What Elevates the Best Online Coding Courses from the Rest

Parents everywhere want their kids to understand how computers work for understandable reasons. We live in a digital world, and knowing how to write code makes a person much better equipped for the job market and simply being a citizen or a self-actualized person —a person should put their mark on technology rather than the other way around.

However, some parents without computer skills don’t necessarily know how to identify the best coding courses. If this is you, here are a few tips to help you out.

Video Games Are Fun

Industry leaders make their courses revolve around teaching kids how to create their own video games. They’ll be able to play and explore these games with their friends and family, making their accomplishments seem more real and more meaningful than a simple assignment.

For example, online coding classes with RP4K teach kids as young as seven how to create a Pac-Man-style game in Python. Children learn better when they’re genuinely motivated, and nothing drives a child to learn more than putting video games at the heart of everything.

Video games can be absorbing long-term projects. Deciding to enroll your kids in summer coding camp gives them ample time to learn the material and achieve their goals. Look for a program offering longer, more frequent coding classes in the summer.

Coding Languages That Matter

There isn’t one universal computer programming language. Instead, students learn how to write one language at a time, and some languages are more in demand professionally than others.

It’s smart for parents to avoid the computer classes that teach programs like Scratch, which is really more of a drag-and-drop program than an actual computer coding language professionals use in the field. Instead, look for a program that teaches kids how to write in the following coding languages:

• Python
• Java
• JavaScript
• C#
• C++

The program should welcome beginners in each language and offer gradually more challenging lessons until students develop skills within each language before moving on. Armed with the knowledge employers want, your child will be a welcome addition to a range of tech companies, or they’ll have the skills to blaze their own digital trail.

The Right Atmosphere to Learn

Young students need the right type of educational support. The last thing you want is for them to be soured on a subject because they get turned off after a bad initial experience.

Ideally, online coding classes should limit class sizes to four students per teacher so every child gets ample support without having to fight to be heard or seen. The class should run as scheduled, even if your child is the only student. You don’t want to sign your child up for classes and get them all excited to learn how to code video games only to have to cancel the session because not enough other students signed up.

You can have the best teachers in the world teaching a fun and gripping subject, but if there are too many other distractions, children won’t learn effectively.

Parents are right to want their children to understand how to work with the technology that defines our era. Before enrolling your child in a program, see that it ticks off all the above boxes.