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Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

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Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#61

Post by aristus »

nickmain wrote: post #37
michaelochurch wrote: post #4

The gap between CS majors and software jobs is misleading. You don't need a CS degree to become a decent programmer. Still, if there's such a shortage of good programmers (and I agree that there probably is) then why aren't we playing this to our advantage? A senior engineer can't afford a house in the Bay Area or New York, and our status is low-- we still work for managers; we're a defeated tribe in this way. Most o…

Maybe we should be talking less about forming "tribes" and more about how to make programming accessible to anyone who needs to solve real problems using computers.

Bingo. Reading and writing used to be a separate profession as well.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#62

Post by Bootvis »

mich41 wrote: post #40

School courses will do nothing if people don't have access to programmable computers. And they don't have - Windows doesn't ship with Visual Studio, OSX and Linux are irrelevant, iOS and Android don't come with SDK CDs and demos. Now, of course, you know that these tools exist, and I know too. But most people don't and to them programming simply doesn't exist. Teaching these people quicksort in school won't be of muc…

But most have access to Excel. VBA has it warts but the step from Excel is small and creating something valuable is actually possible for beginners.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#63

Post by tudorizer »

foryoublue wrote: post #50
wes-exp wrote: post #33

Personally I think the world is drunk with "code fever". We are creatures of overreaction. Not too long ago it was "no one learn to code! it's all going to be outsourced to India!" Now, "I'm starting a non-profit to spread the gift of coding to children. Coding is our future". Give me a f-ing break.

Thank you.

If we're teaching coding to have more coding monkeys or because it's cool, you're right. On the other side, if we're teaching people to solve problems (coding or no-coding), that's always good.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#64

Post by mich41 »

jeremyjh wrote: post #52
mich41 wrote: post #40

School courses will do nothing if people don't have access to programmable computers. And they don't have - Windows doesn't ship with Visual Studio, OSX and Linux are irrelevant, iOS and Android don't come with SDK CDs and demos. Now, of course, you know that these tools exist, and I know too. But most people don't and to them programming simply doesn't exist. Teaching these people quicksort in school won't be of muc…

Windows ships with windows scripting I believe; which gives you access to VBScript and something like a javascript out of the box. They have a free editor too but I don't know if it installs by default; anyway you can just use notepad if you want a lowest common denominator programming environment for kids on pretty much any windows box since 98.

VBScript is rather obscure and AFAIK useful mostly for automation of admin tasks.

It doesn't help you with everyday stuff. It doesn't exist in Windows GUI, unlike (most) other Windows software. You don't use it to build GUI apps, games, web services or whatever may be considered "interesting" nowadays.

Contrast this with DOS which shipped with BASIC interpreter and demo games.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#65

Post by zwegner »

wes-exp wrote: post #33

Personally I think the world is drunk with "code fever". We are creatures of overreaction. Not too long ago it was "no one learn to code! it's all going to be outsourced to India!" Now, "I'm starting a non-profit to spread the gift of coding to children. Coding is our future". Give me a f-ing break.

Yep. I think before everyone learns to code, they need to learn to think. Just dumping a bunch more people into the software field is not going to help the average quality of software at all, which is already pretty miserable.

Of course, coding is a good way to stimulate thinking, or at least it is for me. But they must go hand in hand...

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#66

Post by zwegner »

michaelochurch wrote: post #4

The gap between CS majors and software jobs is misleading. You don't need a CS degree to become a decent programmer. Still, if there's such a shortage of good programmers (and I agree that there probably is) then why aren't we playing this to our advantage? A senior engineer can't afford a house in the Bay Area or New York, and our status is low-- we still work for managers; we're a defeated tribe in this way. Most o…

> The gap between CS majors and software jobs is misleading. You don't need a CS degree to become a decent programmer.

Conversely, you don't need to be a decent programmer to get a CS degree. It's a shame that in the age of the internet and self-directed learning, degrees are so heavily weighted in the job market.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#68

Post by zwegner »

sreyaNotfilc wrote: post #26
grapjas wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or compare the public reaction of the death of Steve Jobs vs. the death of David Ritchie

You mean Dennis Ritchie... BTW, I posted news about his death (I heard of it a week after he died, go figure) on facebook. Its sad that one person replied with RIP Mr. Ritchie and a "like". I was pleased though. That's the way the world turns.

Yep, same with John McCarthy, who died around the same time.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#69

Post by k-mcgrady »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #56
rimantas wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> reading and writing code is basic literacy for the > information age No. Just like everyone being a car mechanic is not the basic literacy of the automotive age. "Everyone learns to code" is a pipe dream.

But everyone learning to drive is / was. Being a car driver is python coding. Being a car mechanic is probably on the order of writing a compiler. The analogies will always break down but really, in this day and age, an adult in the Western world who cannot drive is socially and econmoically disadvantaged. ( chooses not to is likely a different thing - for half of 20 years in London I had no car and biked / tubed eve…

>> "But everyone learning to drive is / was. Being a car driver is python coding. Being a car mechanic is probably on the order of writing a compiler."

I think being a car driver is more equal to being a competent computer user not a python programmer.

Re: Zuck, Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey In Short Film To Inspire Kids To Learn How To Code

#70

Post by igorgue »

wes-exp wrote: post #33

Personally I think the world is drunk with "code fever". We are creatures of overreaction. Not too long ago it was "no one learn to code! it's all going to be outsourced to India!" Now, "I'm starting a non-profit to spread the gift of coding to children. Coding is our future". Give me a f-ing break.

What's "the world" for you? The bay area? Cause' I wish people would like to learn how to code where I live (Miami, FL).
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