Coding: Our Future Language?
Do we need to master a programming language to help shape the digital world around us? Where can we find coding in everyday life?
Are you planning a 45-minute workshop on the subject “Coding: Our future language”? Scroll down to find helpful ideas.
You will find specific ideas and example excercises for your workshop participants.
Cooking and programming?
Cooking and programming? – These two activities don’t seem related at first. But they are! Take a look at these pictures. Think before you continue scrolling: What do cooking and programming have in common?
Coding in everyday life
On the way to the office, you are listening to a podcast about coding. Fascinated by the topic, you take a closer look at your surroundings. Move your mouse pointer over the image. You will be surprised where coding is hidden.
Public transportation
In road traffic, coding supports drivers and passengers – for example, in navigation devices, for displaying the next stop, and for electronic timetables.
Trees
Of course, the trees themselves are not programmed. But: green areas in cities are planned precisely, just like, for example, streets. Special landscaping software is used for this.
Streetlights
Streetlights are also controlled by a program. They either switch on automatically at a certain time or when twilight sets in.
Smartphone
With our smartphones, coding accompanies us throughout the day. Whether you are sending a message, listening to music, or using a game app, you will find coding and applications everywhere.
Coffee mug
Just a quick coffee and then off to work? Most cafés and bakeries use automatic machines that prepare hot drinks at the touch of a button – whether coffee, cappuccino, or latte macchiato. This is only possible because the preparation of the drinks is already stored as a program in the machine.
Fashion business
Fashion and coding are more closely related than you think. Well-known designers plan their latest garments with programs first. Then they are produced and sent off to the catwalk.
Music business
Without coding, electronic music would be unthinkable! Music styles like house and techno use programmed drums and instruments. Programs and coding are used for all music styles, from recording music to post-production in studios and at concerts.
The code in our food
Coding has become an integral part of everyday life. Many apps and programs make life easier. However, we are often not even aware of where coding makes sense. On the following pages you will learn how coding influences something vital – our food.
Coding in agriculture
We all know that food does not fall from the sky. Before our food appears on our plate, it has to grow and, above all, be harvested. Take a minute to think before scrolling. How could coding facilitate agricultural work?
Coding in agriculture
Technical support will become increasingly important in agriculture. The latest technologies of “Agriculture 4.0” also sound futuristic. Programmed tractors harvest crops by themselves. Drones monitor the fields and draw attention to problems. Even the animals are monitored and fed by programs.
Coding and food
You come home late at night, have had one appointment after the other all day, and now you have to wash dishes? No wonder you don’t feel like cooking. Take a minute to think before scrolling. How could coding help here?
Coding and food
A few clicks later, your food is already on its way. Numerous delivery service apps bring food right to your doorstep. And business is booming. The industry had a turnover of almost 3 billion euros in 2017 alone.
Can anyone learn to program?
Anyone can learn to program! At least that’s what tech celebrities like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg say. But is that really true? The “Hour of Code” initiative makes it possible. With the help of small learning units, children, adolescents, and adults can learn to write their own programs within an hour. The only things specified are the task at hand and the required program blocks. The goal of the “Hour of Code” is to overcome preconceptions.
Click here and try it yourself! It is much easier than you think.
Learning to program in school?
In the future, programming will not only be learned privately at home, but also in schools. This topic is often discussed in the media.
Think about it before you continue scrolling: Should coding be taught and learned at school?
"Not everyone has to be able to code!"
Even if programmers have good chances on the job market – not everyone has to be able to program! Much more important than programming itself is the ability to think digitally and get involved in the digital world.
Exit
Your journey through the world of coding ends here. In this module you learned a lot about coding – from programming languages to application areas and future prospects. It remains to be seen what will soon be possible with coding.
