"Today, we take for granted how simple it is to stay in touch with our loved ones, shop online...We rarely pause to consider that all these conveniences and benefits of technology are actually only possible through the work of coders and programmers," said Dr Daiana Beitler, Philanthropies Lead, Microsoft Asia.
In celebration of International Programmer’s Day Microsoft has come up with some major reasons why coding is important:
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| Source: Microsoft. According to a recent study by Accenture, more than a fifth (22%) of global GDP today can be attributed to some form of digital skills, capital, goods or services. |
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| Source: Microsoft. According to World Economic Forum research, over five million jobs will be lost by 2020 as a result of technological change. On the other hand, technology can generate jobs and ignite overall economic growth by creating a spillover effect in other industries. |
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| Source: Microsoft. The app economy is expected to double in size to US$101 billion by 2020, says App Annie. Coding could help individuals turn ideas into products. |
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| Source: Microsoft. There are many free resources available for those who want to get started. |
Four (22) suggestions:
Watch Code Trip, a documentary created by Microsoft in partnership with Roadtrip Nation, that follows three computer science students as they meet with coders, researchers, and robotics engineers, finding inspiration and guidance from people who have defied stereotypes to build meaningful careers in tech
Minecraft Hour of Code Tutorial introduces players to basic coding within the popular Minecraft environment
Small Basic makes coding easy for beginners
Develop software. Kodu Game Lab allows users to create games on the PC and Xbox via a visual programming language, while Touch Develop is a development environment to create apps for touch-enabled mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets
Hashtag: #ProgrammersDay
