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After-School Coding Academies are a Great Way to Supplement Classroom Learning

Today’s young people are hyper-literate when it comes to technology. They’ve grown up with email, texting, smartphones, the Internet and online gaming and cannot remember what life was like without them. Indeed, computers have become crucial components of everyday life, and knowledge of them has become essential for any educated, well-read adult.

Furthermore, as machine learning, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality become more widely used to address challenges in a range of industries, technology’s importance only increases. For this reason, it’s important for young people to become as knowledgeable about computers and coding languages as they are about more traditional academic areas, such as English, Math and Science.

Regular attendance at an after-school coding academy like Launch can help them understand fundamental areas of computer science that will help them become well-informed, literate citizens of the 21st century. What are the benefits of a coding academy like Launch?

Besides fostering computer literacy, after-school coding equips students with other important skills that will serve them well in many areas of life.

Developing aptitude in coding helps students hone their ability to think critically while enhancing other important intellectual capabilities, including problem-solving skills and the capacity to formulate abstractions (a well-designed solution to a technical problem will have multiple parts—that is, multiple abstractions that are put together to create a larger, overall solution).

A coding academy enables students to take a deeper dive into technical topics than they can in the classroom.

Attending a coding academy like Launch Code After School affords students the opportunity to take a deeper dive into a technical area of special interest to them. Whether it’s HTML or responsive web design or a first computer language like Python, an after-school coding program like Launch is a great place for students to develop specialized skills at their own pace in a supportive, nurturing environment. Despite their growing importance, these skills often are still not taught extensively in traditional classrooms.

A coding academy allows students the chance to connect with other kids who have similar interests and abilities.

Taking place in a more relaxed environment than the traditional classroom, after-school coding academies like Launch offer kids more opportunities to relax, socialize and collaborate with participants who have similar interests. This positive peer culture is great for helping kids stay focused on learning.

A coding academy gives students the opportunity to develop solid skills that will serve them well throughout life. This could include learning languages like JavaScript and Python; understanding key concepts like libraries; and using tools like IDEs and debuggers.

Technology is changing our economy and how we go about our daily life. Being comfortable with technology is important, but actually knowing how to write computer code and harness it to solve real-world problems is invaluable. Young people who begin developing hard computer skills now, while they are still malleable and better able to learn, will be well-positioned to become highly valued members of our workforce when they reach adulthood. A twice-monthly after-school or summer coding camp like Launch can help them get started.

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