“Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think” – Steve Jobs. Ghana is not so far from this quote stated by Steve Jobs. The way to bridge the gap between the other world in terms of technology is by being proficient in coding – the language of technology. As such, the need to equip the next generation is to teach them how to code.
Our quest to demystify and make coding a household topic in Ghana through practice keeps getting bigger and impactful as many more people are opening up their doors and are embracing this program in their schools and their organizations.
Notable is our recent coding workshop at the International Community School (ICS), Ogbojo – East Legon, which was part of celebrating 2 years anniversary of the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) on 7th of March 2019. This year’s IIPGH Day was dubbed Tech Volunteers’ Day with the theme, “Building Resilient Communities”. The non-profit professional body was setup two years ago to serve as a connector of ICT professionals from educational institutions, corporate organizations, start-ups, Government (Ministries, Departments & Agencies) and the civil society organizations to create a vibrant ICT ecosystem. The organization aims at using its platform to equip professionals and students with skills in emerging technologies needed for entrepreneurship and employment in today’s fast moving technological world.
The aim of the workshop was to introduce and get as many of the students to appreciate and start learning how to code as that provides a firm foundation in education in the 21st century. In attendance were the David Gowu, Executive Director, and Kafui Amanfu, Learning & Development Director of IIPGH; Director of Administration and HR, Gifty Mottey, Netguard Group; Administrative Head of ICS, Mr. Diaba; and the technical team from IIPGH.
During the workshop, students were briefed on the practical benefits of learning how to code. Two groups of classes were taken through both block-based and text-based coding structures using the MIT Scratch application (block-based) and fundamental web programming (text-based).
The students were much excited to learn more of the programming and showed much enthusiasm to study it full time. They realized there is a wide range of things they could do with the skills of coding. Some of them were just excited when they discovered coding was not that difficult. The females also understood that coding is not a preserve for males only, hence were encouraged to learn. They confessed that one only needs to be committed, determined and curious to learn more.
Learning coding empowers you to do many things you would not otherwise be able to do. These things include handcrafting your own websites, becoming a career coder or even starting a technology business. Most importantly, you will be able to understand the technology shaping your world.
Coding offers the opportunity to communicate ideas in a logical and structured manner; it gives the chance for creating highly paid jobs; and it enables the individual to be resourceful and versatile. It helps in other areas such as enabling critical thinking; building persistence and perseverance; helps acquire problem-solving skills; and it enhances mathematical skill set.
The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana believes in celebrating its day with the young ones as part of sharing knowledge and building capacity in technology. In March 2018, the Institute had the opportunity to share knowledge in a coding workshop with the students and staff of East Airport International School (EAIS), during its first anniversary. To equip professionals and students with skills in emerging technologies, the Institute aims at using its platform to augment teaching and learning, entrepreneurship and employability in today’s fast moving technological world. It hopes to achieve this by focusing on giving young people from primary to university an early start to enable them take up ICT as a profession, promoting innovation that would solve our basic societal problems, and improving lives.
To know more about the institute, kindly visit our website www.iipgh.org
