Coding Benefits: Despite online risks, experts say kids should learn code

Bridging the STEM skills Gap Involves Both Education and Industry Commitments

Welcome to K12coding.org. The push for enhanced educational opportunities in computer programming and STEM continues to grow. Parents, teachers, policy makers and businesses across the country understand that our current economy – and certainly the economy of the future – will require all participants to have a basic understanding in these areas. More importantly, as changes in the world excelerate, it is vital for all citizens to develop the higher order thinking skills necessary to adapt to changes.

“Everybody in this country should learn to program a computer,because it teaches you how to think.”  – Steve Jobs.

However, it should be noted that Jobs – like many high tech parents – limited their children’s screen time, and encourage you to visit the Kids and Screen Time page.

As is often the case in education policy, there are a lot of people doing amazing things with computer programming and technology, but systems that allow information sharing and indexing need to be improved. The mission of K-12coding.org is to serve as an information clearninghouse, where parents, teachers and policy-makers can find useful resources and share their experiences. While I think you will find a wealth of existing resources, I am only one person and need your help to improve the number of resources available in order to  “scale-up” computer programming in schools across the country.

If you know of any useful resource that the site is missing, or have any questions, please email me at steve@k12coding.org.  Also, please join our forum and scale-up. For more information on k-12coding please visit About K12coding.org.

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