This blog post is part of the Application Developers Alliance “Developing for Good: Kids Who Code” campaign. With “Kids Who Code,” we are celebrating the trend of youth digital literacy. Find out more about the campaign here. Upcoming “Developing for Good” campaigns include “Productivity,” “Public Safety,” “Energy Efficiency,” and more.
It’s easy to highlight all of the positive reasons why we should be teaching kids to code, but what about the kids themselves? Do they want to code? Do they feel like digital literacy is a relevant, worthwhile endeavor?
Code/Interactive, an organization that strives to “inspire and equip underserved students with the skills in computing, leadership, and professionalism needed to thrive in the Internet economy and beyond,” has established immersive year-round programs to introduce these students to the “creative power of technology through the teaching of hard and soft skills.” Below, you’ll find answers to the questions asked above via C/I profiles. Kids want to code to expand their curiosities, help their communities, challenge themselves, and more.
Stephan Green
How will you use your app development skills in the future?
I will use my app development skills to solve more of the communities problems. Problems like the unemployment and the income inequality problem are just some that I will try to tackle in the future.
Moubarak Teouri
How will you use your app development skills in the future?
Our app will allow me to develop a trusting relationship with people who live next to me. I plan on using this app to get to know others around my neighborhood and engage more in my community.
How will your app development skills help you in your classes at school?
I believe my app development skills will help me focus on my education and improve on all my classes.
Shemar Dacosta
How will you use your app development skills in the future?
I would use my app development skills in the future to create more stuff that helps the community.
Saeeda Ullah
Share an experience from using HTML, CSS, or JavaScript? What excites or interests you about coding?
I find it interesting how a series of codes could create something that would seem complicated such as a website or a graphic. When we were making shapes and other animations using JavaScript, I found it cool how I had the power to create and command something unique with my coding skills.
Richard Ortecho
How do you see coding to be valuable in your future?
I see coding to be extremely useful in my future because I have a great interest in computer science and hope to pursue a career in game design. I have always loved the idea of being able to be both logical and creative in my work.
Share an experience from using HTML, CSS, or JavaScript? What excites or interests you about coding?
I have created a webpage called http://socialworkhelps.neocities.org/where I encourage those who are going through depression to seek help from professionals as well as social workers. What excites me about coding is that I am telling a computer to do something. I find it amazing and unfathomable to me that I am able to do such a thing. Finishing a webpage with the coding I’ve done gives me the best feeling in the world.
Alan Rodriguez
How do you see coding to be valuable in the future?
Coding is the future, coding is in everything. Even in the most simplest thing in the world, coding is finding its way in. From hospitals, to even fast food restaurants, coding can be used by almost everything. Coding could be the border line from your door getting locked when you forget your keys, to even saving someones life.
Share an experience from using HTML, CSS, or JavaScript? What excites or interests you about coding?
One experience from using HTML, CSS, or JavaScript will have to be recently at the Google hackathon event I went to, courtesy of C/I. I helped build a website for an app me and my friends came up with, which included a ton of html.
What challenges have you faced in learning how to code? What coding skills would you like to focus or improve on?
One of my biggest challenges I’ve had while learning how to code will have to be remembering how to do things. For example, I struggle with statements the most since I just started java-script. This will have to be one of the skills I want to improve on. What I do to help me with this is do coding at least 30 minutes a day.
If you’re interested in applying for the program and volunteering as a mentor, visit:
