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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

#211

Post by walshemj »

rdouble wrote: post #140
michaelochurch wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with unionization is that it works well when the work is a commodity, and software engineering isn't. The 10x (and 100x, and -25x) programmer phenomenon is real, but individual performance is nearly impossible to measure on a quarterly basis. We need some traits of old-style professionalism: autonomy and the right of self-investment. A profession is a set of ethical rights and obligations that supersede m…

Unionization works reasonably well for the entertainment industry.

One one of the reasons for the lack of push back from the unions over the modernization of the UK's telco infrastructure was that the people building system X etc where Union members.

and the BMA and AMA do quite well for there members.

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

#213

Post by cji »

patja wrote: post #91

I think the point is there is a huge gap between the supply and demand for programming education, particularly for ages from 8 to 18. It is so easy and rewarding to feed the spark of desire to learn and create among kids of this age range, especially with all of the great free or almost free resources like MIT's Scratch purpose-built to address this need and reduce the barriers to entry. Schools, teachers, and most p…

My 7 year old and I have been working together on the Super Scratch book from No Starch and he's having a blast. When he asks "Can we program now?" instead of asking to watch a TV show, it's an awesome feeling. With things like Scratch and now Minecraft (which he also loves) on the Raspberry Pi, it's great to see so many resources for kids that go beyond the BASIC programming I didn't start learning until I was a few years older than him.

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

#214

Post by aashaykumar92 »

crgt wrote: post #199
saosebastiao wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it isnt that great of a language and only a handful of people can actually make money with it?

291K "app economy" jobs is nothing to sneer at: http://www.apple.com/about/job-creation/ . One of 'em is mine. I support a family of five with it. Why isn't that on the list of things we'd want to teach kids to be able to do? The code.org video opens with a Steve Jobs quote, and the language that powers much of his legacy isn't good enough to teach? Really?

let me know if im missing something, but where do they mention specific programming languages? I don't seem to see any reference to it. Furthermore, Objective C is taught like the others--for example, CodeSchool has an entire section on iOS app development and an Objective C tutorial to go along with it...

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

#215

Post by saosebastiao »

crgt wrote: post #199
saosebastiao wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it isnt that great of a language and only a handful of people can actually make money with it?

291K "app economy" jobs is nothing to sneer at: http://www.apple.com/about/job-creation/ . One of 'em is mine. I support a family of five with it. Why isn't that on the list of things we'd want to teach kids to be able to do? The code.org video opens with a Steve Jobs quote, and the language that powers much of his legacy isn't good enough to teach? Really?

Did you care to calculate out how much $8B is when it is spread out over 270,000 people and 5 years? Apple is a big company, no doubt, but it is not an economy...no matter how hard their PR department tries to spin their "study"

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

#216

Post by frozenport »

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #183
sodafountan wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that what humanity gained in literacy when Gutenburg invented the printing press is akin to what humanity can gain in problem solving skills upon the invention of the microprocessor. An everyday problem solver is a more peaceful, more level headed, and more thoughtful person than someone who is not. Just like an everyday reader is someone who is more informed than someone who is illiterate. The best way to te…

I don't think the Gutenberg thing applies at all. I think we're getting carried away. You could make a argument about digital information and the Web as a way to disseminate information as a Gutenberg style invention but I don't think programming is. I don't think programming and learning to code is the "everyday problem solver," "more peaceful" person. I think what you're talking about is the phenomena that intellec…

I think this is a good point and I am surprised by the downvotes your post received.

I wanted to add that Internet culture has facilitated many people to realize their most twisted fantasized this perhaps not good. Consider the desensitizing effects of r/spacedicks.

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

#217

Post by randomdata »

chaz wrote: post #92
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.

I'm still all for it. Coding is a lot more than just filling jobs. It opens the door to critical thinking, breaking down complex problems into simple ones, separating correlation and causality, and differentiating between data vs anecdotes. It's essentially applied STEM education, but with very practical, tangible outcomes in equipment that nearly everyone will have access to. I can't think of a faster, more accessib…

I do have to wonder what learning to code offers over the math that is already taught. It seems akin to teaching baking as applied chemistry. Should baking be a mandatory subject?

