In the public imagination, computer coding is not exactly associated with being a social butterfly. Hollywood movies have shaped and warped perceptions about programmers and how they interact with other people.
From classic, much-beloved shows like The Simpsons and The IT Crowd, computer programmers were not depicted as having a thriving social life. Thankfully, in real life, the opposite is true!
Let’s check out some social benefits that learning to code online can provide kids.
RP4K is proud to put video games at the heart of our sessions, as kids love to play with each other. Whereas years ago, kids went to the mall or the arcade to play video games, today, they can socialize with each other on headsets from the comfort of their own homes while playing. Contemporary video games are cooperative and collaborative in a way Pac-Mac wasn’t.
Our online coding classes for kids emphasize having fun by making the learning material revolve around how to code a real video game students can play afterward with friends and family. They’ll be hungry to learn the material, eager to sharpen their skills and work with classmates, and driven towards the end goal.
Today’s video games are inherently social. Stoking a love of gaming early by pulling back the curtain and showing kids how they’re created is an excellent way to set them up with a healthy foundation for video games, one based on knowledge and joy.
Not everybody thinks of coding languages like other spoken and written languages, like French or Spanish. However, taking coding classes for kids helps exercise the same underlying language muscle.
Being able to speak and listen well is a crucial skill for socialization! It’s the bedrock of communication. Coding languages have their own rules, grammar, and syntax, just like traditional languages.
RP4K is proud to teach the following coding languages:
These are the popular languages among programmers and the people hiring them. We manage to start kids off in real coding languages, not the drag-and-drop programs meant to merely convey what coding is like. Right from the get-go, children will be stimulated but never overwhelmed.
After they’ve absorbed some skills in each language, they can refine them and learn more before advancing to the next one. As they progress, their abilities and confidence grow.
Musicians are known to be quick-witted, humourous conversationalists, and this is often attributed to their knowledge of music, which is also a language. Along the same lines, strong language muscles are an important social benefit for kids, whether the language is English or Java.
It’s hard for any student to thrive in a noisy, disruptive learning environment. RP4K is proud to offer very small sessions so teachers can focus on the class material and students can learn to code with classmates more effectively.
We always cap class sizes at four, so there’s a maximum of three other students per session with your child. Also, we don’t have any mandatory minimum, so you’ll know the session will run when you book it, even if your child is the only student in the class.
In calm, productive learning environments, your child will absorb the programming lessons and gain the skills necessary to forge their own path in coding. They can also meet like-minded kids on the same coding journey as them. Maybe they will get together with their new friends outside class to create a website, video game, or app.
Either way, learning in supportive environments helps instill skills that help kids socialize.
Coding teaches vital skills where it’s easy to see a direct benefit; after you learn to write code in a certain language, you can get paid as a professional coder using these skills. They also teach kids a range of crucial but intangible skills that help them in ways that are harder to measure or quantify.
For example, many coding problems get solved by using the same out-of-the-box solutions engineers use. We also instill in kids the positive values and beliefs engineers have towards problem-solving, such as teaching them to embrace “mistakes,” as making “errors” provides vital data that gets them closer to finding the right solution.
This two-pronged offering gives kids mental approaches and tactics to help improve their creativity and resourcefulness but also boosts their self-esteem, and self-confidence is basically the bedrock of socializing.
There’s a major difference between knowing how to navigate a device and understanding how that device actually works. Knowing how to write lines of code is like peeking behind the Big Tech curtain; once you understand coding, the apps, websites, and video games people worldwide spend hours on are no longer alienating or mystifying.
This is important and one reason why so many parents advocate for coding at school: much of modern social life goes through technology, and kids need the tools to navigate that safely and enjoyably. People use email, social media, apps and even video games to communicate with each other, learn what’s going on in the world, and so many more things.
Even paradigm-shifting new technology like Artificial Intelligence, which can be exciting or trepidatious depending on who you ask, is really just lines of code at the end of the day. Deep familiarity and understanding of the technology through which modern life itself runs can only make people feel more at ease with themselves and the world around them. This fundamental assuredness can only help people in their social lives moving forward.
Parents want their kids in coding classes for many reasons. Yes, STEM skills can prepare kids for eventual entry into the workforce. There are also indirect skills which help them in school. It may get less attention, but learning how to code online also imparts various social benefits to children in some surprising, underappreciated ways.
Whatever reason you have for enrolling your child in online coding classes, don’t hesitate to connect with RP4K today to learn which class is right for you and start your programming journey.
