Think Like a Coder

Nah, this isn’t a big post about “how to think like a coder” or anything, I just wanted to talk about Ted-Ed’s Think Like a Coder series.

I’m a high schooler who has been coding for about three and a half years. Along the way, my little sister has watched me become more and more passionate (obsessed?) about computer science. I was never a computer guy. I always thought my career would be in biochemistry. I set myself up for that career too, touring a big chemical company and performing backyard science experiments.

However, in my first year of high school, I took a class called AP Principles of Computer Science. I actually took this course on accident—the class I wanted to take ran out of room—but I am so glad I took it. Principles of Computer Science was one of the few AP classes you could take as a high school freshman, so many treated it as a “blow-off” class. Honestly, I thought I would too, but things soon changed when we started learning about the world of computer science. I found myself able to make connections that I’d never seen before and think in a completely different way. I was a natural at this. So I decided to give it more time. I spent hours after school coding and learning. It wasn’t hard because I loved what I was doing.

My sister was there the whole time, watching me transition from a chemist to a computer scientist. So when I tried to teach her how to code, she initially refused, likely because she did not want to “become like me”, coding in her free time and talking about computers all the time. But then I found Think Like a Coder.

To understand why I’m saying what I’m saying, you just have to watch the series. They are short videos, entertaining and not very time-consuming. They wouldn’t present much of a challenge to even a slightly experienced programmer, but they are excellent for beginners, especially those who haven’t learned a programming language yet. Think Like a Coder is beautifully animated, has an engaging and surprisingly multi-layered plot, but maintains a child friendly approach to teaching and coding. My sister loved it. Instead of getting tired of me nagging at her to learn to code, she would look forward to “thinking like a coder”. She would be intimidated by the presented problem, but would feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when she solved it and got to watch the solution she came to herself lead the protagonist to victory.

There’s plenty of tools for teaching someone to code. If you need to teach someone to code, there are tutorials in every corner of the internet. If you need to teach someone to love coding, look no further than Think Like a Coder.