Category Archives: Skills

Skills

5 Perfect Gifts for Kids Who Love Robots

Robots have been a popular fascination of kids for decades but in this day and age, kids can do more than dream about them – they can get involved in coding and building them. At CodeREV Kids, we’re always excited to see anything that gets imaginations brewing. That’s why this article in Clapway, Top 10 Robot Toys for Kids Who Love Robotics, really struck our fancy. Here are five of our favorites for the list.

1. The Zoob Bot Kit

We love this 54-page kit, which includes instructions, lighting, and four wheels, because it’s won tons of awards and because it also includes gears, pieces, and joints that rotate and extend. This is an affordable kit, coming it at under $20.00, that’s simple enough for kids six and up to use. It’s a great choice when you want to nudge a child’s imagination in a robotic direction.

2. The Ozobot Starter Pack

This toy won best robot in both 2014 and 2015. It can be used in conjunction with Ozobot’s apps, to increase the ways kids can play with it, and parents can use the free STEM lesson plan for kids that comes along with it. This is an impressive robot that costs less than $50.

3. Wall-E U-Control Remote Control Robot

Are your kids fans of the Disney / Pixar movie Wall-E? If so, this is a great choice! It talks, blinks bright lights, plays funny music, and is just nine inches tall. Parents or kids can control it with the remote control and robotics can even be programmed into it. This is a costlier item but can be a great splurge option for kids.

4. Sphero Star Wars BB-8 Droid

With this Star Wars themed robot, you’ll pay more than you’d pay for the others on this list, but in exchange you get some impressive features: voice commands, a personality that adjusts to your kid, holographic messages, and much more.

5. Robotics classes

While the toys on this list are sure to be a hit amongst robot-loving kids, what better way to get them excited than to give them the gift of learning? At CodeREV Kids we offer classes suited specifically for kids. We get them excited, involved, and hungry for more coding and robot knowledge. Whether you want to send them to an after-school program or a STEM-based camp, we have you covered.

Skills

The Robotics World Championship Brings Together Kids from Around the World

It’s no surprise to us that teaching kids robotics can help improve their lives in a number of ways but the recent Robotics World Championship was a particularly inspiring event. A recent article titled Mexican, Central American kids show off robotics talents in Austin does a great job showcasing what was so special about this contents.

“Ana Sofía Orta is only 8 years old, but she’s already decided she wants to do when she grows up: robotics. The little girl from Tamaulipas, Mexico, is on the right path. On May 21, Orta was among 860 children who traveled from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala to participate in the Robotics World Championship 2016, an international competition held at Circuit of the Americas to promote the talent and technical skills of kids from countries that are more commonly associated with gangs, drugs and violence.

The all-day event was organized by the Asociación Américana de Robótica y Tecnología, AAROBOTEC, a group that has been promoting robotics competitions among Latin America schools over the last twelve years, said Pedro Bello, president of the organization. Promoting robotics in classrooms encourages children to choose tech-oriented fields and gives them an opportunity to explore their creativity, said Bello, who is also the principal at a private school in Querétaro, Mexico. Robotics “integrates math, physics and computers,” he said. “And through competitions, children learn in an easy, simple and pleasant way.”

One objective of AAROBOTEC is to encourage the creation of robotics programs in more public and private schools, which could increase the number of students who enter technology fields, said Bello. AAROBOTEC had more than 150,000 students who participated in local competitions in Latin America in the last year. The finalists won the trip to Austin to compete in the championships. “We have to invest in education, in robotics” Bello said, emphasizing that the participating countries have. “There is a lot of talent. They are good people.”

Of course, kids don’t have to live in Mexico or Central American to take advantage of the benefits of learning robotics at a young age. At CodeREV we are here to teach kids essential skills and give them tools to move forward with an interesting hobby that could turn into a lucrative career. Check out our after-school programs or tech camps for more information.

Skills

7-Year-Old Displays Coding Skills on “Steve Harvey”

Coding recently got a major platform on the Steve Harvey show. A young child showed off his skills for the comedian-turned media titan. Consider a recent article for the Morning Call titled “Lower Nazareth 7-year-old to talk computer coding on ‘Steve Harvey.’”