In high school, I taught myself how to program and formally took the math classes offered. I remember many days in class thinking, "oh, this is just like programming with another syntax." There is a lot of overlap there. In terms of critical thinking and breaking down problems, a coding course would just be a reiteration of the existing math classes in an applied setting.

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

#218

Post by acuozzo »

astrange wrote: post #208
acuozzo wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I say "bah-humbug" to job security. That means that you just don't know or care about your craft. I'm twenty-five years old. My wife and I have four cats, a home, two cars, and more than six figures of combined student loan debt. I earn 75% of our total income as a Software Engineer. We can't survive on my wife's income alone and we don't have any family members to fall back on if times get tough. So you, a senior…

Did you start out with the two cars before getting into student loan debt? Following that on with auto loans, maintenance and a mortgage isn't helping your financial independence.

Our mortgage is less than what our rent was at our apartment.

We owned one car prior to university and took out an auto loan to get my wife her own car.

We work in opposite directions and we each have a commute time of ~20-25 minutes, so moving closer to her job would increase my commute time and moving closer to my job would increase hers.

Our schedules are too different to make carpooling a possibility anyway. Also, there's no way to get to either of our jobs using public transportation.

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

#219

Post by onedev »

I think the video was great and people are over analyzing it. The following is what I got out of the video because I didn't over-analyze it like most people are doing:

(1) Everyone should be introduced to computer programming. Keyword here is introduced. Just like kids are introduced to Art, English, Biology, Sports, etc. Many middle and high schools are simply ignoring technology for the most part despite it's growing relevance in our lives and that is what this video is trying to point out.

(2) A career in software engineering isn't necessarily the cubicle dwelling, loner, boring stigma that most uniformed people associate with it. They're showing that it can be a very fun and impactful environment like at Valve, Facebook, and Dropbox (noting the free food, laundry, etc)

(3) You potentially have the opportunity to affect many people in very positive ways through the software that you develop.

(4) EVEN if you don't pursue a career in programming, it can help you understand its implications in many OTHER seemingly unrelated fields. And it will help you develop critical thinking skills.

(5) It can be a learned skill like any other and there's no need to be intimidated by it.

All of those are very noble intentions in my opinion and valid concerns to address to the general perception of programming as well as computer education at early stages to develop interest in people that otherwise wouldn't have known about it.

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

#220

Post by onedev »

aashaykumar92 wrote: post #59

I think people are shifting away from the point of the video and that's fine, and I don't mean to be "that" guy, but it is important to realize what these accomplished programmers are trying to say through the video. If you listen carefully, most of the interviewees are simply attesting to Steve Jobs' quote at the beginning: "Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer...because it teaches you ho…

I agree with you completely. Here's a repost of what I think that I posted elsewhere:

"I think the video was great and people are over analyzing it. The following is what I got out of the video because I didn't over-analyze it like most people are doing:

(1) Everyone should be introduced to computer programming. Keyword here is introduced. Just like kids are introduced to Art, English, Biology, Sports, etc. Many middle and high schools are simply ignoring technology for the most part despite it's growing relevance in our lives and that is what this video is trying to point out.

(2) A career in software engineering isn't necessarily the cubicle dwelling, loner, boring stigma that most uniformed people associate with it. They're showing that it can be a very fun and impactful environment like at Valve, Facebook, and Dropbox (noting the free food, laundry, etc)

(3) You potentially have the opportunity to affect many people in very positive ways through the software that you develop.

(4) EVEN if you don't pursue a career in programming, it can help you understand its implications in many OTHER seemingly unrelated fields. And it will help you develop critical thinking skills. (5) It can be a learned skill like any other and there's no need to be intimidated by it.

All of those are very noble intentions in my opinion and valid concerns to address to the general perception of programming as well as computer education at early stages to develop interest in people that otherwise wouldn't have known about it."

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