HT Codeathon: Coding a crucial skill in tech-driven age

The world of children and their education in particular has gone through a sea change in the past six months. Technology is the only means in the hands of the education fraternity to keep the students on board. The HT initiative to train children in coding at this hour is an intelligent futuristic step. The new normal we talk about will require accomplishments in the use of computers. Lessons in coding can make the children confident and competent to deal with the new ways of learning. I think it will be very exciting for the middle school children to know how to create the background technology to make AI based projects or models work or the programming language to create a website. Codeathon is going to simultaneously stimulate their minds and empower them technologically to carry the ideas forward. I personally feel at this hour when newspapers and television channels are continuously giving us the daily COVID toll and apprising their audiences of the looming menace resulting in a severe economic slowdown, this initiative taken by the Hindustan Times is a ray of hope in the lives of small children. A large number of children are facing uncertainties because job losses have affected their parents. Cut off from school and peers, they are slipping into depression with no one coming to share their anxiety and comfort them. An activity as challenging as coding may lift up their spirits and guide them towards a positive direction.

Dr Manimala Roy, Principal, Basava International School, Dwarka

When we start talking about coding, we think it is just programming. However, I feel that this is far from true. Coding involves a lot of steps, starting from deciding the elements of our program to the final step of writing the codes and finding out the shortcomings of the output. About 10 years or 15 years ago, very less people were aware about how games and apps were made. It has been in the last 2-3 years that coding started spreading. After learning coding, children today are making apps, games, applications, etc! Not only this, I feel that coding also helps us in our studies. It improves our concentration and focus. Though coding can initially be difficult, but HT Codeathon made it easy to understand codes, no matter how complicated our course may be. And this coding also makes the basis of Artificial Intelligence, which is currently used by many nations. Coding is something which does not depend on your age, IQ, etc., it just depends on our passion for Computers. So, you should give coding at least one try! I am thankful to HT

Sriram Venkatkrishnan, Class- 8C, Basava International School, Dwarka

I am highly thankful to Hindustan Times and convey my heartfelt gratitude for giving me this unique opportunity. I hope Hindustan Times comes up with more such activities in future. The modules are self explanatory ,informative and very easy to understand. The quizzes at the end help me a lot to revise the concept and refer to when needed. I will fail in my duties if I don’t thank the teachers, staff and management of GD Goenka Public School which has always initiated the 3 I’s - Interest, Initiative and Infrastructure and encouraged me to participate in such activities. In fact, my school encourages all the students to learn more and more about computer programming skills, particularly in the aspect of coding. Coding, in simple words, means to Control On Destructive Energies. It skills to control a computer; all the websites, apps and social media sites are made with the help of coding. Today, we’re all on social media for various reasons, which means that the computer is controlling us. So, I thought, why not control a computer? This idea intrigued me to know the world of coding.

Sharvi Sharma, Class 7A, G.D. Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj

“HT ANNOUNCES CODE-A-THON FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN”, was the news that gave me immense pleasure during this challenging CORONA period. For me ‘Coding’ is like a world full of mystery and I definitely want to unlock it. Once the Founder of ‘Apple’, Steve Jobs quoted, “Everybody should learn to program computer because it teaches you how to think.” Our new education policy 2020 has also made Coding an integral part of the curriculum. One might ponder, why has everyone, all of a sudden, started preaching Coding. This is because Coding is, for sure, going to be the Language of future. It is selling like hotcakes these days. Now the question arises, how to choose a genuine coach. Hence, when a trusted brand like HT offered a platform, it was very obvious to shake away all my doubts and apprehensions; and what added as a cherry on the cake was that our school is collaborating with them. What more can we ask for? Now, I am all set to spread my wings to fly. Thanks to my school and The Hindustan Times for providing us such a wonderful platform where we can explore and decode The Magic of Coding!

Yatharth Katyal, 8th A, G.D. Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj