How Apple Coding Camp is Creating Technology Literacy
Today, children are growing up surrounded by technology. Many of them learn to play with a tablet or make a call on a smartphone before they can read and write. Yet, this level of interaction with technology doesn’t necessarily mean they understand it. In a world that is increasingly influenced by technology, it’s important for the next generation to be the most tech-literate generation yet.
Taking a look at this approach .You can see that Apple is aiming to help kids who truly understand the technology they use every day by welcoming them to the familiar fun, creative and educational Apple summer Camps.
What is Apple Camp?
Apple Camp is a series of coding workshops for kids ages 8 to 12 that takes place in Apple Stores over 3 days (3 sessions). This year, Apple Camp centered around coding. The camp provided activities that introduced around 65,000 kids around the world to coding in exciting and creative ways.
One activity gave kids control over a Sphero robot. The kids were assigned the task of helping their little spherical robot to navigate mazes and shapes by programming the robot’s speed and direction to change at certain intervals. The budding programmers could be seen following around their Spheros around the Apple Store, iPad in hand as they tapped strings of code. Some kids took the opportunity to just be creative, making their Sphero spin and change colors. Others worked together to synchronize the movements of their robots.
Other activities gave the kids more creative control, giving them the tools to make movies and tell stories. Their iPads gave them access to storyboarding, video shooting, soundtrack editing, and illustration. As Apple puts it, “At Apple Camp, children, and their creativity are the heroes”.
Parents were able to sign their children up for Apple Camp for free online. However, due to Apple Camp being a popular opportunity, it wasn’t easy to get into. Nonetheless, Apple hopes that their camp will show that coding is for everyone. They want to create an inclusive, tech-literate generation that can help shape the future.
Why is Apple Camp and Technology Literacy Important?
We live in a world that increasingly relies on advanced technology. Computers are absolutely everywhere and they all require people to develop, maintain, and update them. Apple Camp is an effort to build kids who are interested in that technology into people who understand how that technology works and how they can help create it.
The world needs coders and a tech-literate workforce, but that can only happen if the proper education if available. The interest is there: 9 out of 10 parents want their children to be educated in computer science. Unfortunately, only 1 in 4 schools in the US offers computer science. More coding programs are becoming available, but workshops like Apple Camp help cultivate the initial interest that parents might notice in their children.
Apple Camp is also important because it attempts to reach out to all children. Only 22% of AP computer science students are girls, and only 13% of those children are Black or Latino. Apple and the CS community are working to remove the idea that coding is only for boys or any other group. Many girls could be seen around Apple Camp, smiling and working diligently. Hopefully, by welcoming everyone into a coding environment, Apple can help more groups enter careers in computer science
As for the kids, they just seem to be having fun. Their interests were originally piqued by apps and games like Minecraft. Apple Camp makes the most of that opportunity, continuing the fun into an educational environment.
The last day of the camp, we observed all the kids demonstrating what they have learned .ABC interviewed several children at Apple Camp located in Georgetown Washington DC store. One little girl admitted that she thought coding would be boring, but in fact “it’s really fun”. As one boy was walking around with his Sphero robot, he was stopped and ask to make few comments about his experience. “I think every kid should try coding. It’s fun. You don’t have to be a smart kid to do smart things”.
Apple recommends that parents should expose their children to a fun and welcoming coding education, and Apple Camp is a perfect example of where that education can begin. If we want to keep enjoying a world run by advanced technology, we need to continue creating more interest for technology literacy.
What about the parents?
Dont worry, the apple reps will show you how to utilize the product you alredy have also answer other technical question you may have.
Authors ~ Caribdoamin Contributor ,Caribdomain