Computers are everywhere. Computer coding is everywhere too. Even kids are learning to code. But what is coding?              

Coding is a way for people to communicate with computers. Computers can do a lot of amazing things, but they need to be told what to do. Coding tells the computer what to do. Computer code is the recipe that helps the computer make the cake.              

As a computer coder, you are writing directions for a computer. Let’s say you want a computerized robot to build a snowman. You have to tell it how. In this way, coding is problem solving. You have to solve the problem of how to build a snowman. Then you have to communicate it clearly.              

What are the steps to build a snowman? First, you might tell the robot to make three snowballs. Then you’d tell it to stack them on top of each other. What would that look like? Would it look like a snowman?              

No. You forgot to tell the computer what size the snowballs should be. You need to rewrite the code. You’d tell the robot to make a large ball, a medium ball, and a small ball. Then you’d tell it what order to stack them in.              

Would that look like a snowman? It’s a good start! What else would a snowman need?            

You might tell the robot to add sticks for arms. Or a carrot for a nose. Don’t forget to tell them where to put it! Otherwise you might find the carrot in the wrong place.           

Coding requires you to think through each small step of a problem. Then you have to learn the computer’s language so you can talk to it. Learning to code might seem complicated, but it can be creative and fun. And if you take it one step at a time, you get a great result!