If your child is a video game lover, you might often wonder how you could turn their favorite hobby into something meaningful. While every minute in front of the screen doesn’t have to be a teaching moment, there are ways you can transform your child’s education and help them build skills early in life. Children as young as age 7 can start learning how to code and build their first video game using Roblox.
You may have already heard the name dropped plenty of times
in your house; Roblox is one of the most popular
online video games among children today. It hosts millions of players from
around the world, but it’s far more than just a way for your kid to pass the
time. It’s transformed into a game creation software that introduces children
to the fundamentals of computer coding at an appropriate age level. No matter
if they’re already passionate about computers or just learning how to use the
web, this is a kid-friendly, parent- and educator-approved educational
resource.
Coding for the Future
Learning to code at an early age can give your child an edge
when they’re applying for college. The experience may even spark an interest in
professional programming that leads them to pursue a degree in computer
science, web development or a similar field. Career growth in
development-related professions is some of the highest paying in the country;
candidates with enough skill can be offered $70,000 to $90,000 for their first
position. Imagine what your child could achieve professionally if they began
learning the basics while they’re still in elementary school. Computer skills,
especially programming, have a compounding effect. Becoming proficient in one
language can generally make it easier for a student to begin learning another.
The non-technical skills they acquire, such as research, abstract thinking,
creative problem-solving and self-reliance, impact their success in other areas
as well.
The more skills your child has, the more scholarships
they’ll qualify for, which can help reduce the stress you might already be
facing about paying for the
degree. If you do want to explore potential options now, or you’re a
student who is thinking about your future, private student loans are an
extremely common way to cover tuition. You can get personalized offers now and
see how much you qualify for, both with and without a cosigner. In addition to
improving chances for financial assistance, learning to code in school prepares
students to enter what will undoubtedly be an extremely digital and tech-based
society. Regardless of their field of interest, code-based skills will be in
high demand, and those with even basic abilities and fundamental knowledge will
stand out when they start sending out resumes.
For Parents: Why Your Child Should Learn to Code
In this day and age, technical skills are not just a plus,
they’re essential. Because children
learn at such a rapid rate, taking advantage of their cognitive abilities
while they’re young can set them up for much greater success as they get older.
More importantly, it’s vital for educators and parents alike to find resources
that speak to kids in their own language. Imagine trying to sit in front of a
computer and decipher complicated lines of code without any visuals or
assistance; it wouldn’t be easy for an adult, and it definitely won’t keep a
child’s attention.
Now, imagine a vivid digital world you can interact with
coming to life with something you created. That’s the magic of Roblox Studio.
In addition to being well-secured and safe for children of all ages, it also
presents the opportunity for them to develop real skills that are going to
dominate the workforce in the coming years. In addition to learning how to
code, children will also learn about the basics of game development. Softer
skills they can benefit from include perseverance, goal-setting and time
management. Working hard to learn code also helps children build self-esteem;
this can carry over into other aspects of their lives as well and even become a
source of healthy stress relief and creative expression.
For Students: How to Build Your Own Video Game in Roblox
If you’re a kid who already loves playing Roblox, then you
can take things to the next level by learning how to code inside the game.
Roblox Studio allows you to create your own obstacle course (obby) from
scratch. It’s entirely up to you what happens, how hard the level is and how
long it lasts. Don’t worry about building the most impressive thing right away.
Good obbys can be small, too.
Once you’ve opened the studio, you can start coding right away by clicking the plus sign. There are lots of templates for you to choose from, which makes it easier to get started if you’ve never coded before. Templates aren’t just for students, though. Professional web developers use templates every day to make their jobs easier. Learning how to change them with different pieces of code will make you able to build other things faster. A free developer’s guide can walk you through the rest of the process creating your own Roblox obstacle course. If you want to learn more, you can ask your parents to sign you up for a Roblox coding course online.
Getting Started
It only takes a few minutes to set up a free Roblox account
and install it on your computer. The in-game language, Lua, is extremely
powerful and versatile while still being approachable for young children and
teens. It’s the language powering some of the world’s most popular games, like
World of Warcraft, and it’s being used to create integrated systems in other
applications as well, like Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom.
There are plenty of free tutorials online that will help you
teach your child how to code, and figuring things out together can be a
wonderful bonding activity that the whole family enjoys. You can also purchase
a coding course for your child that walks them through all the Lua basics and
gives them plenty of fun practice exercises and homework they’ll actually be
excited to complete. Coding classes at every age provide new stimulation and
excitement for learners, especially those who are still assimilating to
distance education or homeschooling.
