Teachers and other educators which represented more than 200 national and regional organizations met in Chicago this month to brainstorm issues and possible solutions when it comes to STEM education in American classrooms. While the Obama administration has set a goal of 100,000 STEM teacher recruits by 2021, the meeting sought to understand how larger goals interact with issues that teachers face every day in the classroom. A wide variety of issues were discussed varying from how to get students to learns and develop STEM skills to the structure of support and restrictions which many science and math teachers run into while trying to provide engaging education. Social issues for students were also discussed as a potential aspect of their abilities to learn in this situation.

The United States government feels that STEM education is of paramount importance for the future of the country and its economy, and that we are currently lagging behind. It may take some time for the country to get back on track when it comes to furthering STEM education in our public schools. Unfortunately, this means that many parents must look outside their children’s schools for additional training and exposure to science and math. This can be very stressful, but there are more and more great programs popping up around the country which are designed to cater to these needs.

CodeRev Kids is an amazing Santa Monica, CA organization with a remarkable track record when it comes to teaching children to love science, math and computers. They offer a variety of programs in summer and spring camps as well as afterschool programs. If you don’t live in the area, it can make a great family vacation if your children are interested in computers or other STEM topics. It can really open up their world and build on what they learn in school.

Students from Eugene Middle School in Eugene, OR put their problem solving skills to the test in the first STEMposium. They competed in races to complete projects as quickly as possible. The winner is the team that finishes the project the quickest. Wonderfully, those teams that experience failure are not met with ridicule. The staff of the Arts and Technology Academy designed the STEMposium to encourage learning from mistakes, and instilling belief in continuing to try things until something works.

Many other schools are starting to host their own STEMposiums throughout the country as education in math and the sciences has become a national concern as high school graduates are increasingly underprepared for college classes and the United States has continued to decline in the international rankings. STEMposiums are seen as a simple way to give schoolchildren extra exposure to science and math concepts, especially in the area of applying these skills to solve problems. Even the military feels strongly about doing this. However, these are often annual events, which while fun, do not necessarily provide the continued practice and encouragement that some children require to enjoy STEM learning.

Therefore, as a parent we should probably do more to make sure that our kids learn the STEM skills that we all know will be instrumental for success in the near future. If you feel that your child is not attaining these skills at a sufficient level at their school, there is more that you can do. There are many programs for children which will develop their science and math skills outside of school. Sometimes these are afterschool and weekend programs but there are also great spring and summer camps that feature a focus on STEM learning and developing problem solving skills. CodeRev Kids is a great organization which teaches children how to use the computer to create through coding using robotics, websites and video game building. It is a wonderful example of a company that aims to help children take their skills and interests as far as they can, independently from school. We need more people like them.

The population will continue to grow in the coming decades, and with that growth, the country may start to feel resource constraints. This also means that there will be a growing amount of electricity demand as this growth will increase the amount of electricity and technology in use with it. Recently, it has become clear that the grid will have to be maintained and upgraded to meet this demand.

California is already starting to do this. PGE is currently investing a large amount of money and resources in both renewable energy generation and in upgrading the grid management system. This has required the construction of new buildings, transmission wires, servers, and other associated grid components in preparation for the influx of energy generation and demand. This will form what is commonly known as a “smart grid.” Really, what that means is that more of the grid will be monitored and controlled directly by centralized computer systems controlled by knowledgeable grid engineers.  Other states need to catch on to what California is doing, and they need to do this soon, no matter the cost. Otherwise things won’t be so great. We’ll all start calling the summer “rolling blackout season”

This will be something that your children will take part in. It will be a larger problem for their generation than ours. Hopefully many of these issues will be solved by the time our children reach adulthood, but it is not out of the question for grid stability to continue to be a challenge for the US and the rest of the world throughout the coming decades. For this reason, it is wise to educate your children concerning what they can do to help. Many of these problems require high-level engineering training to be truly solved. Helping your children learn skills that can serve as the backbone for a career in energy distribution or renewable energy can give them the leg up they need in life. CodeRev Kids is a great organization in California which does just that. They teach children as young as 6 years old to love the computer, the internet, and coding through the innovative classes on fun topics like robotics, game design, web site design, and even more advanced coding topics. With a technological introduction like this, your children will be primed for the intensive problems awaiting them.

Recently, in Pittsburgh, PA, Intel hosted a large invention competition called the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which involved more than 1700 high school contestants from over 400 different schools.

Two brothers developed advanced computational software to analyze the interaction of cancer cell gene fragments with proteins. Inventions in the modern world often fall into two categories. Oftentimes, a new invention will either improve previous inventions in some way. The second type of new invention is something that is completely new. Many of both of these types of inventions end up involving applications of computer programming in one way or another. Integration of computers and programming into every part of science, technology, and day to day life is part of the forefront of innovation throughout the world. These two brothers did just that by using programming to further medical science.

While this was just one of many entrants and prize recipient projects presented at ISEF, it is indicative of the type of innovation we need in the near future. All of these teens were chosen to participate because they sought ways to perfect or innovate an old problem with new technology and know-how.

