Training the next generation of computer wiz-kids
When kids learn how to code, they don’t just learn technical skills. They learn a new language to express their creativity. Emily de la Pena, Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion and founder of Coding Kids, has seen her students come up with some pretty quirky ideas.
“They have such great imagination,” says Emily.
“We had a student group that created a companion robot for people who are lonely. This robot tells jokes, it sings and it asks you how you are. It’s really lovely,” she explains.
“One student built an alien detector, so that if aliens were pretending to be humans, we could detect whether someone was a human or an alien.
“They come up with the most amazing ideas if you give them the skills and let them create things and solve problems,” she says.
Emily founded Coding Kids in 2016, inspired by her experience volunteering for Coder Dojo, a global volunteer network of coding teachers.
“When I was volunteering, I had all of these ideas of what I wanted to do with Coder Dojo. I could see that there was so much potential in the kinds of programs we could deliver for children,” she said.
Coding Kids teaches students from 7 to 14 years old. Younger students start by learning Scratch, a drag and drop block coding language. They use their new skills to build computer games, interactive art and animations. As they develop more complex coding skills, they start inventing their own digital solutions to solve community problems.
Emily now runs coding programs at over 20 schools around Queensland.
Emily has taken Coding Kids on the road to visit a number of regional Queensland communities. Her team visited Thursday Island in September 2017 and joined the Digital Skills for all Queenslanders Roadshow to visit Rockhampton, Cairns, Longreach, Bundaberg and Mount Isa earlier in the year.
She thinks that Queensland’s regions can gain a lot from having skilled coders working locally.
“These students will develop to become capable of building solutions for regional industries. These industries won’t need to depend on workers from larger cities to come in and learn about the community, or the environment, or the problem they’re trying to solve,” she says.
“Instead, someone local who understands the problem will be able to create a highly suitable solution.”
Emily’s experience working in Queensland’s regions has opened up opportunities for Coding Kids to run professional development workshops for teachers and educators to find ways to integrate digital technology into their classrooms.
“By visiting these areas, we’ve been able to see what types of equipment and skills are available in each area. We’ll be able to continue delivering professional development for teachers, so that when we train the trainers we can kick start programs that can continue on in these regional areas,” she said.
“With the start of the new Digital Technologies curriculum, it will be really good to see technology implemented no matter where you are in Queensland”, says Emily.
In 2018 Coding Kids will be working with council libraries to deliver professional development workshops for teachers in regional Queensland. Keep an eye on the Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion calendar to find dates and locations for these events.
Emily was nominated as an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion by one of the schools she works with. Emily has enjoyed being able to connect and collaborate with the Community Digital Champions network.
“I’ve managed to meet so many people who are working in a similar space to me. We’ve been able to work together and deliver a lot more to the broader community,” says Emily.
“It’s been great to take advantage of each other’s skills and contributions,” she adds.
Visit the Coding Kids website to find a coding class near you or to get in touch with Emily.
Do you know someone like Emily who is sharing digital skills with their community? Whether they’re teaching kids to code, or helping seniors master computer skills, nominate them as an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion. Nominations close 19 November 2017.
Read more about the Advance Queensland Community Digital Champions program, and find champions in your community who are helping Queenslanders understand and participate in the digital economy.
