Hey You, You Can Code. Promise.

I get a lot of technical questions around the internets. WordPress, javascript, html, css. I am more than happy to help…I really am. I realize I am a little different from the average mom blogger. But with that said, I get a little flustered with the “I could never code” comments. SHUT YOUR MOUTH. You can. You can read. You can write. YOU CAN CODE. I’m not saying you WANT to or are going to make the next Candy Crush but you CAN. I promise you. Don’t believe me? I want you to go to code.org right now. Or watch this video first and go:

See. Will.i.am told you you’re a rockstar. CASE CLOSED RIGHT? But seriously…stop saying computers are “scary” and your don’t understand them. That’s what people said about reading at some point. In another video from code.org, Zuckerburg says we will look back 30 years from now and wonder what the hell were we thinking? We use technology ALL DAY and the vast majority don’t know how it works…because we are scared. We have to get some basic literacy around computer science if we want to continue innovation in the manner we are now. In China, every kid has programming and in the US it is at about 5%. That is abysmal. It has to change.

I even blogged about how I got where I am from one little moment when I was 3 today on my work blog. I am talking about how I got into coding and how more girls need to see that as a career path. We need more computer programmers and I have found girls bring a whole different dynamic to the software development landscape. We need more of that!

“When I was 3, my mom was trying to get dinner started (oh mom, how I feel you now!) and she popped a floppy disk in our Apple II with the game Facemaker. I was mesmerized. I added beards and noses to my little guy like it was my job. From that point on, I was in love with computers. By the time high school rolled around, I was getting called out of class to help the media coordinator troubleshoot the lab. Computers are a part of who I am (well, not like a cyborg). I let that interest drive me to computer and electrical engineering degrees from NC State University….[keep reading]

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So I challenge you to go to code.org and pick a tutorial and write some code. Better yet, get you kid to. Some tutorials start at 4. I am going to get Landon to even try. Make a little guy move. Learn some javascript. Make an app.  Come back and tell me about it or why coding scares you. I want to know!

5 thoughts on “Hey You, You Can Code. Promise.

  • December 10, 2013 at 4:20 pm
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    I love your enthusiasm! I totally agree with the code.org video about how it should be mandatory for our youth to be more involved in computer science. Code definitely intimidates the heck out of me and I struggle with so much as I trudge my way through blogging and social media in general. I am lost for sure but I try. Now I know a good resource if I ever need it! Thanks!

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  • December 10, 2013 at 4:20 pm
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    Okay, so by no means have a skill set anywhere near yours but I know more than I claim to. Did you know the UK passed a law forcing kids from P-12 to take coding each year and to be proficient before college? Crazy. If the US does not get with we will truly be farther behind than we ever have been including now. Scary.

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  • December 12, 2013 at 8:31 pm
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    Yes! I also am a girl engineer who now teaches future engineers and computer science majors at a community college. The guys still outnumber the girls in all my classes, even though I am constantly trying to get more women into the field. I am not an expert coder by any means, but I had several classes in computer science and understand the basics. It is something everyone needs to learn about since we all use computers. Scientic and technical literacy is sadly very low in our society.

    Reply
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