I know that you are wondering what good this does your kids. Well, if you want your children to have the opportunity to create something that may be worthy for something like ISEF, it is a good idea to start early. Instill and encourage a love of science and technology in your child outside of school. CodeRev Kids is a great Santa Monica, CA company which specializes in teaching children how to program and be creative with computer technology. Their programs for children as young as 6 years old can be a great first step in creating an enriching life in a STEM career for your child. CodeRev offers a variety of hands-on programs which cover fun areas of computers and programming, from robotics to website and video game design. They can learn great new skills than can even get them a job later in life while have a huge amount of fun. Look at those teenagers at ISEF. I bet a few of them had parents that did such things.

We know that coding is the future in terms of necessary skills to succeed in the globalized economy. However, what’s the future of coding? BBC tackles this question in a recent article titled “Coding the future: What will the future of computing look like?”

Padraig Belton of BBC writes, “The spread of computing to new platforms – down to your car and toaster – will bring new challenges in building bigger, more connected systems. Scripting languages tend to be loosely typed, allowing a single variable to contain a number, a bit of text, or other character. This makes writing small programmes easier, faster, and more fragile. Agile development has been another new trend, with frequent feedback between programmers and users – the gov.uk website is an example. But then you have the million-line behemoth programmes, with more opportunities for inconsistencies and bugs to creep in. Another trend has been an increased number of languages coming out of the corporate world, rather than universities. This permits companies to have more control over which direction the languages take. ‘Nowadays, by accident, Facebook have a million lines of PHP, and they wish they didn’t,’ says Alan Mycroft, professor of computing at Cambridge University.”

Belton also gives a glimpse into the future of Britain’s students in terms of coding. He writes, “Worldwide, the number of people working in programming is in the order of 15 million. This number is not rising fast enough, even though the number of things to be programmed is. India produces roughly 100,000 computer science graduates annually. By comparison, Britain produces roughly a tenth of that. Good news for qualified programmers, less so for tech companies facing talent shortages. ‘That’s why we work with organisations like Code Club, Young Rewired State and Raspberry Pi to inspire young people to get involved with coding and digital technology,’ says Eileen Noughton, managing director of Google UK.”

Here in Santa Monica, we’re doing our part at CodeREV. Our CodeREV Kids program offers customized coding education to students through afterschool programs and summer tech camps. All of our Tech/Coding classes and camps are project-based, meaning students are applying computational thinking to each coding skill they learn. Also, they are using the highest level processing skills as identified by the Common Core for true comprehension of the material they are learning to use and apply.

Contact us and make your child a CodeREV Kid today!

With the explosion of the internet in recent decades, programming has become a significant economic force. In America especially, it’s just getting bigger. With the expulsion of a large portion of the labor-based jobs in the United States, both hardware and software have replaced many other industries in America. More and more people work with computers, at home and as part of their occupations. Computer proficiency requirements for jobs are more and more common these days. Even the IRS would rather that you filed your taxes online. More and more people code and program these days, both for fun and as a career.

More and more young people work and found start-ups at a young age these days. Silicon Valley has become one of the economic centers of the country in the last few decades and it is centered around breeding and creating the next big app, website or widget. PayPal and Bitcoin are now an essential component of the revenue streams of many businesses.

What does this mean for your children? Well, it means that you need to make sure that they are well trained in the ways of the internet and computers. You can’t stop at making sure that they know how to use computers, apps and the internet, you should ensure that they learn how to make this virtual world work for them. One of the best ways to place your children ahead of the technological learning curve that everyone must master these days is CodeRev. Their fun and interactive programs help kids learn STEM and programming skills quickly and with joy. CodeRev can help your child find their niche within coding and programming, from website design to robotics, or it can simply give them skills they will assuredly need in this brave new world to thrive in whatever career they choose.

The state of labor has changed and evolved in many ways in the last century. Manufacturing, farming and other traditional American industries are currently experiencing a period of decline after a boom following WWII. As a result, unions which were once powerful in influencing policy and worker pay are now smaller and boast a much smaller sphere of influence. In the last 75 years, many jobs have been made obsolete in one way or another.

At the same time, the use of computers in the United States has exploded. These days, many people work with a computer, and a significant portion of them do so for the entirety of the work day. The internet and smartphone applications have become a consistent and even essential part of many people’s day to day life. Almost everyone owns multiple devices and many children become acquainted with computer technology at a young age now.

More and more of the American economy is based in these virtual worlds. PayPal and Bitcoin effect the stock market in real ways that we sometimes hear about on the news. Make sure your kids take advantage of this new world order. If you can instill computer proficiency and interest early in life, your child will greatly benefit later on as they enter the job market and her career.

CodeRev is a California company which has mastered the art of teaching children to love computers, programming, and science. Their spring and summer camps, along with their after school programs are specially designed to catch the interest of any child. Programs vary from computer games, apps and web design, to robotics and more interesting coding projects. Children can start as young as 6 years old and by the time they are done, they will probably know more about computers than you will! What’s more, the programs are specially designed to teach critical problem solving and teamwork skills along with knowledge that will help them succeed in STEM classes, the common core, and other areas. It’s one of the best gifts you can give a child.