Coding for young ones

Thought I would share since we've had similar threads in the past and some of us are parents:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/primotoys/cubetto-hands-on-coding-for-girls-and-boys-aged-3

It is mainly all sold out but this has inspired me to work on my own version except with R2D2 as the cube with various star wars backdrops/maps(my 3 year old loves star wars). I'm thinking death star and ewok village would both be really good maps.

 

It's pretty cool. I want one. I kind of wonder what this obsession is with teaching kids to program, though? By the time kids are adults programming will be as commonplace as being able to use a computer is today. Just like our parents wanted this generation to go to college... and wow, unemployment is like 35%. Coding does not guarantee a good future, you know.

 

Who knows....

You're right, it doesn't, but it increases your chances of getting one.

 

I think google already did this in one of their hour of code projects. Why not use that instead of reinventing the wheel?

On learning coding in general, I personally think it's a useful skill. But not a fundamental one. There is no particular need for everyone to learn it at a young age. Especially if it displaces something else they might be learning.

 

Coding is prime force, it is the raw energy that drives the engine of human experience.



I WISH.

 

I feel its and obsession and reason for getting 60% marks

 

I think the key difference being that requires a screen and a computer where as cubetto(or r2detto?) is more hands on and physical and requires no screen nearby. A physical representation of LOGO if you will.

It is also a fun opportunity to use my arduino and 3d printing skills while making something cool for my kid

 

I wouldn't call it an obsession but rather a fun activity if done properly, the same as playing with any of his other myriad of toys and definitely better than watching some disney cartoon for the 30th time.

My dad introduced me to computers very early when I helped build his Heathkit home computer and it is still a memory that sticks with me, one of the very few from that young age. Eventually I did become a big computer geek and have determined there are worse things in life.

 

Got ya, I didn't actually click through the link until just now. It looks like it could be fun.

Go for it. I have similar memories as a child. Good times.

 

Heteronormativity, European ancestry and a 4 year degree from an ivy league school increases your chances... knowing how to program is useless on its own. Not all classes necessarily inherit from the same base class, even if they can perform the same functions. I maintain that programming will be as word processing is today, just another class in highschool, another bullet point on a resume.

 

Oh, my dad built one of those too!! I remember very clearly playing text-like computer games when most of my friends had never even seen a personal computer. We used to call the computer "our little brother". lol

I also remember him shouting for us to come down to his office in our basement to watch something new. We didn't get it at the time, but now I feel fortunate to be able watch the technology in our basement grow...from a box with a teletype to a computer with a monitor. He is nearing 80 and still putting together computers and keeping up with technology.

Coding for kids is great although not sure I would start at 3. Some critical thinking skills maybe, some toddler age logic maybe...but at 3, language and coloring and socialization should be emphasized. As a mother of 4, I can tell you that my most logical kid, who started playing computer games early, has serious communication issues. Maybe not a connection there, but I am different with my younger kids because of that experience.

 

This. We had a similar experience with my youngest. Too much screen time left her very antisocial. We quickly cut her back. Language and social skills and general interaction with the world are more important at that age.

That said time spent alone in front of a screen is very different from what the OP is suggesting. My girls and I will often sit down at Kerball and build a craft together.

 

Yeah I am not saying sit the kids in front of a screen all day at 3 years old, my son cannot read yet (though he does have his abc's down pretty good) The cubetto if you take a look at the videos and information is a group play device where the kids through trial and error figure out how to make the robot take the path across the map they want. It is very interactive and can be played with a group of kids.

I am not that worried about screentime in my house because my son is in Montessori 5 days a week while we are at work so he is interacting the hell out of everything and getting lots of social time where no screens are allowed. I think when we are chilling at home at nights and weekends a little play on the tablet doesn't hurt much but that's me and my style.

 

Its very much child dependent. We have taken different approaches for each of our kids, as the kids are vastly different. As long as your rules are working for you kid, then forget the rest of us.

 

Very true and you know your kid better than anyone. I homeschool my kids and coding has always been offered. Two took us up on it, one is now in college studying computer programming. The other is an artist, go figure.

Just wanted to give an alternative view for those whose kids might not be ready for coding at a young age. I love the programs out there that teach kids coding logic and I think those are good even if you never plan to teach them to code. Even if the kids are not ready, there are other options for them at a young age to learn the logical flow that is required to understand programming...and it can be done in a way that makes it fun.

Another story about kids and coding, unrelated to the above: My son was teaching a friend's 8 year old how to code in Unity, and his mother informed us that if he wanted to code, he would learn "real code" which in her mind meant Linux without a development environment so he would have nothing "correcting the code" for him. I remember taking a computer class many years ago, when I had to spend so much time finding syntax errors. So boring and I never have wanted to code since. This mother knows little about coding, so not sure where that came from. lol

So guys, are you not using "real" code?

 

I've never written a line of real code in my life. Sounds like work. I try and avoid work.

 

LOL

Well, I have others to do it for me..but they all said the same thing. I think some folks see coding as a "pure", not realizing that like anything else, it is just a tool to get the work done. So why not take advantage of whatever you can to make the work more efficient? Seems crazy to me to work with technology and then ignore a part of technology because it just isn't "real". Of course, this is the same person who poo poos our Kindles and even bookstores because the "library" is better.

 

Courses in gender studies and Micronesian basket weaving and it's matriarchal implications are not a good path to a well paid job.