A number of students at Bath College have been learning to create their own digital worlds, with the skill of coding being put at the heart of their IT education.
They are being taught how to tell a computer to perform complex tasks to keep up to date with the changing technological world.
The College is dedicated to arming students with the power of coding as today’s job market is dominated by computer software.
Level 2 IT students are being taught that once they know how to code, the only limit on what is possible within computing is their imagination.
It comes as the next generation’s world is predicted to be even more online and digital with more web-controlled devices.
Coding – which is seen as the new language of the world – also develops the students’ maths, problem-solving and logical-thinking skills.
During the first year of their IT courses, Bath College students are using an onsite programme to pick up the basics through a series of activities that increase in difficulty.
The website (code.org) features videos, puzzles, group activities and game designs recommended by the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
Students are then encouraged to go on to use coding to build useful applications and websites.
Student Amiee Daws, 16, said she liked how coding was incorporated into the course to try to get them ahead in the industry.
She said: “I didn’t really know a lot about coding but I’m learning in a very hands-on way.
“Learning with the website has demystified coding and broken it down into simple terms for us.
“I think I’ve become a better logical-thinker and I’m hoping I can put what I’ve learnt about coding into practice when I get a job.”
Student Jordan Kent, 18, said coding would help with his future career as he hoped to go on to university then get his dream job at the Government Communications HQ (GCHQ) in Cheltenham.
He said: “It’s great to learn coding as it’s essential for solving problems.
“We’ve covered all the basics of coding by learning how to break things down into more manageable problems.
“The coding puzzles are good fun; it feels like we are playing and learning at the same time.”
Student Kieran Lye, 18, said he’d learnt how code works and how important it is to website development.
He said: “It’s good because you work at your own pace with the online coding puzzles going from easy to complicated very quickly.
“You can direct just about everything through coding; it’s about being logical and learning the importance of commands.
“I hope these new IT skills will help me to get a job after College.”