According to the author of the article, “There’s a ‘Little Big Shot’ in Lower Nazareth Township and his name is Kedar Narayan. The 7-year-old is so talented at computer coding that the ‘Steve Harvey’ daytime NBC talk show asked him to appear on the program at 2 p.m. Monday when Harvey kicks off a week of celebrating kids. Kedar will explain to Harvey, who also has an NBC Sunday primetime show called ‘Little Big Shots,’ what computer coding is and talk about the program he invented called ‘Storibot.’ ‘Storibot’ is a 3D board game that teaches coding to children and includes tactile elements so that visually impaired children can use it. Harvey is showcasing kids with incredible talent, some who have been on ‘Little Big Shots’ and some who are getting their big break on the ‘Steve Harvey’ stage. Kedar, who is homeschooled, has been writing computer code since he was 5. He started when his parents became frustrated that he was spending too much time playing video games and fibbed to him that his Wii was broken, says his mom Anita. They said he needed to learn how to create games. He learned with a program called Scratch, created at MIT, and from YouTube. His mom, Anita, is a former coder. His father, Kartik, is a biochemist for Sanofi Pasteur. Kedar won an award in November at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair, where he was discovered by Steve Harvey’s people. Anita says the show contacted them two weeks ago and flew them to Chicago, where they taped the show April 12.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our camps today!

Skills

Computer Coding: The Workforce Silver Bullet?

Many policymakers throughout the country are wondering how to create more equity in the workforce. Coding is one avenue many are exploring. Consider a recent article for the US News & World Report titled “Is Computer Coding the New Silver Bullet?”

Lauren Camera of the US News & World Report writes, “Deborah Berebichez remembers marveling last year at the throngs of girls working in teams at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. They were writing computer coding to categorize and analyze all sorts of artifacts from the museum. ‘It was brilliant what they were doing,’ said Berebichez, the chief data scientist at Metis, a coding boot camp provider affiliated with education and test prep company Kaplan. But then she approached a group of girls who had written code to analyze statistics about turtles. In a column that showed each turtle’s weight were big numbers, like 120 and 200. ‘I asked them what measurement of weight that was,’ she explained. ‘And none of them knew.’ The education arena loves silver bullets, and right now it has its eyes set on getting girls to code as a way to close the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and math – or STEM – fields. Dozens of programs have sprouted up across the country, and the White House has made investing in computer science a major policy priority. But without also providing critical thinking skills, many say, the potential solution is just the latest shiny object in a series of now-tarnished baubles. ‘It makes me a little bit sad,’ Berebichez said at the annual Arizona State University Global Silicon Valley Summit, held this year here in California. ‘Coding programs are sprouting like broccoli all over the country, but it’s just a language. What we really should be teaching them is critical thinking skills.’”

If you are looking for the best in customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our camps today!

Coding Education, Skills

Coding to Detect Hidden Explosives

 

When we talk about coding, the conversation is often abstract. We talk about available jobs but we don’t put a face on these employment opportunities. IHS Electronics 360 takes a look at one of these opportunities in a recent article titled “Computers and Coding Skills Can Help Detect Hidden Explosives.”

Nicollette Emmino of IHS Electronics 360 writes, “Traditional mass spectrometers are quite large, about the size of an oven, which makes them hard to use outside of a laboratory. However the Duke researchers have now figured out how to implement a technology called ‘coded aperture’ in order to shrink the devices and make them usable in the field to detect environmental or safety hazards. ‘In a typical mass spectrometer, the charged molecules pass through a thin slit, which defines your resolution,’ says Jeff Glass, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke. ‘When you try to shrink the instrument, you have to shrink the slit too. That means the number of ions (charged molecules) passing through is going to drop and you’re going to lose signal intensity. We got around this issue by using several slits, which code the ions.’ The key to making it work is knowing the pattern (code) of the array of apertures. The team worked with fellow engineers to implement the coding and computational aspects necessary. ‘This idea was actually mentioned in a short article from 1970,’ said Jason Amsden, a research scientist and manager of the project. ‘But nobody since then has had all the parts to put it together.’ Now the team is testing its coded aperture technology on different versions of mass spectrometers to see which versions will be best when scaled down for mobile use. The team members are also working to show the devices have potential applications in detecting trace amounts of methane to spot leaks in infrastructure and various explosives to prevent terror attempts. The technology can also have a more immediate impact in research laboratories around the world due to its higher resolution capabilities, an asset for medical applications.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our camps today!

