. Much of what has to be taught in public schools is dictated by government policy (both state and federal). Art and music classes are typically some of the first things to be cut when there are budget constraints, so a surplus of those types of teachers leads to a surplus of unemployed teachers (or retraining for a different subject), not a surplus of those classes being offered.
"a surplus of those types of teachers leads to a surplus of unemployed teachers."
Yet, when budgets increase, these are the first to return, and the useful classes are never offered. I'm not arguing that art and music teachers end up unemployed first, but their existence is still what drives the lobbying for these programs. Government education policy (at the curriculum, not budget level), is substantially influenced by teachers unions.
> That's a response I use whenever people tell me compulsory schooling as it exists now is essential so kids can function in the real world. You learn little-to-no real-world skills in a basic K-12 (US) curriculum.
I'm sorry but I don't believe this argument at all. Unless grade schools are no longer covering reading, basic mathematics, and even basic chemistry and biology I don't think there isn't one skill I learned in school I don't use everyday, except Spanish, I was horrible at that.
Now my university level intro to Architecture, while I appreciate it, is something that I only put to use at cocktail parties.
Regarding the 'Visual Art' requirement -- in junior high and high school we hat 'Art' and 'Music' classes which were a monumental waste of time. They taught neither history or technical skills, and ended up being 'Appreciation' courses which left you with neither any skills, nor any really knowledge of the history.
I think it would have been much more useful to teach singing and drawing, both of which are teachable, useful and would lead to a fuller, richer life.
I played saxophone in middle school, which wasn't a total waste, but I quit after two years to fit Spanish into my schedule (which I then didn't learn because the instruction was so bad). Drawing, cooking, shop, accounting, intro to programming, etc. would have all been more applicable to a productive life.
I don't understand why people in the Sports world tend to not like Chris Bosh. Not only does he have a great all-around game but he got passions beyond basketball and is a family man.
People who want to dislike the Heat's formation can take a quick look at his stats and see that they dropped substantially since Toronto, ignoring that he went from being by far the best player, to the third best player behind two of the best in the world. His rebounding numbers dropped, but he no longer plays down low as much, because LeBron and Wade need space there. They also ignore that he's become nearly as good as Dirk Nowitzki at long 2's, which is generally an inefficient shot (unless you hit it at the rate the two of them do), which spaces the court very effectively, especially given Miami's 3 point shooters. He redesigned his game to fit into a really unique system that has ended with them in the Finals every single year.
He then tops all of this off with really insightful thoughts for a high level athlete (not saying athletes aren't capable of this, but they unsurprisingly tend to dedicate the vast majority of their mental bandwidth towards their sport), and a fantastic sense of humor. In Toronto he ran a YouTube campaign to get support for n All Star bid (or maybe dunk contest invite?), and he's become a meme because he loves photo bombing interviews. This isn't normal HN material, but since Chris Bosh came up, please, look at this GIF at explain how you can't like him: http://slacktory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Chris-Bosh-M...
People don't like him because he decided to form a superteam with his friends. This ran completely against the old tradition of a single star leading their team through thick and thin.
They want him to be like Kevin Garnett or Shawn Kemp. Big guy, tough attitude, strong, prototypical of PF instead of "smart with spacing", "helping team in an invisible way", etc.
Doesn't matter.
He got 2 rings, 1 (gold) Olympic Medals, and knows his 1's and 0's as good as X's and O's.
Hadn't commented on Garnett, would've preferred he stayed at the Wolves and guess he was traded anyway (for a decent project piece). Not too excited about the inequality in the league that starts to happen when stars clump for championships and smaller market teams are left overpaying for more mediocre talent.
Being in Canada, this is exactly how I feel about NBA. Toronto is not a small market but they do overpay mediocre talents... and stars left us all the time.
Bosh is awesome. I know that some Raptors fans dislike him for leaving Raptors to Heats. Before Bosh, it was Vince Carter who got some haters for leaving to Nets. Raptors fans get pretty attached to players because really good players come so rare to them.
Vince Carter is hated by Raptor fans for quitting on the team. He has since admitted to not trying while he tried to force a trade. [1] Many Raptor fans enjoy booing Vince nearly as much as cheering for a winning Raptor team.
