If your kids have shown an interest in technology, summer is the perfect time to get them exploring the world of code.
Brandy Foster, an Android developer from Detroit Labs, stopped by Broadcast House this morning to share some of the best ways students can get a handle on computer programming.
"Coding is literally the new literacy. Technology is in every part of every industry. It doesn't matter if you don't necessarily want to be a developer, just understanding code and logic and the creativity, and critical thinking that goes into it really opens up your options," she said.
Foster also runs a program called Decode where she teaches front-end web development to high school students.
"I usually ask kids first, 'what do you want to do with it' -- a lot of kids want to build an app for a computer or for their phone and I take it from there," said Foster.
Here's a list of kid-friendly coding applications Foster recommends:
Ages 3+
Scratch https://scratch.mit.edu/
"You can build something as simple as a talking cat to...games and it's really cool because it's...drag and drop," said Foster of the program.
Ages 5+
Hour of Code https://hourofcode.com/us/learn
Ages 8+
Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/
Code Academy https://www.codecademy.com/
Ages 10+
SoloLearn https://www.sololearn.com
Ages 12+
Udacity https://www.udacity.com/
Ages 14+
Coursera https://www.coursera.org/
And if you want to introduce your young kids to code without plopping them down in front of a computer, it doesn't take much.
"You can take something as simple as LEGOs and setting up in different patterns...kind of organizing them in a specific way and writing down those steps, that's literally all code is," said Foster.
