Taking Kids From Game Player to Game Maker

2017-10-03

by Maya Mojica

Setting Up for Success

There is good news for parents! Your child’s hours of online gaming may actually be the first step toward a career in computer programing. Codecraft Works can provide kids with the foundation to take them from game player to game maker. Some parents are resisting the technological takeover that is a result of today’s electronic driven world. However, many more are realizing that technology could actually be the key to their child’s future success. Research shows that senior professional programmers make around $100,000 annually ⎋. Codecraft Works in Melbourne Florida is giving kids a rare skill set that creates a base for STEM related jobs.

More Than Just the Money

However, programming and coding does more than just offer financial success, it expands knowledge, develops passions, and inspires creativity. Public elementary, middle, and high schools typically don’t offer many computer programming courses. This makes it difficult for kids to pursue these kinds of interests. By offering fun and engaging coding classes and camps, Codecraft Works is teaching students cutting edge STEM education that likely does not exist in a traditional educational setting.

Inside the Minds of Codecraft Works Kids

Do these kids actually want to learn to code? Is it real interest or are Mom or Dad making them take a class? Surveys collected from students who attended summer camps in 2017 show us some really interesting things. For example, when Brooke Ramnath was asked why she was attending camp, she wrote that she “would like to learn new things, expand [her] horizons, and see if [she] will enjoy coding.” In addition, Sagan Manley said that he was attending his “Level Up! Rapid Game Design and Development” camp because he wanted to “expand [his] knowledge of computer programming.” Like Brooke and Sagan, many of the students wrote that they were attending Codecraft camps because of their desire to learn more about coding, not because they were being forced to attend. Camp evaluations indicated another interesting and positive trend. After their week at camp, most kids identified as a “technology creator/maker” as opposed to at the start of camp when they identified as a “technology consumer”. What an incredibly powerful discovery. After participating in Codecraft camps, young people don’t believe that they are consumers, simply playing the games. They are now the makers, the coders.