Great article, had no idea about that side of him. I'm sure he's no expert hacker, but it doesn't matter - hopefully his message gets out to the millions of kids who think a passion for coding, computers, and tech in general is worth teasing someone over, or inspires those who are being teased to stop caring about others and do the damn thing.
I find it interesting people rag on sportspeople when they seem to care about money too much, yet when guys give up money to have a better chance at a championship, somehow that's wrong as well.
It's like because Cleveland happened to be shitty the year before the draft, they deserve Lebron James' eternal servitude.
Worth mentioning for those unaware that Cleveland was LeBron's hometown state. When your fame and occupation is built around the religious fervour that is fandom, I don't think it's outrageous for people to like the idea that a hometown hero can elevate their team to greatness. Especially when said hero remarks that he'll persist until he wins it all for them.
Yes it's crazy. Take cooking for example. If you can prepare a hearty meal from basic ingredients you will be healthier and wealthier and hence happier than someone who lives on takeaways and ready meals. And schools can't even teach that! If you can do first aid, you can look after your family and maybe save a life - and schools don't teach that! If you can sew, if you can budget, a whole host of basic life skills, that schools completely fail to impart.
But noooooooooo, let's teach the kids to "code"...
This is pretty cool. An NBA player who gets how relevant and essential code is in terms of how the world functions. He is able to express this and reach an audience that might not otherwise be exposed to its importance.
Shit, Chris Bosh has been playing for 11 years? Makes me feel old to remember his freshman year playing for GT in 2002-03 (my freshman year as well, though I'm substantially less accomplished a decade out...)
Bosh is the third option on a repeat-champion team with a generational player and...well, an overrated old guy. The media exposure from that alone is superstar-level, even if a lot of it comes from "he looks like a velociraptor" memes.
"Good player" is probably underrating him, too. I've interviewed around regarding advanced-stats positions with the NBA and the consensus among people I've talked to is that Bosh (who comes up a lot because he's sort of the "smart NBA player" poster child, non-Battier division) would put up titanic numbers on almost any other team. Watch Al Jefferson in Charlotte this year--Bosh doesn't have the post game Big Al does (but is still probably top-10 in the league), but can shoot from mid-range, make plays for others, and play defense both on the man and in help situations.
Bosh did put up Titanic numbers as a number one option on the Raptors, and is a fixture on Team USA. "Superstar" may be a slight overstatement, but given the overapplication of that term to "any famous athlete," I don't think it's worth quibbling with.
When I was young, my small church group went to see a game. After the game we lingered around and Chris called us down to the court. We were all wearing shirts with our church group name on it high up in the seats and he showed us a bunch of tricks and fun stuff for about 10 minutes. Great and funny guy. Sorry, not much else to add besides this little anecdote.
I'm not sure he's a HOF'er. He's definitely a star, but not a superstar, to be a super-star you have to be a top 5 player, and known by most non-sports fans. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, all meet that criteria.
Nice.. except most professional sports players should spent as little time in front of the computer as possible. Carpal tunnel syndrome is something you don't want someone you're paying $100 million to have when he's out in the court, or in the mound.
Carpal tunnel symptoms can be reduced by properly stretching/exercising the wrists. In Aikido, we do a lot of wrist locks, so before each class, we stretch them out. I think the exercises are the reason I'm the only techie I know without CTS. Just like an athlete stretches before they work, so should coders. I find myself unconsciously stretching my wrists all the time now.
As for Bosh's opinion, this is what every parent should be pushing for. When I started getting into acting, they didn't stop me or dissuade me, they simply asked that I have 'something to fall back on'. In my senior seminar for my BA, our acting professor made sure to hammer it in, because a lot of actors chose to only go for acting, which makes the stereotype of actor/barista.
Bosh's statement really talks about science instead of technology. Physics, Biology, Math, CS - all of these are 'how the world works'. Replace 'computer' with 'tools of your scientific interest' and you get the idea.
How many professional sports players have you actually met? Most don't have or take the time to code/type enough to get carpal tunnel. At worst they may have video gaming related issues, but most contracts have clauses regarding such activities and issues.
Also weight lifting and other physical training helps alleviate carpal tunnel for programmers.
