The future of coding and robotics: Why our students need to learn how to code today

We don’t want to scare you, but there is a fact you need to know in order to better prepare yourself, your children and your students. According to recent studies, robots might replace 1 billion humans at their workplace in a bit more than a decade from today.

As you all know, we are living in a digital world where technology is everywhere. We live in smart homes, with interconnected devices and tons of software and gadgets that enable us to do thousands of things without even leaving our couch.

Therefore, the need to know how this new-ish world works becomes imperant. We are not only talking about how necessary social and human skills will be in the future, or about the vygotskian approach to education we admire so much; We are also talking about a skill our students should learn today in order to fit and succeed in tomorrow’s world, whatever they decide to do in it: That skill is coding.

It is not only that the demand for STEM-related jobs will remain strong in the future and that programmers are required in almost every field, but it is also about the problem-solving abilities students gain when learning how to code.

Kids who learn how to code today will strengthen their critical thinking skills, will develop a better logical and computational thinking, and will be way better than others in analytical thinking and in teamwork. Because coding isn’t only about the app, software, robot or digital solution your students create and build, coding is a multidisciplinary field where students will gain knowledge and tools that go way beyond the pure line of code.

Now, there are a number of ways to make our students learn how to code. How can we identify what is the ultimate way -from all the available options- for them to like and succeed in this field? Well, the formula might be finding a tool that delivers the right message and knowledge, but that is engaging, encouraging and fun at the same time. When thinking about some field or tool that fulfills the previous items, robotics and cyber robotics are the first things that come to mind.

We know, the main challenge for teachers is to prepare their current students for the world of tomorrow. A world that, in many cases, we don’t even know how is going to be like. That is why is so important to find the right tool to educate them.

CoderZ is an online learning environment where each kid get his/her very own virtual robot, enabling them to penetrate the world of robotics without having to acquire expensive hardware. So first problem is solved: Accessibility.

In this gamified, mission-based, STEM solution kids learn how to code with a simple drag and drop blockly platform, to then pass to a higher level where they’ll be able to practice their code using Java. Everything, in a friendly and fun environment where even the teacher can get various details about the progress and behavior of each one of the class’ students.

CoderZ is used in cyber-robotics coding competitions that have been held in the United States, Vietnam, Paraguay, Israel, United Kingdom, and a number of other locations. These competitions allow students to experiment with coding hands-on, comprehending that they can also do things they never imagined and strengthening their self-confidence and their coding skills, at the same time.

As we mentioned before, a big percentage of us will be replaced by robots at our workplaces, but there are some good news related to this: Someone needs to code and program these robots, and that someone could be your student, or your kid.

Not only the world of robotics is full of code. We mentioned a few weeks ago how coding will impact in medicine, agriculture, the wine industry, education, and the foodtech field, just to mention a few.

There is an urgent need for the students of today to learn how to code. Doing this will allow them to better understand how does it work the world they live in, and to be better prepared to do any job in the workforce of the future, a workforce where coding will become a must for any candidate. Yes, you read it right… any candidate.

The world of coding robotics can be a great place to start from because it is fun and engaging. There are hundreds of international robotics competitions such as FLL, FRC, CRCC, etc… And instances like these ones are the moments when students put into practice everything they learned, gaining now even more skills like teamwork, leadership and strategic-thinking.

Don’t miss the opportunity to turn your students into the leaders of tomorrow. It is up to you how to do so, but if we want them to succeed, to think critically, to be empathic and to be a good fit in the workforce of the future, start teaching them how to code today.