Code Cool: From playing games to creating jobs

KENT- Any parent out there knows, kids love their video games and computer games.

But what if your kid was the one creating the game, not just playing it?

We’re talking about coding, something people at Microsoft and Amazon do all the time. And now some kids are learning how computer science can be both fun and educational.

The goal is to turn these consumers of technology into creators of technology. Students at Fairwood Elementary in Kent are enjoying their new Surface Tablets. It started during National Computer Science Education Week. Code.org challenged 10 million kids to learn how to code and 20 million answered the call.

Code.org is an organization whose entire goal is to get computer science education into schools as soon as possible.

“Kids today are using technology so early and so fluidity, we are realizing it’s just a half step away from being excited about creating the technology. We want to give that opportunity to children as young as we can.,” says Lori Forte Harnick from Microsoft.

Because so many kids learned how to code at Fairwood, the school received a $10,000 grant. Using the tablets, students can code their own game or play games to help grasp a concept, like physics or geometry.

“We’re here not to prepare our kids for what our future was going to be, but for what their future will be,” says Principal Tricia Hoyle.

Every year there are about 120 thousand computer science job but only about 50,000 graduates; companies like Microsoft want to close that gap.

“They love playing computer games and it only takes a short step to realize that they can create their own computer games, that’s just wonderful,” says Forte Harnick.

To learn more about Code.org, click this link.