No, I’m not joking. It is possible to learn how to code thanks to Star Wars, and I will explain to you the how and the why.
The American association called “Code.org” makes a partnership with Disney and Lucasfilms – featuring the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens (in theaters in France on December the 16th).
“Anybody can learn”
Code.org is a nonprofit organization which wants to promote the fact that “anybody can learn” how to code. They want to interest kids and young people in the coding, because they believe “computer science should be a part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such as biology, chemistry or algebra”.
The association was launched in 2013, which is pretty recent, with the idea to facilitate the access to computer science and to increase women’s and underrepresented students of color’s participation. Tens of millions of people have already tried the “Hour of Code”, called that way because it lasts approximately one hour, and 48% of them were female.
First of all, what coding is?
Coding, also called computer programming, is the process of developing and implementing diverse sets of instructions to allow a computer to execute a certain task. These instructions are considered as computer programs. Different languages are used (Java, HTML, Php…): people have to learn them, otherwise they won’t be understood by an untrained eye.
Why should we learn to code?
I will give a few reasons why we should learn to code:
- Code is everywhere: applications on your smartphone, websites, videogames, Smart objects etc. Learn to code will help you to understand better what is around you.
- It is a good way to develop your creativity: you will imagine, design and build. Even if you are wrong and it doesn’t work, don’t worry: you can try again, and again.
- Everybody can learn: no need to have a degree. For lots of people, programming is a passion and it is fun.
- It changes all the time: like the evolution of technologies, programming is always evolving because there are always new things to learn.
- It is a domain which hires… do I need to give you more arguments?
What is the connection between coding and Star Wars?
Disney and the Lucasfilms made a partnership with Code.org. Together, they will propose a series of courses where you will learn to program with Princess Leia, R2-D2 but also Rey and BB-8, who will be on Episode VII (using two strong heroines with the robots is a great and strong message).
You will be introduced to principles and to code’s logic thanks to a system of commands. There are two versions of courses: one gets users introduced to coding language JavaScript, and the other allows game creation in your internet browser using Code.org‘s unique blocks-to-text programming.
The beta version is already online, but today (on December the 7th), the final version will be available and translated in 400 languages (including French). If you like Disney, you can also follow a similar course with Frozen: it is in French and it was put last year online.
Hour of Code with Star Wars is supposed to be for children around 10 years old. But I think there is no proper age to use it: I tried the beta version, and I found that pretty fun!
If you also want to try it, you can go HERE! Have fun learning how to code!
Adeline VIVO
Etudiante en Master 2 Commerce Electronique, déjà titulaire d’un Master 2 en Droit du numérique obtenu à l’Université de La Rochelle. Passionnée par les nouvelles technologies et leurs impacts sur notre société.
