Learning how to code is getting a bit of a helping hand for the youth, as Swift kickstarts skills in Australia’s north.
Even though young people get started using computers from an early age, learning to code isn’t necessarily something everyone just gets. Much like how learning a language can be complex, in coding, you’re doing just that: learning a new language, and bundling in the logic associated with it.
Coding isn’t just the language, but the thought process behind building and executing a program. The idea is important, but so too are the skills needed to develop a program, and that goes beyond merely learning a language, though that’s definitely an important part.
While there are numerous ways to learn how to code, Apple has built an app to help kids do just that, with Swift Playgrounds initially providing instruction for folks on the iPad, before growing to be an app for Macs, as well.
That’s a start, but it’s not the only place to learn, and in Queensland, schools are dabbling with another way, building an iOS course worked on with engineers and educators from Apple.
The course will see students at TAFE Queensland able to be taught Apple’s Swift programming language in a special course made specifically for beyond high school, providing a way for students who have left high school to build and embrace skills made for today’s society.
“Developing in Swift blends creativity and coding to problem-solve in a way no other language can, giving our students the fundamental skills to create the world’s next transformative apps, from ideation to design, development and distribution through the App Store,” said Jackie French, director of Creative Arts and Digital Design for TAFE Queensland.
“Demand from students and industry continues to grow, proving the need for a larger pipeline of graduates qualified to maximise today’s job opportunities, and keep Queensland and Australia at the forefront of creativity and innovation,” she said.
It’s not just a TAFE thing, but also a high school thing, even if the high schools seem so far limited to private education.
Much like how NSW private primary schools were using iPads to great success recently, two private Queensland high schools have adopted Swify to teach students how to build software and think about the process of turning ideas into workable apps.
“Our decision to choose Swift was clear and based on the simplicity, versatility and limitless creativity the language provides,” says
“Every day we’re seeing our students develop enterprising ideas and designing real-world solutions to problems, building the essential skills for success in the 21st century,” said Paul Dionysius, a teacher at Siena Catholic College, one of the high schools in Queensland running courses on Swift.
Right now, the high school courses appear limited to year 10 students at Siena Catholic College and St Augustine’s College in Queensland, while TAFE Queensland’s course is open to those who attend in October. As to when other schools will have opportunities like this only time will tell, though we have heard public schools may have their own variations on this theme, so you might want to check with your local to see if Swift or other similar coding courses are being offered.
