Coding - the new Latin
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Coding - the new Latin
1–10 of 74 posts
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#2I think that's a horrible phrase. The first thing that comes to mind is: "Coding isn't dead!", then: "But coding has direct benefits, not hand-waving indirect benefits like 'you will get better at English!'" I get that it's meant to convey that if you can't code even a little, you're an uneducated person, much like in older times people who didn't know Latin (and Greek) were uneducated. That's a fine sentiment to have, I agree coding is more or less a fundamental skill these days that many are ignoring, but using Latin as the metaphor isn't the way to go. It needs to be as important as learning to write.
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#3I think it's a great analogy--there is little like programming for opening your mind up in certain ways. Big ideas from computer science--more than those from any other single subject--have changed they way I see the world.
Of course, I am highly involved in computer science, so its effect on me is disproportionate. However, I think that everyone would benefit from at least a cursory understanding of the big ideas behind CS, particularly abstraction. If I had to choose one, single concept that has affected me more than any other it would be abstraction. Apart from this, the highly logical programming mindset is also healthy. Some of the discipline that comes from writing your ideas in a form even a computer can understand is invaluable.
Additionally, programming is a creative endeavor with a very low barrier to entry: this is imperative for certain types of people. In my arrogance, I view myself as a relatively creative individual; however, I am also fairly lazy. I do not think I would have pursued engineering or art nearly to the extent I did programming (I was exposed to all three at relatively early ages) simply because they required so much more. To build something, I would need materials, tools and space; the same is naturally true of drawing a picture. To program all I needed was a computer, and since they were common by the time I was in elementary school, this was not an issue. This allowed me to make cool stuff without going out of my way.
Computer science really is something that opens the mind. I fervently believe it should stand with subjects like math and literature, not just for practical reasons but because it is immensely valuable for personal development.
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#4My experience with IT education in the UK is genuinely atrocious. During secondary school we made a spreadsheet in Excel and a couple of Word documents. The closest thing to programming was a picture of traffic lights we had to "programmatically" operate. For a single hour lesson. And that is it. We were lucky if our computers even turned on.
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#5Why is it that coding is such a rare (relatively speaking) skill?
Sure, there are some hard concepts in coding, but for loops and conditional statements are hardly more difficult to understand than a lot of the math which gets taught in junior high.
Speaking of that, why is it essential for young people to learn algebra but not to learn for and if?
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#6Why is it that coding is such a rare (relatively speaking) skill? Sure, there are some hard concepts in coding, but for loops and conditional statements are hardly more difficult to understand than a lot of the math which gets taught in junior high. Speaking of that, why is it essential for young people to learn algebra but not to learn for and if?
The simplest way would be to shove computing under the maths curriculum. Teach if with guard statements, and skip for, teach recursion. by the time the kids get to sixth form, have a mathmatical computation course where you teach them to apply their knowledge to a language like haskell that mirrors mathmatical notation quite well.
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#7I think that's a horrible phrase. The first thing that comes to mind is: "Coding isn't dead!", then: "But coding has direct benefits, not hand-waving indirect benefits like 'you will get better at English!'" I get that it's meant to convey that if you can't code even a little, you're an uneducated person, much like in older times people who didn't know Latin (and Greek) were uneducated. That's a fine sentiment to hav…
I think the metaphor goes deeper. Knowing Latin (and Greek) opened doors to greater learning, providing access to classical writing and history. Indeed, the Renaissance was built on Latin and Greek study. It also was a common language that united the educated elite across Europe.
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#8I've spoken to both of my principals and my ICT teacher about introducing a solid computer science course and scraping "ICT". As a student and a avid programmer, I find it horrible that we don't get a chance to truly leverage the power of computers.
The reason I don't think CS is being widely adopted is because many students have been conditioned to accept ICT as a good computer course and have no clue as to what you can achieve with proper training and a computer. My classmates aren't interested in CS because they think it's way to difficult and has no tangible effect on society. On top of that, both of my previous ICT teachers had no clue how to program: those days were spent editing movies and making animations in Flash.
Glad to see the powers that be finally take some initiative to solve this problem...
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#9Why is it that coding is such a rare (relatively speaking) skill? Sure, there are some hard concepts in coding, but for loops and conditional statements are hardly more difficult to understand than a lot of the math which gets taught in junior high. Speaking of that, why is it essential for young people to learn algebra but not to learn for and if?
The simplest way would be to shove computing under the maths curriculum. Teach if with guard statements, and skip for, teach recursion. by the time the kids get to sixth form, have a mathmatical computation course where you teach them to apply their knowledge to a language like haskell that mirrors mathmatical notation quite well.
I would probably just go with Python or something. Teach them variables, for loops, if statements, printing stuff to the screen, stuff like that.
That way they get a good notion of what programming actually is.
I'm only now getting into functional programming. I would not have grokked it very well when I was like 12 years old.
Re: Coding - the new Latin
#10It is important, but I prefer Eben Moglen's analogy:
"Software is what the 21st century is made of. What steel was to the economy of the 20th century, what steel was to the power of the 20th century, what steel was to the politics of the 20th century, software is now. It is the crucial building block, the component out of which everything else is made, and, when I speak of everything else, I mean of course freedom, as well as tyranny, as well as business as usual, as well as spying on everybody for free all the time."
http://www.softwarefreedom.org/events/2011/fosdem/moglen-fos...