Navigating through coding concepts is hard. As a non-tech savvy parent, it’s extremely difficult to understand what you should teach your kids and what you shouldn’t. The world of programming has hundreds of potential topics, all of which are related to each other but, at the same time, so distant that one person might not be able to work on and learn multiple. That’s the beauty of programming and the factor which makes it such an attractive career to young computer science enthusiasts. But, if you’re lost with what you should teach your kids and the flow that you should follow, you’re at the right place. Here’s what the optimal programming pipeline looks like.
Programming Fundamentals
First up on the list should always be something super basic. Your first online coding class for kids needs to present what coding is about and how they can perform basic operations. They should first learn the basic computer science concepts as even advanced coding courses for kids rely heavily on these fundamentals. These programming fundamentals should include concepts like data types, loops, and conditional statements. If the curriculum is not built from the bottom up around these basic concepts you are in the wrong place.
Object-Oriented Programming
OOP, or Object-Oriented programming, is a core concept of computer science that’s heavily utilized in pretty much every application with more than a few classes. You have probably heard of it. All the modern languages taught today are object-oriented. It allows coders to work efficiently and reduce the resources utilized by the computer. Python, Java, and Ruby are all object-oriented so it’s not something you have to worry about.
Data Structures
Apart from the basic integer, char, and string, your student will also be using complex data structures in their online coding class for kids – like linked lists and stacks. These concepts form the basics of problem-solving skills that your child will definitely benefit from. Furthermore, the data structure is of the utmost importance when it comes to job interviews. HR teams recruiting for technical jobs almost always use data structures as the main topic of questioning for candidates. This may seem advanced for your kid, but if you pick up a decent course that explains concepts through visual animation, you’ll definitely help them in the long run.
Closing Thoughts
Once your kid goes through these three beginner stepping-stones of programming, you should then analyze their interest and choose a field of specialization accordingly. You have an endless array of options to choose from, so you should definitely talk to the child about what they’re most interested in and get online coding courses accordingly. Navigating through coding concepts is hard, but possible!
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