In today's digital age, the importance of learning to code is becoming increasingly apparent, even for the youngest minds. Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub, shared insights into his children's coding journey in an interview with Moneycontrol, reflecting the modern approach to education in programming.
Dohmke's children, aged 12 and 9, embarked on their coding adventure early.
Their initial foray into coding also included LEGO Mindstorms, which allowed them to program robots, fostering a hands-on understanding of programming concepts. As they grew more confident and skilled, they naturally progressed to learning Python, a versatile and widely-used programming language.
"They started early with visual programming and with LEGO mindstorms, programming robots and then they upgraded naturally to Python,” Dohmke told Moneycontrol.
For the past year, Dohmke's children have had the added advantage of using GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant, to help them identify and fix bugs in their code.
“For the last year or so, they had a Copilot that helped them to find and fix their own bugs by themselves, with students telling other students what's happening, they found things like ChatGPT and Adobe Firefy to render cute puppies,” Dohmke explained.
These tools, designed to introduce young learners to the basics of coding through interactive and engaging methods, laid a strong foundation for his kids.
Dohmke is enthusiastic about the creative possibilities that AI brings to young coders. "If you think about the playfulness of kids and exploring creativity with AI, it's actually remarkable," he said. "You can just go and say, 'give me a cute puppy photo,' and you get something out of ChatGPT or Copilot."
He offers a piece of valuable advice to parents and children alike: "Get started as early as possible. Consider programming with the help of a copilot in the same way that you consider literacy, math, art, and science, and we want our kids to learn an instrument."
GitHub today revealed that there are over 15.4 million developers in India building on the Microsoft-owned developer platform, registering a 33 percent growth year-on-year. The firm had 13.2 million developers in India at the end of 2023.
Dohmke, in the interview, said that India is the fastest growing market for the company, growing even faster than the United States.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
