We cannot deny it, we are moving towards an era where technology, computers, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality will rule our world, even more than they do today. Many of us will be, eventually, replaced by robots, software or a device at our jobs, so we need to be ready to face this with an optimistic response and with the right set of skills.
Learning coding today is as crucial as learning English as a second language was a few decades ago. It is precisely this knowledge that will allow our children to impact the world with significant, relevant creations of computers, apps, services, and even artificial intelligence devices.
It is not only a matter of learning to code so it can increase our probability to succeed, it is also about the various skills and abilities our children can gain from the learning process itself: Critical thinking, problem-solving, algorithmic and computational thinking, teamwork, collaboration etc.
This mix can open the doors for them to create things that can actually make a change in the way we live and interact nowadays.
What kinds of things can a kid create after learning how to code?
Everything! As we’ve mentioned before, coding, and the abilities this learning process provides, can be useful in every single field. Did you know that even houses are now being printed through 3D printers using a specially designed concrete? Did you know that even agronomists are controlling their drip irrigation using advanced software? Did you know that some praiseworthy international artists are now exhibiting pieces of art that were born with code (check out the phenomenal work of Raven Kwok)?
In all of these cases, someone had to code, create and program the presented solutions!
It’s a fact; it doesn’t matter which field or area of interest you come from. With coding, you can create anything. This is not about understanding the Matrix or protecting the back-end database of a certain investment platform, from hackers. This is about creating something unique that can solve an existing problem.
Those who discover a problem and invent a solution for it will code their way to success!
The invitation is to discover. Part of being an inventor who knows how to code is having the ability to look at the world from a wide-open point of view, in order to comprehend what’s missing and to solve an existing problem, difficulty or need.
We should extend our kids the invitation of becoming a mix between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Emmett Brown; always researching and discovering the missing parts of an incomplete puzzle, but having the energy and the knowledge to do something outstanding after finding it.
Learning how to code can provide our children with both the knowledge and the desire to create something truly unique. Don’t worry, if they start by creating their own app today, you have no idea which extraordinary things they might create and develop tomorrow.
Slowly, slowly: Apple started in a garage
There’s no need to rush, the biggest companies we see today were once just a project. Even though Apple now has a spectacular and huge circular campus in the United States, their offices were once located inside a garage. A group of people identified a need, gained the knowledge to turn their discovery into something concrete and now show us, with each new invention, that there was something we needed that we weren’t even aware of.
Same thing with Amazon! Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, started to build his magnificent company at a small office, using a desk that was originally a door (He is still using the same desk!). Only by understanding there was something missing, he gained the knowledge and the courage to build one of the most powerful and biggest brands in the whole world.
Who would have thought that learning how to code and encouraging the hunger of discovery would have ended like this for these people? But here’s the good news: They aren’t Superman. If they did it, anyone can! It is up to you to learn today and become a legend tomorrow.
No need to create the next Facebook or the next Google today, your kids can start by designing and creating their first app. What happens next is up to them, and to the thousands of possibilities and opportunities the future can offer them.
