Is coding the literacy of the future?
The intention of this article is not to give you our piece of mind. Rather, it is to give you a literal understanding of the terminologies used in the title, so that you can answer the above question yourself.
So, let’s grab the bull by the horns and let’s get literal.
Is coding the literacy of the future?
As you see, we have highlighted our three keywords which we intend to explain as we go forward.
WHAT IS CODING?
Coding the process of using an artificial language to communicate with computers.
Let us draw some parallels to understand the definition better:
- To communicate with a person, you may speak or write a natural language like Hindi, English Tamil so that the other person understands.
- To communicate with your dog, you may do gestures of sign languages asking them to sit down, stand up et al which your dog understands.
Similarly, to communicate with a computer, you have to code in artificial languages, called programming languages, like C++, Python, Java that the computer understands.
WHAT IS LITERACY?
The ability to use a symbol system and a tool to comprehend, generate, communicate, and express ideas by making a sharable product that others can interpret.
Complicated, isn’t it?
Let us take a simple example.
There are different kinds of symbol systems that we use such as the system of numbers, or the system of natural languages such as English. In our schools, we make our students capable of expressing these symbol systems through some tools. These tools can be a writing pad and a pencil/pen to write a sentence or do the arithmetic calculations. These sentences or arithmetic calculations are the sharable products that are used to comprehend, generate, communicate, and express ideas. If the other person understands the symbol system, he may be able to interpret these ideas.
Let us now try to understand the concept of literacy in terms of coding.
There are different kinds of symbol systems in case of coding which is called programming languages. The tool used to express these symbols is writing code on a computer. One may write code to express his/her idea to solve a problem, make predictions, build a website, or a game. The possibilities are endless. These are the sharable products that we discussed.
Learning to code fits the definition of literacy pretty accurately.
WAIT, WHY IS LITERACY IMPORTANT?
Developing literacy involves acquiring new ways of thinking about the world because it allows the exchange and comprehension of ideas. In fact, the core function of literacy is to ensure participation in decision-making processes and civic institutions. Those who can’t read and write are left out of power structures. Their civic voices are not heard.
Illiterates who become part of the power structures are often outliers and occasionally ridiculed.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE?
This is the future:
Video 1: A clip from the cartoon series The Jetsons that showed how the future would like
Let us go through some cold hard facts here. It is predicted that:
- Artificial Intelligence will automate around 400–800 million jobs by 2030
- Every 8 out of 25 jobs are technology jobs in 2020
Empirical evidence of this phenomenon can be observed by observing the graph below that shows the accelerating growth in technology.
Based on the above facts and empirical evidence, we can conclude a few things.
- Our future will be surrounded by technological products
- The major workforce of tomorrow will be technical wizards and technologists
- Technology would be a major component of our discussions
- Technology would be a key influencer in the decision-making process
It is important to know that coding would create the core of all these technologies.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Think about being in a foreign land where you do not know to read and write the language. You are not able to exchange nor comprehend thoughts. You barely know a couple of sentences and are somehow able to make do. You feel illiterate, don’t you?
Just like that, in the future when technology will be so engraved in our systems that it becomes a part of our lives, our work and influences every action that we take, not knowing what goes behind the technology may end up giving you the same feeling as being in a foreign land.
However, this is what we think. Feel free to form your opinion and answer yourself:
Is coding the literacy of the future?
