Just 10 years ago, Python didn't even make the top 5 most popular programming languages. Given today's rapid advancements in technology, what programming language should your kid learn?
They say the only constant in life is change. Ten or so years ago, Netflix made most of its money in DVD rentals and Uber exclusively offered pickups in luxury black cars. As the tech within their respective industries evolved, these two companies adapted their service models accordingly.
Just like Netflix and Uber, programming languages have continually changed to keep up with the ever-evolving technological environment. There are over 700 languages in use today, and recent history shows that the “preferred” languages continue to change over time.
In 2010, Python didn't make the top 5 most popular programming languages, with Java being over 3 times more popular. Fast forward to 2020, and Python is now #1 on the popularity list.
If you're a parent reading this, I am sure you are wanting to know what language will top this list in five, ten, or fifteen years from now when your child is entering the workforce. Unfortunately, I don't have the magic ball to give you that answer, but I can give you some insight into why Codeverse believes it will be different.
Have you heard of the programming languages Julia, Rust, or Bosque? Probably not. But you probably have heard about machine learning and AI, where these new languages become incredibly powerful. According to a recent quote from MIT professor Alan Edelman in Tech Republic,
"The release of Julia 1.0 signals that Julia is now ready to change the technical world by combining the high-level productivity and ease of use of Python and R with the lightning-fast speed of C++".
Is that now three languages that your child needs to learn to be prepared for what might be the popular language of the future? This is exactly why Codeverse doesn't specifically teach any of today's most popular languages. We provide kids with something better.
Within 10 years, a large subset of today’s kids will be entering the workforce. And very specific technical knowledge, such as the syntax of one programming language, likely won’t be relevant. However, creativity, strategy, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration always will be.
Andreas Schleicher, the Director of Education and Skills at OEDC, echoes our thinking in his blog post, “Should Schools Teach Coding?”
“How can we focus learning on the essence of a subject rather than the mechanics of the moment?” he asks. “The risk is that we will be teaching students today’s techniques to solve tomorrow’s problems; by the time today’s students graduate, these techniques might already be obsolete.”
In that spirit, we developed a programming language called KidScript®. KidScript® is a real programming language which allows all the common concepts from professional languages such as Ruby, JavaScript, Java, C++, and Python. KidScript® has a strict, easy to understand syntax, which allows kids to start creating their own projects immediately, and learn by doing.
KidScript® is fully optimized for young minds. It was designed to be approachable and removes the unnecessary complexities of the more adult languages with an easy-to-read, easy-to-write syntax.
“The best way to learn is by doing” says Craig Ulliott, Codeverse CEO. With KidScript®, there’s a big emphasis on creativity and a tight relationship between the code and what the kids are building. This makes it really easy to get started, and everything much easier to understand. It’s object-oriented and includes a library of familiar things, such as cats and dogs, which kids can use to build apps and games.
The developer environment is friendly and intuitive, encouraging kids to interact and experiment with their code. The editor provides hints, tips, real-time error messages, and many other features designed to make coding accessible to first-time learners. Kids are able to dive into projects and learn as they go, seeing their ideas come to life one line of code at a time.
As kids develop a better understanding of how different elements of code work together, they can push themselves to learn more advanced concepts and add increasingly complex functionality to their apps and games.
Craig specifically developed KidScript® to nurture fundamental skills that translate to any coding language. As he points out, “There are a lot of other toys and games that introduce kids to coding, but they all underestimate what kids are capable of.”
