As the world is becoming more dependent on technology and more expectant of the progression of technology, we are in need of more technically capable programmers. Now, there are not a lot of people that are involved in the world of programming, so it is important for us to educate the next generation of programmers and here are some of the ways that we are doing it.
Introduction of Programming in School
When I think back to my time in school, computer programming was never even discussed in our education. To me, computer programming was something that was done by geniuses all over the world and it was an exclusive club. However, times have now changed and in school programming is actually a very big part of the curriculum and all students are expected to take the time to learn some of the programming fundamentals. Not everyone will succeed in these classes and many will have no interest in it at all, but it is at least worth finding the few that love programming.
Games Like Minecraft
Something that you have likely noticed is that the younger, and older, generations have become absolutely obsessed with gaming. Children can spend hours every day playing the games that they adore and for some of them, gaming has become a really important part of their lives. The best thing about children suddenly becoming obsessed with gaming, is that it can actually get them interested in programming. There are a lot of games out there that allow people to mod aspects of the game and programmes servers. A good example of a game that allows you to mod is Minecraft. If you have a child, it is likely that that child is absolutely obsessed with Minecraft. If you want to see why kids seem to be so obsessed, you can play free Minecraft at minecraftforfreex.com. A big aspect of the game is creating servers, which requires a basic understanding of programming.
Free Online Resources
Because we really want the future generation to have an interest in programming, there are lots of businesses that have published free resources online that can help them learn. If you take a quick look online, you can find plenty of websites that go over the basics of programming. They teach children how to make some basic programs that they hope will entice them into learning more. In the past, you would have to pay for expensive classes for your child to learn away from school, so these online resources have made programming accessible to everyone no matter what their economic position is.
Programming Competitions
There are a lot of programming businesses that have managed to succeed substantially, and these businesses want to give back to the community and they want to make children interested in programming. In order to entice more people into programming, a lot of these businesses have funded programming competitions. These competitions will usually have some sort of brief, The brief can be incredibly specific or it can be a general theme that they would like the programmers to explore. often these competitions come with a cash prize, so this makes it more interesting for anyone that will apply. By offering a cash award, it increases the likelihood of people getting involved and people that may apply initially for the cash prize, may discover that they have a love of programming that they have never noticed before.
There is a Lot of Money to be Made in The Industry
Another huge way that children are being inspired into taking up programming is the awareness they have of how much money that can be made in the industry. In the past, nobody really understood just how much you could make by becoming a programmer and now this has been made really clear to the general public. Now, not everyone bases the career that they want to pursue on the money they can make, but this is a really big part of our career choices, as we want to ensure that we are getting enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle. You can make a lot as a programmer and people are interested in this.
Starting Programming From a Young Age
On the rare occasion, programming was taught in the past, it would be taught at a high school level and by then, people had already developed their interests and programming often felt like more of a chore rather than something that could be enjoyed. However, a big change that we have experienced recently is exposure to programming from an incredibly young age. By exposing kids to programming from a young age, we are able to really gauge their interests and get them more excited and more involved when they are still developing their interests.
