Matthew Tift

The Drupal community, like other free software communities, tends to be very focused on the current version of its software, or perhaps building the next version. However, when we are thinking about the next generation of Drupalers, it can be helpful to broaden our mindset and consider not just how to teach Drupal, but how we can teach young kids the skills required for to them learn Drupal. One way to do this is to teach our kids to code.

The Minnetonka school district is leading the state of Minnesota by including coding as part of its curriculum. Although I do not work for the district, I have been involved in these efforts as a parent, "hour of code" volunteer, elementary school "coding club" mentor, Finch robot club teacher, high school CoderDojo mentor, member of the district's "Tonka Code Design Team," and as a relentless free software advocate. Through these experiences, and related research, I have learned a great deal about how kids learn to code, and how we can help them on their journey.

http://2015.tcdrupal.org/session/teaching-kids-code