Coding: Learning a New Language

[#1]

A few years ago my colleague said via a tweet, "You are never too old to learn a new language. Why not learn to code so you can communicate better with computers." It made me stop and think for a minute. I was always focused on improving my second language (French) but never really thought of coding as language. I worked in Information Technology for five years, but never had learned to code.

So I decided to jump in with both feet. The Code Mobile was travelling across the country and I decided to attend their event. The Code Mobile is a van that travels across Canada bringing hands-on, interactive technology education to youth and adults across Canada. It's mission is to ensure that all Canadians — particularly women and youth — have access to these learning opportunities. I had a really great experience at the event and learned the basics of HTML and CSS.

I started doing self-study and watched youtube videos and did some courses on Code Academy. Later that year the PEI Chapter of Ladies Learning Code was established. Since I knew the basics I volunteered to mentor at several events such as:

-National Learn to Code Day: Interactive Stories & Game Making with HTML & CSS
-National Girls Learning Code Day: Gamemaking with Scratch
-Getting started with WordPress & Blogging
-Girls Learning Code: Web Making with HTML & CSS
-National Girls Learning Code Day : Animating & Storytelling with Scratch

A few years later Ladies Learning Code re-branded under Canada Learning Code (Canada Learning Code designs, delivers, and partners on technology education for Canadians), and they hosted a full week in June dedicated to learning. I got to be an instructor for three offerings that week:
-Canada Learning Code: "Canadarm2" Kids Learning Code (Charlottetown)
-Canada Learning Code: "Doodle for Google Canada" Kids Learning Code (offered in Summerside and Montague)

Looking back, I am thrilled to see my progress over a few years, from completely new to coding, with some hard work and effort, delivering three coding workshops. It is amazing what can be accomplished if you put your mind to something and have the drive to achieve your goals. Anything is possible.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor for Canada Learning Code, here is the Mentor handbook: if you are a teacher they have "Teachers Learning Code" and they offer Lesson Plans. 

I would love to hear what languages you have learned, and what has been your learning journey to become proficient. Thanks in advance for sharing :)

[Erica_Garcia]

Love this and I am starting my own similar journey to learn more code languages - I have a basic understanding of HTML & CSS and wanting to learn more. While I am in US, I appreciate the insights you share and will look into offerings near me.

[Jodi LeBlanc]

That's great @Erica_Garcia , I would love for you to share some of your US groups and resources as you start to learn more coding. It would be a great resource for others reading this post :)

[Dastin_Kuwałek__SoftwarePlant_]

I got into JavaScript after joining one of the workshops hosted by WarsawJS group :)

Before that, I didn't even plan to dive into JavaScript but it took one workshop and a group of positive people to convince me, that coding and learning a new language can be fun! :D

[Jodi LeBlanc]

Thanks for sharing @Dastin_Kuwałek__SoftwarePlant_ I agree being a group of positive people can really make a difference on trying something new and making it more enjoyable. Some day I may dive in to JavaScript (just for fun) - we will see :)

[Alice]

Learning to code is definitely something I want to do in the near future, I just need to find the right determination to do it and commit to it, haha. This post was very inspiring!

[Jodi LeBlanc]

Thanks @Alice there are some great videos on Code Academy, and maybe there is an equivalent to Canada Learning Code in Italy that you could join, I found in my experience that learning to code with others was a lot of fun and made me want to keep learning :)