Whether you’re a software engineer or a parent with no STEM skills whatsoever, people everywhere want their children to learn how to use computers. Parents want their kids to have the coding skills employers look for one day and keep their problem-solving skills sharp.
There’s also increasingly a fear that the digital world can shape and influence children unless they understand, for example, how things like algorithms work. People who write code are more likely to shape digital technology than have it shape them.
But parents without tech skills are in a quandary: how do they identify the leading coding programs from the rest? Here are three crucial signs.
1. Video Games at the Heart
Kids will break down the walls and force themselves on the computer coding lessons when they find out they revolve around how to create and program their own video game! Children have always loved playing video games, and their enthusiasm has only increased with things like improved gameplay and graphics.
The best online summer coding camps teach kids as young as seven how to create a game they can play themselves and share with their friends and family. They also put video games at the core of what they do by using gamification concepts in their lessons.
Harnessing what makes video games so engaging for kids for the purpose of learning really motivates students.
2. Small Classrooms, Young Teachers
Learning in a distracting environment is challenging, even in an online atmosphere. That’s why the best summer coding camps limit class sizes at four students per teacher. Every child gets the attention they deserve without having to raise their voice or speak out.
Kids also tend to get more enthusiastic when they have relatable teachers. When learning how to code their own video games, kids should ideally learn from teachers who also grew up playing them.
Plus, younger teachers will have recent coding experience in school and beyond. Older students have a perfect resource to ask questions about where coding and STEM skills can take them.
3. Pro Coding Languages Only
There’s a major difference between learning a drag-and-drop program like Scratch, which shows what coding is like, and an actual coding language professionals use in the field. Even seven-year-olds can learn real coding languages.
Don’t enlist your child in a program unless they teach such languages as:
- Python
- Java
- JavaScript
- C#
- C++
If your child has already dabbled or dove into coding before, check to see that they sign up for the most suitable class. Your child should be stimulated, never bored or overwhelmed. Leading programs teach kids how to use the coding languages they’ll be expected to know when they enter later grades and the workforce.
Look for a program that has taught online coding classes years before the pandemic started. Some have been around for two decades but bought new CMS equipment to make online learning as effective as in-class sessions.
If you keep these tips in mind, your child will have a wonderful time learning vital coding skills.
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