Programming language is regarded as the new world language and plays an increasingly prominent role in our education. More and more schools have included "coding", the learning of programming language, in the curriculum. To inspire children at a young age, the Association's Tseung Kwan O Integrated Social Service Centre has conducted various activities in recent months introducing the new language to children and parents. It is encouraging that the children can master the skills and develop an electronic queuing system after just a few coding lessons.

In April, the centre launched an introductory coding course using "micro:bit", a pocket-sized computer, originated from the United Kingdom’s youth programming education. Students learnt the basics and wrote codes to let micro:bit execute different actions. After completing the classes, some students applied what they have learned and created an electronic queuing system, which later became very useful during the summer term enrollment.

Learning is for everyone. Last month, the centre collaborated with the CityU CoolThink@JC programme and organised a parent-child coding class for families with primary school students. Participants learnt to build web game with "Scratch", an educational tool for coding designed by MIT Media Lab. Not only did the event inspire children's creativity, but also encouraged parents to pursue continuous learning to meet the new wave of tech innovation. More than a dozen pairs of parent and children enjoyed the online class. Some parents reported that the class aroused their children’s interest and looked forward to more in the future. The Association will continue to hold similar activities to equip members for the digital age.