Cape Town – Later this month Capetonians of all ages will get the chance to learn to programme computers during an inaugural pilot event ahead of Africa Code Week.
The pilot programme will run from 30 May to 4 June at the Cape Town Science Centre and will provide free train-the-trainer workshops and free coding workshops for children between the ages of 8 and 11 years old.
Coding is widely considered to be the “literacy” of the digital age and the best way for young children to become fluent is to learn and play. While technology is transforming education and learners learn how to use it, the reality is that children rarely learn how it works.
“Importantly, coding contributes to developing key skills in mathematics and problem solving in the classroom environment, and it encourages team work and analytical thinking, all essential 21st Century skills for our youth”, says Julie Cleverdon, director of the Science Centre in Cape Town.
Getting involved
On 30 and 31 May the Science Centre will be hosting train-the-trainer workshops which will equip parents, teachers and others to run coding workshops for children. The actual coding workshops for children will take place between 1 and 4 June. The children’s coding workshops will be an hour long and free of charge.
For more informaton or to register visit www.ctsc.org.za/africacodeweek.
Africa Code week will take place In October 2015 across the continent and will bring hundreds of coding workshops to around 20 000 kids in 11 countries including South Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Togo and Egypt.