READ, WRITE, CODE.

According to Marty McFly and Doc Brown, we are living in the future—so let’s act like it! “Here we are in [2015], we all depend on technology to communicate, to bank, for information, and none of us know how to read and write code.” –Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Computer programming—often shortened to programming and sometimes called coding—is what makes the creation of computer software, apps, and websites possible. Your browser, your operating system, the apps on your phone, Facebook and this very website are all made with code. Coding is a skill that spans all industries. Whether it is farming, medicine, or music, coding is a skill that can advance any project. Now I’m not going to lie to you. While coding is not the easiest skill to learn, it is an extremely valuable one to have! I truly believe that in this day and age, coding is an integral part of digital literacy. And if you have read any, and I do mean any, of our other blog posts, then you know how serious we are about digital literacy. While there is no denying how essential the skill of coding is to the future, for some reason our education system hasn’t fully acknowledged it. Coding is not being taught in 90% of our schools. I often get angry and wonder why I didn’t see the value of programming in high school, or why my middle school computer class made no mention of HTML. But no need to live in the shadows of the past, like Marty McFly and Doc Brown come Back To The Future, or err I guess the present, that is pretty much the future….make sense? No? Okay, well here’s what I’m trying to get at: it has never been easier to learn how to code. Coding is a skill that anyone can have, and there are numerous platforms that can get you started, such as Codecademy.com and Code.org. The purpose of the Google Community Leaders Program is to improve digital literacy and with that being said, this is a part of digital literacy that we cannot afford to ignore. Now, to get started, say it with me. I can do it. Alright one more time. I can do it. Now go out there and grab your “superpower” that is computer programming. I believe in you! –A journalism student in the midst of HTML/CSS courses.