Coding Education, Skills

Is Learning Coding as Important as a Second Language?

While they are in the minority, there are some people out there that still don’t see the value in coding. However, others are debating whether or not it’s more important than learning a second language. Consider a recent article for the Shorthorn titled “Column: Coding is as valuable as a second language.”

Alex Purcell of the Shorthorn writes, “Computer coding covers the basics for fueling the revolution of computers and cell phones. And it’s something everyone should learn how to do. It’s redundant, but it bears need for emphasis: technology impacts every person. No matter what profession or lifestyle, it’ll find it’s way into everyone’s world. Technology embodies life in the 21st century. We need to learn about how it works. We need to learn about how technology survives and how it fails by learning to code. Computer coding is a way into the depths of the world around us. Software itself is becoming a universal language connected to the inner workings of our society. If we want to learn how to speak with the machines that surround us, we should have a basic knowledge about coding. Coding helps with finding jobs. Zach Sims, co-founder of Codecademy, says in a Time article that efficiency can be discovered by learning to code. ‘It creates higher-level job opportunities for un- and underemployed young people, some of whom will go on to found their own companies,’ he says. Not only could you start a breakthrough company, but pre-existing corporations are increasingly desperate to keep technology in their businesses. People who know how to program are crucial for an enterprise to compete and can quickly secure a place in the top tier of potential employees. Even if you don’t want to code for the rest of your life, there’s still use for it. Basic coding knowledge helps with grasping the automation that makes everyday life easier. It’s naive to be deaf to the current language of our world.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our camps today!

Coding Education, Skills

Young Professional Using Coding to Double Salary in a Year

A coding career can be life changing. Black Enterprise explores this in a recent article titled “How Coding Helped This Young Professional Double Her Salary in One Year.”

Courtney Connley of Black Enterprise writes, “As a high school student who enjoyed HTML and CSS coding, Jayana Johnson discovered her love for tech at an early age but had no clue how to establish a career within the industry. After dropping out of Long Island University as a broadcast major, she went back to the drawing board on what she wanted to do professionally and eventually landed a job as an events coordinator forCitigroup. After eight months at the company, Johnson then went to work as an assistant in the tech department at Weber Shandwick, and it was there that she solidified her decision to get more involved in tech. Now, as a UX Designer for MasterCard, the 27-year-old shares how coding school helped her to double her annual salary to $100,000 in just one year… It’s definitely something I was always interested in, but it was always just an interest and not something I pursued or was told there was a possibility to have a career in. I never saw anyone who looked like me that was doing what I wanted to do. I didn’t even know how to go about it until later on in life. Now, it’s easier to ask about programs instead of going to a four-year university and having to spend so much money… What I do is a little bit different than what most of my peers do. One of the reasons I wanted to go with MasterCard is because not only do I do Web design, but I also do user experience design, including front-end development… Other skills, besides actual tangible skills, are soft skills in terms of being able to network, because a lot of this has to do with who you know at the end of the day. So just getting yourself out there and becoming a part of the community and being involved not only in taking in the skills but giving back a lot. People will get to know you, find out what you’re about, and be willing to help you.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our camps today!

Skills

The Similarities Between Basketball and Coding

Basketball and coding are much more similar than you might think. How so? Consider a recent article for Motherboard titled “How is Basketball Like Coding? Ask the Kids at This Madagascar Tech Camp.”

