The web has become a fertile platform for collaborative consumption. It allows people to share their hobbies and expertise with others who want to participate in, experience, and learn those hobbies and expertise. Arguably, one of the most important aspects of the Internet is its ability to open up high quality education to those who might not otherwise be able to access it
Computers have become nearly completely integrated with our daily lives, and code is the language of computers. Unsurprisingly, last year, Forbes listed computer engineering to be the highest paying major at $70,400 per year, with computer science coming in third with $64,400.
Code.org, believes every student in every school in America should have the opportunity to learn how to code. To this end, the website serves as a portal to and database of all resources that bring a high-quality computer science and programming to anyone willing to try. Founded by Hadi Partovi, Code.org aims to train young students to counter the worldwide shortage of computer programmers.
This remedy could not come at a better time, as computer programming jobs are growing twice as fast as other jobs. Despite this, computer programming was only offered in 10% of U.S. Schools in 2012. There is a noticeable deficit of young, computer literate people – while 109,609 students took the AP statistics test, only 14,517 students took the AP computer science test.
The Code.org homepage gives users many different options for learning code. Sample programming instructions are available from Scratch, Codecademy, Khan Academy, and CodeHS, and you can input your location to find local programming classes, such as at a high school or college.
There are also links for learning just about every aspect of coding you can imagine. Learn apps for the iPad, iOS, Android, and xBox; write robotics code for Arduino and Lego Mindstorms; make webpages with Code Avengers and Mozilla’s Thimble; and take college-level courses from Coursera and Udacity.
Code.org is one of a number of edtech sites, such as StudyBlue and Course Hero, that are making huge strides to train much-needed programmers to manage our digital world. These easily accessible resources are changing the way people learn for the better. This site is exceptional, however, in that it is making a strong attempt to promote offline learning as well as online.
Besides resources for learning, Code.org provides short films (1-minute, 5-minute, and 9-minute versions) that explain the need for programmers and how Code.org fosters collaborative consumption of programming knowledge. They also invite you to submit some local information so they can help you bring programming to your school.
Check out the inspiring Code.org educational film here.
