Today, I participated in the Hour of Code--a nationwide effort to introduce students to computer coding as a way of demystifying the practice. On the surface, I taught a few middle school students how to control a computer character and help it to navigate its way through a predefined maze. While we did that in the context of a fun online challenge, there was more to the 60 minutes of coding for me.
As a student myself, I didn't have a plan or much guidance as I meandered through my public and post-secondary education. Fortunately, I found an area - education - which excited and engaged me. But as I look back, I never really weighed my options and the potential positive and negative consequences of my chosen field of study.
Now, looking back, I might have preferred to study Computer Science, if someone had told me what it was or that it existed. That's not to say that I regret going into education or becoming a teacher. Rather, it would have served as something of a Shrodinger's Cat for my career and resulting lifestyle, an alternate reality that could have materialized only by me consciously selecting it.
Back to today and the Hour of Code, I wanted to provide the information and experience of interacting with a computer to my students while they are still in their teens. All who were there enjoyed the time we spent on the activity. Some will continue to pursue coding while others won't. Nonetheless, they all know that it exists and is something that even a kid can do. If only there had been the Hour of Code when I was their age . . .?