Emiko Josuka of Motherboard writes, “On Saturday mornings, Patrick Andriamahenina takes a group of 14 excited Malagasy kids through their basketball paces. But these are no ordinary lessons: Most have never touched a basketball before, and Andriamahenina is not using the lesson to teach them sport; he’s trying to teach them to code. ‘We’re drawing out the similarities between basketball and coding,’ Andriamahenina, a local Malagasy basketball coach, told me in French over the phone. ‘For example, while playing Scratch (a free programming language), kids have to think strategically and make quick decisions. It’s pretty much the same thing in basketball.’ Dream Camp—where 42 kids are currently receiving lessons—is a project geared to teach underprivileged Malagasy kids coding, conservation, sport, and hygiene. It was set up in November 2015 by Chris Corbett, the founder of Human Development League (HDL), a non-profit organization based in Madagascar. The Malagasy are an ethnic group that forms almost the entire population in Madagascar. The camp provides training to kids aged between seven and 12. To set up the pilot operations, Corbett teamed up with Andriamahenina, Malagasy coding guru Sahaza Marline, and basketball coach Cray Bony, who has run basketball camps in both the USA and Tanzania. The training venue is at the local technical high school, which has a basketball court but only five very old computers for roughly 1,000 students. ‘We really wanted to give these kids some coding skills that could help with future employment,’ Corbett told me. In a report, UNICEF states that out of the 100 children that attend primary school only 60 percent graduate, and only 25 percent go on to complete junior high school.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Coding Education, Skills

What is the Best Beginner Coding Language?

There are numerous coding languages. What is the most important to learn? Business Insider takes a look at this question in a recent article titled “This is the best beginner coding language, according to the top schools in the country.”

Tyler Lauletta of Business Insider writes, “There are many reasons you should think about learning to code in 2016. Jobs in coding are still rising at an amazing clip; there’s work to be had if you are looking for a career switch, or if you already work in tech in some capacity, chances are a basic knowledge of a coding language could help you raise your profile within the ranks of your company. And recently in the coding world there has been a bit of an upheaval; where Java was long considered the de facto first language to learn when starting off, now Python is widely touted as the best introduction to the field, with 8 of the top 10 computer science departments in the country now using the language in their introductory courses. People cite the language’s readability as the reason why Python is so great for beginners, as it reads in a similar manner to English in terms of structure and syntax. If you think you might want to dive into coding, but you don’t have the advantage of taking classes at one of the top 10 computer science departments in the country, StackSocial is currently offering a bundle of six Python courses in a deal that could be perfect for you. The bundle covers all the basics of Python you’ll need to understand to kick-start your career in the industry. You’ll start off with basic introductory courses meant to familiarize students with the language — learning what it is used for and what it is capable of accomplishing. From there, you’ll be able to learn more specific skills regarding the code, including using Python for penetration testing, app development, and analytics.”

If you’re looking for the best in customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!

Skills

Study Shows Women Who Hide Their Gender Are Better Coders Than Men?

Recently, I became a fan of the ABC program Agent Carter. One of the underlying themes of the show is that society often overlooks women and their talents and accomplishments. In other cases, we as men assume superiority based on simply being men. While Agent Carter has her ways of addressing or manipulating these assumptions on TV, in the real world, we have studies to correct such erroneous assumptions. A recent study on women and coding serves as the latest case study. Consider a recent article for Fusion titled “Women are better at coding than men—if they hide their gender.”

Kristen V Brown of Fusion writes, “In a study published this week, a group of computer science students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and North Carolina State University examined how gender impacts the acceptance of contributions on the open source code repository site GitHub. ‘Surprisingly, our results show that women’s contributions tend to be accepted more often than men’s,’ the study’s authors wrote. ‘However, when a woman’s gender is identifiable, they are rejected more often. Our results suggest that although women on GitHub may be more competent overall, bias against them exists nonetheless.’ In other words, if you’re a woman on GitHub, the best way to get your code out there is to hide the fact that you’re a woman. The authors specifically examined ‘pull requests’ on GitHub, programmer parlance for suggestions for fixes to existing code. They looked at the contributions of women and whether the women had gendered or gender-neutral profiles. They found that women’s fixes were more accepted than men’s for every programming language in the top ten. But when gender was identifiable, the acceptance rate for women’s code fixes dropped to 62.5% from 72%. On projects where the woman’s gender was obvious and she was an ‘outsider’—an anonymous online stranger rather than a regular contributor to a software project—the acceptance rate of suggestions dropped below the rate of men.”

When it comes to customized coding education, your best bet is CodeRev Kids. At CodeRev Kids, our lessons focus on computational thinking, which encompasses a wide variety of programming languages and concepts.

Our lessons build upon one another and we adjust starting points to each student’s level of expertise. Thus, the entire curriculum is customized. We are known for saying we are the most educational tech camp out there, but we also keep the focus on having fun. As a result, students stay engaged while learning to blend creativity with technology.

Sign up for one of our winter camps today!