Have you ever search for information on the web, make e-commerce purchases, setup a music playlist, send digital money packets to your parents or kids, or just book a cab through Grab or Gojek?

The various software supporting you in the above activities, are build from code that is able to command our machines and ICT infrastructures, to facilitate certain digital activities.

If you are new to coding, the next few sessions will reveal to you a whole new horizon to explore and dabble in.

If you have prior knowledge of coding and are looking to regain interest to pick up or relearn the subject, do feel free to choose the session most relevant to you.

Let's begin.

Why is ICT literacy important?

Under the 21st Century Skills Framework, "Information, Media & Technology Skills" have been highlighted as an area of emphasis.^[1]

Value of a skill is tied to needs in the industry or the person who has an interest in acquiring this new ability (or attain the services of the person with the ability). Let's take a quick look at the past and present to understand the emerging demands of ICT literacy and coding skills.

• Critical technological innovations of the 19th century includes the electricity and telephone.
• By the 20th century, the convergence of several inventions such as the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), World Wide Web (WWW) lead to the innovation and creation of the Internet. This critical technology backbone has since been integrated into much of the activities within modern societies for the conduct of digital activities.
• In the 21st century, the current state of matured ICT&E (Info-comm & Electronics) building blocks has lead to a convergence and a vision of scaling-up on cyber-physical technology e.g., social media, AI, 3D printing, robotics, metaverse, internet-of-behaviors, to better advance the interests of societies.^[2]

Information, media and technology skills will be a main driver for the creation and development of cyber-physical technology.

The ability to at least comprehend and assess ICT technologies for procurement needs, or even simply just to read and modify existing codes to create new machine instructions, will be a critical enabler skill that allows one to fit in with the upcoming "new" way of working, studying, playing and interacting with each other.

Reference Sources:

• Fadel, C. 21st Century Skills: How can you prepare students for the new Global Economy? Partnership for 21st Century Skills, OECD/CERI, CISCO. Ref: https://www.oecd.org/site/educeri21st/40756908.pdf
• OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030, OECD Learning Compass 2030, A Series of Concept Notes. Ref: https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/learning-compass-2030/OECD_Learning_Compass_2030_Concept_Note_Series.pdf

Reflection - Train Your Mind to Think

Let's start with a simple question!

Write down in your journal / blog: "What you think coding as an activity represents?"

There is no right or wrong answer. This exercise is intended to help you understand your current impression of the subject, so that you can better assess your knowledge gains at the end of this course.

What is Coding?

The layperson's definition of "coding" is the process where codes, aka the instructions for computers, are created through the use of computer programming languages.

In short, "coding" or "computer programming" is a way for a human to instruct the machine to accomplish certain actions through a series of human defined and machine programmed step-wise or event-driven instructions.

Computer programmer are people with the knowledge of a relevant computer programming language which they utilise to communicate with their machine(s).

How will you imagine the profile of someone who does coding?

You might have been fed a diet of Hollywood stereotypes of the typical computer geek or have been reading success stories of college drop-outs who went on to start great companies.

Perhaps you might imagine a typical computer programmer to be a socially awkward creature, typing tirelessly away at his/her computer, preferably in a conducive dark room or in the basement, hoping to create the next big thing.

In reality, the majority of the computer programmer population consists of everyday person, who may not fit the socially awkward, incomprehensible or sexy profile you have built in your head.

A computer programmer might be from domains outside of computer science or engineering. There are also a number of hobbyist programmers who could have picked up a programming language just to develop their own software ideas or play with robotics.

Up next is a video from Code.org who has compiled a series of sharing by luminaries from the ICT industry, who provided their personal take on the value of learning a computer programming skill.

What Most Schools Don't Teach

Click Here to Open Up the Video in a Separate Browser Tab

A computer programmer is...

a person that engages in design and logical thinking to help express real-world problems and problem solving steps, into digital instructions that the machine is able to take on and execute.

A computer programmer is not just a person that "builds an application or a digital processing/automation flow".

A computer programmer may be involved in the design and creation of a solution, after which he/she uses technology to scale it. They may also take part in the journey and business processes to bring their creation into the market.

In essence, by embarking on a journey to learn coding, you will be equipping yourself with the skills and knowledge of a computer programmer. You will be acting as a bridge between real-world design and problem solving to creating an intangible asset* or digital real estate in the digital world. Should you wish to bring value to your creation, you will also have to build-up your creativity and be aware of some basic business elements.

For a first time programmer, it will be good for a novice to be able to read and write codes with one of the popular high-level programming languages. The ability to read and write codes based on a programming language, is but one part of the skill base of a computer programmer. Skills in design and the ability to create new programming projects, is something that can be build-up overtime through practice.

Over the next few sessions, you will follow the journey of a few characters as they embark on their learning journey. Through their exploration, identification of the tools of the trade, problem solving and personal paths to overcome their individual hurdles, perhaps you may better understand the opportunities available for yourself and get a glimpse of how different individuals reach their end goals in varied ways.

At the end of the micro-learning course, learners should be able to:

• Understand the value of learning to read and write code in the 21st century, and
• Comprehend why it can be a fun and meaningful endeavor.

*Intangible asset is an asset that is not physical in nature. e.g., copyright of literary works, software, brand recognition, trademarks.