We live in an increasingly technology-driven world, so it makes good sense to make sure that today’s youth know at least a little bit about coding. That’s the aim of Code Club Australia, a local branch of a global initiative that launched in Australia today.
Code Club Australia is funded by Telstra’s charitable arm, the Telstra Foundation, and joins more than 2,700 clubs worldwide that give children opportunities to learn how to code by providing materials and volunteers to run after-school coding clubs.
In a release, Annie Park, founder of Code Club Australia stated that “Coding is the new literacy and as a country we have to acknowledge that software is the language of business today. It’s what is going to best prepare our children whilst encouraging problem-solving abilities and digital confidence. We don’t expect that every child will be the next Mark Zuckerberg, but not enough has been done in recent years to ensure our kids are learning the best balance of skills to allow them operate in a world where almost everything has a digital component.”
I couldn’t agree more; while there’s a strong emphasis in Australian schools on matters such as sport, digital development isn’t given the same kind of priority, although, as I’ve written about elsewhere there are some excellent initiatives to try to engage young coders. It’s pleasing to note that in the same release Park is quoted as stating that “we’ve also recently seen reports of our young Australian females outperforming the boys when it comes to computer literacy, which is something we feel very passionately about promoting further.”
The aim for Code Club Australia is enable the creation of a code club in every primary school in the country offering facilities for children aged 9-11. More details can be found at the Code Club Australia web site.
Image: Franklin Park Library