Accessible Coding
My Coding Experience
I was very excited to discover the website coding.org as I have always been an advocate for everybody to understand the basics of coding, even if they do not plan on continuing in the field of computer science. I always had a passion for the subject, even though I am not very talented at the skill, and this is what drew me to computer science courses in high school. I have learned the basics in coding through Visual basic, Java, and a few online drag and drop coding platforms, and although I was not the best at it, I thoroughly enjoyed it and saw the value in learning the language. I feel like coding should be mandatory in elementary and high schools, as I believe the coding language is just as important today as learning a vocal language like Spanish, Italian, or French. By developing the young minds of the future to be strong computer programmers, we can continue to improve on technology in the future. I believe that a drag and drop tool like code.org is a great place for anybody to expose themselves to the basics of how software is developed.
Introduction to Code.org
For those who have never heard of the website, code.org is dedicated to providing access to coding lessons to all. The idea is about utilizing drag and drop bubbles which can connect to each other to make it simple for people to understand the logic behind coding a program, without over complicating the user with hundreds of lines of code. It is about accessibility, and giving everybody a chance to expose themselves to computer science. Hadi Partovi of code.org in a ted talk, discussed the significance of coding in our world today, and what they goals of the website are.
My Program
To test out the code.org system, I decided to create a game that I have been a big fan of for many years, flappy bird. Upon launching the module, I was greeted by an introduction video, explaining what the goal of the module was. The whole process was very easy and calming, as I never felt overwhelmed with complexity. There were ten sections to the coding of the program, which taught you how each individual element of the program worked, from creating collision in the game to changing the scenery. Having prior computer science experience, I am well aware that collision is much trickier than dragging a bubble to another that reads “when hit object, end game”. I do understand however that I have much more experience than others, and that this is an excellent starting point for people to understand the logic of the code, including “if statements”, and logic in the code. The experienced was so simple, that I continually found myself smiling throughout every step. It was very satisfying to drag the blocks, and be able to test what I had created almost instantly. This gave me the confidence to add more to the game, and even download the game on my android device to feel proud of my creation. I would recommend this website to every person who is interested in learning computer science, and feel that this is something every child and adult should expose themselves to.
My Game
I have created a video to demonstrate the program that I developed through the website, and show what it is capable of teaching people.
