We posted awhile ago about a school where programming had become a core subject in schools in Estonia from grades 1 through to 12. Well it seems they are definitely on the right track, and Code.org has created this video to tell you why:

Learning the basics of coding is almost a necessity these days. No matter what field you are in, you are bound to, at some point, come across code. Whether it’s literal programming to calculate, predict or analyze data, or whether its design code for a website, gadget, or app – there’s bound to be somewhere. Usually, there will be someone around you who would be able to help, but in a world of over 7 billion people, it’s becoming important to be useful yourself.

It’s a skill that’s transferable, that’s universal and can literally change the way you think when using the high-tech gizmos we use today. You’ll be surprised at some of the things you realize you can do that seem like magic to the non-programmers. A good example is creating macros in Microsoft Word or Excel. I once created a basic macro in Excel to allow my boss to just click a button and have the invoice generated the way we wanted it. She was absolutely floored. Imagine if I actually had formal training – I bet I could be doing way more amazing things for her.

So if you know how to code, then good on you. Carry around a staff and profess yourself a wizard of the modern world. And if you don’t know (yet), head down to Code.org and get learning – it’s a worthy skill of the 21^st century! You’re never too young or too old to learn it.

[Code.org]