The Educational Benefits of Learning to Code

The Educational Benefits of Learning to Code

Children are exposed to complex technology at earlier and earlier ages. The reality is that technology continues to find its way into nearly every aspect of modern life. This technological explosion has created a need for talented individuals who can create effective and efficient computer programs that allow users to interact with all of this technology efficiently and logically. The burgeoning STEM movement has emerged in schools across the country as a direct response to this need for tech-savvy employees in the modern workforce. But beyond this clear economic need, there are collateral benefits to infusing STEM content into public education. Most notably, the educational benefits of learning to code and program can lead to student growth across multiple content areas.

What Skills Are Involved in Coding?

At a basic level, coding requires a solid mathematical foundation.  Programs are often carried out by using combinations of various mathematical symbols, variables, and rule sets. The more complex the program, typically the more complex the math involved in making it work.  For younger students, coding can be a solid, functional introduction to key algebraic concepts and thought processes. For more experienced students, coding can be a way to give purpose to higher level math topics that otherwise may linger as ethereal or impractical exercises.

On a deeper level, coding requires a focus on logical, pragmatic thought processes. By working through the mechanisms that make a program run, students are forced to problem solve on multiple fronts simultaneously; complex tasks only work when a series of simpler ones are working in harmony. This type of thinking reaches far beyond the computer screen and can be an effective foundation for problem solving skills across the curriculum.

How to Provide Coding Opportunities for Your Child

With the advent of initiatives like The Hour of Code, programming opportunities abound for students. Sites like Code Academy, and Scratch provide step-by-step, browser-based lessons in a variety of programming languages for a variety of different purposes ranging from games to websites to basic applications. With sites like these, students can create actual working programs with scaffolded support helping them to become successful. The fact that the lessons result in actual, working programs helps to keep students engaged and promotes the feeling of success.

Inexpensive system-on-a-chip devices like the Raspberry Pi ($5-$35 + accessories) and the C.H.i.P. ($9 + accessories) make it possible to learn coding on the cheap. These small computers simply require a keyboard, mouse, power adapter (usually little more than a microUSB phone charger), and display (HDMI devices like most modern TVs work best) to get up and running; what makes these devices so amazing is how they come in at a fraction of the cost and size of modern computers or laptops.

Coding is an exciting way for your child to build both marketable skills and support academic growth across the content areas.  Even if coding is not your strong suit, the wide array of inexpensive entry points makes it easier than ever to provide opportunities for your child to enjoy the coding experience. And plenty of tutoring opportunities exist as well, for both online computer science tutoring and in-person tutoring.

15 Homework Help Tips for Kids and Parents

Homework Help Tips

 

As a kid, I always thought homework was yet another way for the teachers and the entire school system for punishing us students. Even as a parent now, I still do not like the concept of homework, and think it to be a way for the teachers to shirk their responsibility and transfer the burden of teaching to us parents. However, a closer look at the concept of homework made me realize that the entire framework of the concept of homework has been developed to help both the students and the parents. While the students get to revise everything that they have learned in school and thereby get a better understanding of their concepts, parents are able to actively participate in the education of their children. Research has proven that children, whose parents take an active interest in their studies tend to perform better in school and in life.

Therefore, it becomes necessary to stop considering homework to be an enemy and find ways and means of making it fun for both students as well as their parents. Below are a few tips that can help make completing homework quicker, easier and more fun.

Homework Tips for the Students

  1. Fix Your Daily Schedule –A fixed schedule would ensure that your mind does not get distracted by the desire to play or watch television. When the time for playing and entertainment is pre-allocated, these thoughts would not trouble you during the course of studies.
  1. Put A Homework Completion Plan In Place – In the event, you have homework in multiple subjects, the first thing you need to do is figure out the amount of work that is to be done, make a plan for completing this work and simply follow the plan.
  1. Take Help Whenever Required – There is no shame in asking for from your parents. Hence, you find yourself stuck, immediately seek help, get your doubts cleared and move on with the completion of your homework.

Homework Tips for the Parents

Just like in school, teachers have to make sure that the students study, similarly, at home, parents need to provide all the help their children might need for completing their homework.

  1. Provide a quiet place, where the children are comfortable and can concentrate on their studies.
  2. It is important for parents to stay in touch with the teachers, in order to be aware of what is going on in the class and what the child is expected to do. Else they would not be able to provide the right guidance to the children in their homework.
  3. Help the kid whenever required, however, give the child enough space to try and complete the homework on their own.
  4. Motivate and encourage the children to do better by appreciating their good work.
  5. Try to reduce the number of distractions around the children to a minimum, for example, while the child studies, the parents should try to avoid watching TV, etc.
  6. If the parents are not able to solve the problems of their children, they should hire tutors to help out their children in their studies.
  7. It is important for the parents to check the completed homework of their kids.
  8. Arrange for comfortable desk and chair for the child to sit on and do his homework. This has a direct effect on a child’s productivity.
  9. Gauge the mood of your child, and in case they get frustrated, give them the space to breathe by setting aside the homework for a little while.
  10. If the child is having any problem with respect to homework, communicate the same to the concerned teachers and find a solution for the same.
  11. Be creative in your teaching methods in order to make homework interesting and fun.
  12. Consistency is the key. Make sure that the schedule made for homework adheres to every day.

Thinking about getting extra help with homework, connect with Tutor Pace online tutors to improve grades.

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