Why is learning to code important?

Code Week EU  is 10th – 18th October 2015. This initiative aims to bring coding and digital literacy to everybody, in a fun and engaging way.

The question is though, why?

Well, as they mention on their website, the way we live has changed dramatically. The way we work, communicate, shop and think. Learning to code doesn’t just build a sense of how tech works, but also helps people to develop skills to adapt to living in this new era.

There are ways to get involved – we’ve summarised them from the Code Week EU website.

Organise an event
-    Toolkit for organisers
-    Add an event here

Code Week EU ambassadors are on hand to help, just click here for more information.

Join an event

-    Look for an event near you
-    Here’s a list of resources to help get you started

Can’t organise an event or join one? Then spread the word!
-    Code Week EU blog

-    Join in on Twitter with #CodeEU and @CodeWeekEU or Like and Share on Facebook

Last but not least, is our own suggestion: Get stuck in!

There is some great advice out there on coding/programming/computing. This is regardless of your level of knowledge, understanding or experience with these topics. This comes in many forms – experts’ blog posts (see ICT Evangelist for a good start), websites (Computing At School) or through exploring Twitter hashtags. You could also explore our blog – see ‘Which programming language should you choose?’ and ‘What is computational thinking?’ for some interesting ideas.

To support the initiative, we have made our computing apps 3 for the price of 1. For the whole of Code Week.

There are six apps – three for 8-11 year olds and three for 11-14s. They cover lots of different topics and ideally, they are worked on in small groups. You only need one iPad per small group though, as that’s how the apps are designed.

Each bundle of three apps is £1.49/€1.99/US$1.99 – which is the cost of ONE app on its own.

8-11 years: click here
11-14 years: click here

8-11 years

11-14 years