❶It's true that high-school coding classes aren't essential for learning computer science in college. ❷Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science.
❶However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial. ❷When younger kids learn computer science, they learn that it's not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers—— but a tool to build apps, or create artwork, or test hypotheses. ❸It's not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students.❹Breaking down problems into bite- sized chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal. ❺Giving more children this training could increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.
❶Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college, where introductory computer science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-experienced or ・determined students away.
❶The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many coding bootcamps that's become popular for adults looking for a career change. ❷The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but "we try to gear lessons toward things they?re interested in," said Victoria Friedman, an instructor.❸For instance, one of the apps the students are developing suggests movies based on your mood.
❶The students in the Flatiron class probably won't drop out of high school and build the next Facebook. ❷Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the "Ruby on Rails" language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market.❸But the skills they learn—how to think logically through a problem and organize the results——apply to any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North Carolina. Olndeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all. ❷But creating a future army of coders is not the sole purpose of the classes. ❷These kids are going to be surrounded by computers——in their pockets, in their offices, in their homes—— for the rest of their lives.❹The younger they learn how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want——the earlier they learn that they have the power to do that——the better. 9 e C
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的确，高中编码课程对于在大学学习计 算机科学而言并非必不可少。卡内基梅隆大 学计算机科学学院的副院长汤姆・科尔蒂纳 指出，毫无经验的学生在学完几节入门课程 之后就能赶上。 但是，科尔蒂纳称，提早接触（编码课程） 是有益的。年龄较小的孩子在学习计算机科 学时，会认识到，这并不仅仅是一连串令人 困惑且没有尽头的字母和数字——还是一个 可以开发应用程序、创造艺术品或检验假设 的工具。（21）对他们而言，转换思维过程 不会像年龄较大的学生那样困难。将问题分 解为小块然后使用代码去解决这些问题变得 稀松平常。让更多的孩子接受这样的培训能 够增加对计算机这一领域感兴趣的人数，并 有助于填补这一职业缺口，科尔蒂纳说道。 学生们同样也受益于在上大学前学习到 的编码知识；因为在大学里，计算机科学入 门课程都安排得满满当当，这会令经验欠缺 或意志力不足的学生望而却步。 人们自费去学习编程的熨斗学校，起初 也是众多编程培训机构中的一家，现今在寻 求职业转变的成年人中很受欢迎。（22）亶 中生学习相同的课程，但是“我们会设法根 据他们的兴趣来调整课程，” 一位名叫维多 利亚・弗里德曼的讲师说道。例如，学生正 在开发的其中一款应用程序可以根据你的心 情来推荐电影。 学习熨斗学校课程的学生可能不会从高 中辍学去创建下一个Facebooko编程语言更 替迅速，因此，他们所学的“Ruby on Rails” 语言甚至在他们进入就业市场时，就可能 已经不再适用。但是，（23）他们所学到的 技能——如何有逻辑地思考问题并整理结 果——适用于任何一种编码语言，一名北卡 罗来纳州的教育顾问黛博拉・希霍恩说道。 实际上，熨斗学校的学生可能根本不会 从事IT行业。但是，培养一批未来的程序员 并不是开设这些课程的唯一目的。（24）达 些孩子未来的生活将会被电脑包围——在他 们的口袋里、办公室里和家里。他们越早了 解电脑如何运行，越早学习如何使用电脑制 作出自己想要的东西——他们越早意识到自 己有这种能力——对他们也就越好。