Lianhe Zaobao Feature: Coding as a New Literacy in the Digital Age
Here are Yong Ning (right) and Candice (left)
We were featured in Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报, the largest Singapore-based Chinese-language newspaper, on 22 May 2022! As Singapore advances towards becoming a Smart Nation, what does it mean for younger kids who are learning to code today?
Read our full feature and hear from our Co-Founders, Yong Ning Foo and Candice Wang, as they share the importance of learning to code, their insights on the increasing demand for coding classes for children, and more about how they wanted to teach their children to code starting from a young age – which sparked the beginning of our MIT-inspired coding classes at Coding Lab!
Here at Coding Lab, we believe in nurturing future leaders in technology - with our coding classes carefully tailored to introduce coding to children as young as 5 years old, and thoughtfully curated to suit different age groups as well as varied experience levels. We adopt inquiry-based learning to encourage students to actively try and explore - something that is beneficial not just in the area of programming, but also in other areas in life.
“Coding is a new literacy in the digital age. I hope that my children can grasp this language and build up their computational thinking skills. The computational thinking ability will help to build new systems, simplify processes and solve problems in our daily lives.”
- Yong Ning Foo
Our award-winning coding curriculum is curated based on students' learning abilities, with kinaesthetic activities and block-based programming for younger ones, and incorporates GCE 'O' and 'A' Level Mathematics for older ones.
Did you know? We have parents of two-year-olds who have registered on our waiting list for our Junior Coders' Programme.
Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 also featured our student, 10-year-old Theodore Lee, who learnt to code two years ago and joined Coding Lab when he was 9.
His mother, Queenie, observed that the biggest improvement in Theodore after learning to code was the development of computational thinking, and when met with problems, he will calmly think through the problem step-by-step for a solution.
Today, he is in our Advanced Electives class alongside teenagers ages 13 to 18, and learnt to code this high-level Covid-19 Pandemic Simulator project. Check it out below!
Theodore coded a project that simulated a pandemic based on toggable variables such as vaccination rate and hospitalisation rate. He was awarded Distinction and Most Promising Coder for his impressive entry in the Ages 13 to 18 category.
The amazing 10-year-old (he was age 9 at the time of the project) also did a block-based Scratch programming project rendition of his Covid-19 Pandemic Simulator project and achieved another Distinction and Most Innovative award.
We have also posted on our WeChat here!
We're truly honoured and always happy to spread the joy of coding and to shine the spotlight on our students in the media. Read our Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 feature online here or check out the full translated version here. You can also check this post out on our WeChat. Thank you to Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 for the feature!
Read our previous Lianhe Zaobao Feature of our student, Jake, 9 years old, in A Little Somebody
Read Channel NewsAsia and Channel 8 Feature: Grooming Young Tech Talent in Singapore
(Written by Cheryl Tang)