Why Learn Computer Science?

Stan Rozar, Computer Science


The world as we know it is driven by technology, and the technological impact on society is only going to increase as we move further into the future. The desire for individuals with the necessary skill set to operate these technologies, whether it is lower lever abstraction with computer programming, or higher level abstraction with basic user interface, will always be in abundance.
Computer science is the study of technology and how to create, fix, and enhance it, as well its effects on society, both positive and negative. Although computer programming is not the only aspect of computer science, it is the most influential. Computer programing is the process of creating and designing an application or software, which results in a “program” that serves as instructions (in code) for a specific computing task. Half of the products that we use on a day to day bases are software products. Browsing through social media, playing a game, or many other tasks would not be possible without application or software design. 
Living in the 21st century means we are living in the digital age. As I stated earlier, we are a technology driven world, which means that computer science is changing everything around us. Having a keen understanding over various computing concepts is a skill set that is becoming more and more imperative for an educated person in today’s day and age, no matter what field you decide to go into. Whether it’s medicine, science, engineering, music, or even agriculture and fashion, all of these industries utilize computing innovations to meet the needs of their clients, customers, and objectives at a more efficient rate. 
Being able to say you’re an efficient programmer will not only provide a more competitive resume, learning computer programming helps you become a better problem solver by improving your cognitive thinking and logical reasoning skills, which is essentially the goal in life through any type of production, to create and find solutions to problems of the world. You can decide to create a safety app for your iOS device, assist in the design of a computing instrument to detect different diseases, or help design software that detects changes in weather. Either way, having a stronghold on the concept of computer science and programing efficiency, it allows for you to have a vital impact on the production of society in more ways than you can imagine. 

There’s an App for That!

By: Piper Bell, Technology


In this technology filled world we now live in, we are immersed by many apps that can easily be downloaded onto our mobile devices such as, books, creative art, games, photography, weather, news, shopping, community based GPS navigation and so much more.  Looking through the App Store for apps can be pretty overwhelming.  One thing that can make your decision a little easier as to what app to download is reading the reviews that are posted on each app page.  If it is a paid app it really helps to see what others are saying about the app and if you would like to know a little more you could research the developer.

We are so fortunate to have a plethora of children’s apps to choose from and there are great resources that can select the best top rated apps for kids that are intuitive, helpful and the best priced. Here are twelve of my recommendations from the parents.com article, Best Apps for Families:

  • PBS Kids Video:  Provides a safe, child-friendly viewing experience for all ages.
  • Starfall Education Series:  ABC’s, I’m Reading, Numbers, Learn to Read, It’s Fun to Read and more.
  • ABC Mouse Education Bundle:  ABCmouse.com, Mathematics Animations, ABCmouse Music Videos, Language Arts Animations, ABCmouse Mastering Math, Mastering the Alphabet, ABCmouse Science Animations, Magic Rainbow Traceables and ABCmouse Zoo.
  • Heads Up!:  Trivia on the go.
  • Hopscotch: Coding for Kids
  • Swift Playgrounds:  Learn real coding the fun way by Apple
  • Minecraft:  Education Edition – the game allows players to build with a variety of different blocks in 3D to create virtual worlds.  Families can be in the same game if on shared Wi-Fi.
  • Mathmateer:  Build a rocket and fly to the stars completing 56 different math missions.
  • Evernote:  Record voice notes, digitize documents and share files electronically.
  • BrainBreak:  Brain training exercises to increase motivation and teamwork.
  • QuizUp:  Fun, addictive, challenging trivia.
  • Waze:  Community based navigation app that provides real-time traffic updates and road information.

Technology has brought a great deal of instant information to our fingertips, anywhere at anytime, and it is extremely easy to become addicted to spending way too much time surfing the internet, playing games, watching videos, social media and more with children and adults alike. It is very important for families to be aware of the amount of time that media is being used.  With Apple’s Screen Time, you can see how much time you and your children spend on apps, websites and more.  Screen Time will let you set limits for what you want to manage.  To learn more visit, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982.  Apple also has an app, Apple Support, which is your personal guide to find answers with articles tailored to your devices.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-support/id1130498044?mt=8.  What ever you are looking for, more than likely, there’s an app for that!  If not…..maybe you might be the next new app developer!

 

Begin Your Journey.