How to become bilingual: learn coding

The future is digital. Here's why you need to understand the importance of coding.

To communicate with other people, we use language. Having the ability to communicate with a computer, that’s coding.

Through step-by-step instructions using text, we can tell a digital device what functions we want it to perform.

This allows people to search, create, and evaluate information on a computer system.

Also, it provides the autonomy to build websites, software, and media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Many of us use these systems but lack an understanding of how to take control of the technology.

Why does this matter? Well, technology is everywhere you look.

Whether it’s interacting with friends and family through social media or reading about the latest news online, much of what we do in our personal and professional lives is digital.

Recently, a Facebook scandal broke in which millions of users’ data were obtained by a political analytics firm known as Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was placed under scrutiny as people began to question what it means to share their information online and, when they do, where it goes.

Learning how to code builds digital literacy and assists in making informative choices while using technology.

School boards across Canada have recognized this, and that youth today will be entering a job market that demands a greater understanding of telecommunication systems.

Coding has already been implemented into curricula in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Council released a study saying “over 84,000 new ICT jobs are expected to be created in Canada by 2019.”

Many of the openings that will benefit from a knowledge in coding are careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Even at the basic level, computer programming is an invaluable skill.

So if you’re looking to learn a language, learn to code.

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Posted: Apr 24 2018 12:47 pm
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