Curiosities

Preparing your children for the future? Have them learn programming!

By Alexis Araujo

July 14, 2017

In recent years, there has been great growth in the world of technology, mainly in the area of programming. This has brought us to generate more and more jobs related to technology and there seems to be fewer professionals than necessary to cover all the positions.

If you have children, you have probably asked yourself: what is the best way to prepare them for the future?

Robots

The best way for kids to learn how to program is through playing. For this to happen, it’s necessary to count on a good learning system that makes it into something simple and fun.

Nowadays there is a large variety of robots that can build and that are linked by an app that is in charge of controlling their routines and movements without any need to write even a line of code. This allows any child to get hooked and even more if the robot can move, because they will still see it as “a toy,” that at the same time will teach them how its mechanisms work.

We can find different forms, colors, or specific functions in the robots that have been released to the market, whichuse pieces such as: motors, infrared receivers, cameras, led panels, movement, proximity, and light sensors, as well as other types of accessories.

Once the robot is armed and mounted, it counts on a programming system which consists of dragging elements on the screen using the programming language in blocks (Scratch), which is made up of symbols, colors, and actions that can be dragged to the center and that fit like pieces to a puzzle.

These are some of the most popular models that have been developed recently:

Coding

There are diverse educational programs that promote computer literacy, among the outstanding ones is code.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to broadening access to computer science and increasing the participation of women and minorities. Their vision is that every student should have an opportunity to learn computer science, as they do biology, chemistry, and algebra.

Code.org  counts on the generous support of donors such as Microsoft, Facebook, the Foundation Infosys, Google, Omidyar Network and many more.

Conclusion

Technology is deliberately increasing, which means that its indispensable that children learn to program, independent of whether they choose to study to be doctors, footballers, professors, or any type of profession that they wish.

One of the advantages that they have is that they can learn much more quickly, thanks to the fact that they have been born in a world full of technology and on top of this, it is much easier and fun for them to apply it in video games, robots, and toys. Besides, programming helps them to think in a more logic and organized way, which helps them be better students in any of the areas that they belong to.

Alexis Araujo is a programmer at Mijo! Brands, a leading creative agency in CDMX and Puerto Vallarta. Visit us at www.mijobrands.com or contact us.