Are you a parent of an aspiring programmer or would you like to inspire your child to learn to code? Tell him stories of famous people who started learning code when they were kids.
Why should you learn computer technology from childhood?
Programming is an increasingly popular activity that is becoming an increasingly necessary skill in the modern world. In addition to the fact that IT specialists are in high demand, the code creation process itself offers many other advantages. Programming teaches you to be disciplined, set goals and achieve them, think creatively, look for innovative solutions to any issues, etc.
According to Steve Case, an American businessman, investor and philanthropist, and former director of America Online, programming is a talent that as many people as possible, and especially children, should learn.
Learning a valuable skill like programming at a young age has several benefits:
- The child is properly preparing to become part of our digital community, where any activity is somehow computer-related.
- Programming skills help children develop useful qualities: logical thinking, creativity, ability to make optimal decisions, be flexible, set priorities, etc.
- Learning to program can improve a child's self-esteem. Solving complex problems and creating their own projects, the child learns to be independent and understands what he is capable of. In addition, by sharing his developments, he gets recognition from friends and peers.
Here are some of the most famous programmers and prominent people who have had a significant impact on the modern world who started coding at a young age:
Bill Gates (born 1955)
A well-known philanthropist, billionaire, co-founder of Microsoft.
Born in Seattle, he attended Lakeside Privileged School, where he developed programming skills on a school computer. At age 13, Bill wrote his first game, Tic-tac-toe, in the BASIC programming language.
When Bill was in eighth grade, he met Paul Allen, who would later become a co-founder of Microsoft, during a programming class.
According to Bill, he was a computer freak and stayed in computer science class until night. Even on weekends, the boy used to program. Overall, he spent twenty to thirty hours in the computer lab.
At age 17, Bill Gates and his friends founded the first traffic meter company. Young programmers earned about twenty thousand dollars on this project.
Mark Zuckerberg (born 1984)
American media mogul, philanthropist, entrepreneur, co-founder of Meta, and one of the members of the directors of the Breakthrough Starshot solar-sailed spacecraft project.
During his school years, Mark was actively involved in programming, which his dad taught him - he helped his son learn the Atari BASIC language base. After that, Mark immersed himself in development: he created games, for example, the online version of Risk, and also implemented ZuckNet, the predecessor of modern messengers.
Jack Dorsey (born 1976)
Former Twitter CEO
Jack has been interested in maps, travel, and computers since childhood. His parents gave him a Macintosh and he started creating maps using code. He has also developed software for dispatch services and taxi companies. Jack's curiosity and interest led him to find innovative and creative solutions to problems, which eventually led to the creation of Twitter.
Steve Wozniak (born 1950)
American inventor, electronics engineer and programmer, co-founder of Apple.
Steve was born into an engineer's family. My father was developing a missile guidance system and it was thanks to him that Steve became interested in electronics. He obtained an amateur radio license in fourth grade and assembled a calculator in eighth grade. While still in high school, the boy learned the Fortran programming language and started working as a programmer at Sylvania.
Daphne Koller (born 1968)
Professor of computer science at Stanford University, co-founder of the educational platform Coursera.
Daphne started programming at age 12. Her passion for computer technology has led to the creation of an educational resource that is accessible to anyone.
Daniel Feinberg
Cinematographer and lighting director at Pixar's computer-animated film studio, director of lighting for the Oscar-winning films WALL-E and Braveheart.
As a child, Danielle regularly participated in programming camps and extracurricular workshops. Her passion for technology has led her to make a significant contribution to the animation industry.
Radia Pearlman (born 1951)
American programmer and network engineer, creator of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) and nicknamed “The Mother of the Internet”
Radia's mom was a programmer and the girl followed in her footsteps. She was the first to teach programming to kids. Her journey as an educational programmer began with innovative projects, such as the development of a children's version of LOGO, an educational robotic language called TORTIS.
If you want your child to also learn programming skills, become more creative and develop creativity, as well as logical and mathematical thinking, sign up for a free one trial lesson to Progkids online school. All lessons are held in an individual format, as well as at a time convenient for you and your child, which makes them as comfortable as possible. Experienced teachers take a unique approach to each young talent and encourage students to undertake any creative endeavors. Our school has an internal educational platform where you can learn programming in a game format. Moreover, your child can create art using AI, learn to start their own blog, or create animated music videos. By the way, our school has its own online space where students share news, creative projects and achievements, participate in competitions, and play Minecraft and other games with teachers.
