Using Online Coding Games to Enhance Children’s Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills
In today’s digital world, coding has become a valuable skill, one that many children can get a leg up with by starting early. In fact, approximately half of all jobs will require some knowledge of IT and programming in the next few years. For that reason, learning to code is a valuable skill that will help kids get ahead as they enter the job force. Let’s find out more.
What is Coding?
In simple terms, coding is the act of problem solving, which is done by finding algorithms and mathematical equations. Using this process in this way allows for the creation of software programming and applications for a huge variety of purposes.
To get started, a programmer will break down the problem into actionable steps. Algorithms and equations are applied to turn them into a computer friendly language, such as Java, Python, C, C++, etc. Each coding language has its own syntax and each works best with some type of computer operating system and associated hardware. The one you use depends on your coding purpose and goals.
Why Kids Should Learn To Code
There are a variety of reasons why kids should learn to code and CodeMonkey makes it super easy to do. When kids are taught coding, they are learning skills that include:
- Analyzing a situation
- Identifying the important aspects of the situation
- Modeling data
- Modeling processes
- Creating a program to solve a problem
- Refining a program
- Creativity
- Reasoning
- Collaboration
- Logic
All of these real life skills can also be applied to other situations and learning opportunities. Not only will these skills translate to personal growth, but coding will continue to be a highly valued skill for employers. Coding also makes it easy for kids to express themselves creatively and give them space to explore new concepts.
Benefits of Coding
As you probably deduced from above, coding has quite a few benefits for children of all ages. While many of these benefits are helpful for coding itself, they also translate to other areas of a child’s life, including performance at school, seeking hobbies, and developing life skills. No matter their age, your kids will experience some pretty terrific advantages when they learn to code.
Boosts creativity
As kids learn to code, they have the opportunity to build new applications, solving problems that are relevant to them. This requires children to be creative, including with graphics and the writing in the games. The great thing about coding is that it boosts creativity as part of the learning process, which naturally enhances problem solving skills.
Enhances organizational skills
Organization of all types is important for children and coding is one way to build those skills in a relevant and real world way. Coding teaches the skill of managing a variety of incoming information so they can categorize and present it accordingly.
Builds collaboration skills
Coding is most definitely a collaborative journey, though some kids can create an entire game on their own, it’s important to work with others involved in the process to get the best end result. This requires coders to communicate effectively so they can reach their ultimate goal together. Not only does this teach kids to work together, but also to delegate tasks, handle conflict, and recognize the strengths of each member of the team.
Increases problem solving abilities
Coding is hands-on, which means it presents kids with opportunities to learn from mistakes, test samples of their work, and fix mistakes along the way. It also provides chances to break down a big job into smaller steps, while they measure their progress. Solving problems independently is another advantage of coding that children can use in other parts of their life.
Boosts academic achievement in other subjects
Because there’s a large degree of math and logic used in coding, you can expect those skills to spill over into other subjects. That includes making presentations, reasoning, concentration and problem-solving.
Don’t wait. Enroll your kids in coding classes today. You won’t regret it.
